Controlled burn using an NWTF grant

[Tail Feathers]

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Like a lot of people in Texas, I hunt leased land.  I live in the pineywoods of E. Texas and we have Eastern birds here.  They are struggling in this area to keep birds.  I went out yesterday and lo and behold they were burning on the timberland we lease.  I've been a member there since the mid 90's and this is the first time they ever burned. 
Seems the forest manager came out and saw some birds and wanted to do something positive for the turkey effort.  The guy doing the burn wrote the grant and got the NWTF money.  He then got laid off and came on as a consultant to help with the burn.  They had a large block going yesteday.  I don't know how much of the 5000 acres they plan on burning but they started with the biggest block and the one with the most birds.  I sure hope it has a positive impact.  This is the first time I've seen the NWTF do grants for private land.

[BMAC_Turkeys]

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Do you think this was NWTF national or an NWTf state deal.  We have an NWTFSC (south Carolina) which might have different funds and can do different things than NWTF. I have no idea but either way at least its positive.

On another note, and not trying to start a fight, why would you need a grant to burn?  I know guys that burn 2k acers (different blocks) every year.  The only money would be the labor and material, and thats to say you pay people cause you didnt already have farm hands on payroll or buddies to help.  Maybe Im missing something. Did the land owner get a grant to pay people to come in and burn?

[Tail Feathers]

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I don't pretend to know the ins and outs of it all, but the land is owned by a huge Timber Land Management Company.  I guess they don't do wildlife projects out of their budget.  Certainly not that I've ever heard of.  This is the first time I've seen any of the timberland companies chip in and do anything other that timber management on their lands.  Hunters pay the lease fee and follow their strict rules or don't hunt there.

[BBR12]

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You get a grant because most people aren’t certified to do prescribed burns and most people don’t have the right equipment or man power to do it. In MS to do a burn and have the legal backing of the state in the event something bad happens there are plenty of rules you have to follow and that starts by having it done by a certified burn manager. Prescribed fire is an art and science that can get really complicated based on what you are trying to accomplish. It’s been awhile since I heard prices but you are talking about several dollars/acre to have a burn done by a professional if they do it all ie.. fire lines, equipment/ man power etc.
I know my grandfather was on a burn program through NRCS and they paid half the cost up to a certain dollar amount. It was a fuel reduction program back in the early 2000’s.

[GobbleNut]

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I will preface these remarks by stating that these comments are not meant to be critical of Tail Feathers or the post...just a general statement of my personal thoughts on the matter, and others like it:

First of all, I would guess that the funding for this was paid for by the landowner, rather than coming from the NWTF coffers.  NWTF probably provided expertise and consultation on the project...but that is just a guess on my part. Here is why I suspect that:

Although I am totally in favor of habitat improvements for wild turkeys, quite honestly the use of NWTF funds on private properties is not a good look for the organization.  Unless there is clear public benefit in some form, funds that are raised primarily by the general public (and under the administration of a non-profit organization) should be used in a manner that benefits that public (in this case, turkey hunters), in general.  Using the funds of a non-profit organization to the benefit of a select group of private individuals, in my opinion, is legally questionable.

Having said that, there may be examples of the use of NWTF funds on private properties that might qualify as being reasonable...and legitimate.  Again, those would have to be clearly demonstrable as being beneficial to the public, at large.  For instance, if a private property was surrounded by public lands and the use of non-profit funds on the private stuff could clearly be shown to improve turkey populations on that public property, then such an expenditure might be justifiable. 

Short of something like that, however, if I was still a member of NWTF, I would be raising "holey hell" about the use of NWTF funding for the benefit of a restricted group of folks.  (I would probably be consulting an attorney about the legality of this, as well)

...That's just the view from here.... 

[Tail Feathers]

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I spoke to the guy doing some of the burning, heck he was holding a drip torch while we talked.  He said he had worked for the landowning timber company until recently.  He was instructed by his boss to write the grant proposal to the NWTF.  He wrote it, got the grant approved and the company then sold 300K acres of their holdings and laid him off as a result.
He then got a call from his old boss to come help do the burn and fulfill the grant requirement, which he was doing as a paid consultant two day ago.  He said he was happy to join in on the burn since he worked hard on getting the grant and could say he was part of it from beginning to end.  I just met him when I stopped to ask about the burn, but that is what the guy told me.  He is a pretty diehard turkey hunter he said.
The lease is not directly adjacent to any public land, but it's a few miles from part of a National Forest.
The NWTF and Texas Parks and Wildlife biologists have done some turkey releases in E. Texas for some time, including a few superstockings (all in the National Forests as far as I know).  Results haven't been great.  But my lease paid per bird and worked with the state and NWTF when we stocked birds in the 90's and they seem to have done pretty good.  The land manager was out surveying the property a couple of years ago, I actually ran into him while scouting for turkey season.  He mentioned then that we had a lot of turkeys and he would look into getting a grant for some prescribed burning to help the birds. 
So Gobblenut, maybe the grant was approved because this area had turkeys thrive when most of the region has had major struggles with restocking and population drop?  They have closed seasons in most of my region because the turkey population has dropped so much.

[deerhunt1988]

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The NWTF does assist in funding some prescribed fire programs. Here in Mississippi, the state game and fish as a program called "Fire on the Forty" - link below:

https://www.mdwfp.com/wildlife-hunting/private-lands-program/fire-on-the-forty/

"The goal of the Fire on the Forty campaign is to promote the use of prescribed fire on privately owned fields and upland forests through outreach to educate landowners about the proper application of prescribed fire through hands-on workshops and by cost-sharing with private landowners to apply prescribed fire."

Most years the NWTF contributes funds towards the program. I see nothing wrong with it, as prescribed fire is an extremely valuable tool in managing for wild turkey and the large bulk of turkey in most states reside on private property.

[Paulmyr]

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And yes prescribed burns are very beneficial to turkeys. To the Op I would expect the turkeys to use it not soon after burning and than the biggest benefits of the the burn will prove itself in the very near future. The after burn will progress itself through regeneration. The initial regeneration mainly benefits adult turkeys but the next 3 years or so favors recruitment in these burn areas. My opinions here are based on southern turkey habitats that tend to regenerate more readily than habitats in northern states. Fires were how the forests mediated themselves until the the modern age of forest management. It only makes sense that birds would focus on burn areas because more sun will reach the forest floor where it can be most beneficial to yearling wild turkeys.

I would think the the burn would be very beneficial to turkeys in that area AND I would add there should be a prescribed burn plan for the the future if they are serious about restoring these turkeys and not just blowing smoke. Is it a one time burn or a burn program. One time burn...... waste of money? Yearly, bi yearly or some type of burn regiment would be better suited for a southern habitat if the proliferation of wild turkeys and quail is desired. NWTF being involved? I'm heading to North East TX in a week for duck hunting. The NWTF  has no business investing there às I see very limited public benefit.