How did your NWTF Chapters help turkey hunting?

[idgobble]

Reading some of the comments on NWTF layoffs got me thinking about how my state benefited from having NWTF chapters. We did a lot to increase and enhance our turkey population thru our fundraising and volunteer help to start new flocks in areas that never had turkeys (they weren't native to my state) and educate new hunters about the sport. Can you think of specific ways your chapters helped turkey populations and turkey hunting in your state?

[Gooserbat]

Statewide the nwtf does a lot for turkeys and wildlife in Oklahoma.  Locally not much.  I'm okay with that as long as I can see where the money is spent. 

[RutnNStrutn]

NWTF used to help out a lot on WMA's in FLA. Not any longer. In fact it's been years since I've seen a NWTF project on public land in FLA.
The NWTF has become just like Ducks Unlimited. They pressure members for more and more money, and use that money to improve hunting on private lands for wealthy members. That is the reason I dropped my memberships to the NWTF and DU.

Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.

[GobbleNut]

Starting in about 1978, NM turkey hunters formed several local chapters and a state chapter under the NWTF banner.  From roughly 1980 until 2010, a LOT of great work was accomplished in that time that would very likely not have happened if sportsmen had not joined into those chapters under the NWTF.   The organization brought us together under a common cause of improving wild turkey populations and wild turkey management in this state. 

The fundraising activities were focused on raising money for "on the ground" projects that DIRECTLY benefitted wild turkeys here.  I personally participated in an average of three to five projects a year for around thirty years,....projects that were consistently focused on improving wild turkey habitat in southern NM.  Most of those projects were designed to provide water sources for turkeys since water is the primary limiting factor in much of this region.  Volunteers in the northern part of the state did the same in that region. 

Could NM sportsmen have accomplished the same amount of good without the NWTF giving us a rallying entity to bring us together?  Sure we could have,...but would it have happened?  I doubt it seriously.  That work would likely never have taken place without the formation of the NWTF which brought us all together and gave us a way to get the dollars to pay for the work we did.

In terms of wild turkey management, those of us within our chapters with backgrounds in wildlife management (of which there were a number of us), looked at how wild turkeys were being managed in the state and used the NWTF banner as a lobbying force to get things changed here.  Up until around 1980, turkeys were looked at by our Game Department as basically a consolation prize for deer hunters in the fall.  Buy a deer license and get a bonus turkey license, free of charge, as part of the deal,...and have at it with whatever weapon you wanted to use. 

It took some doing, but we finally convinced our G&F folks that turkeys were a game species on their own merit.  We got the wholesale fall slaughter stopped and got some reasonable fall hunting regulations put in place. 

Any on you come to NM to spring turkey hunt?  You know why there is a two-bird spring bag limit here so you have more opportunity?  I can tell you that without the lobbying efforts by the NM NWTF chapters back in the 1980's, this state would still have a one-bird spring limit.  Yes, WE did that!  In addition to our Merriam's and Rio Grande populations, the only reason there is a stable and thriving Gould's population in southwestern NM is due to our NWTF members convincing our G&F Department that those birds were unique and worth focusing some management efforts on.  We also were the one's responsible for getting the public the opportunity for a chance (albeit very limited) at hunting them. 

As I have stated, I am not a fan of where the NWTF has gone in the last decade or so, but I can state with the utmost confidence (and authority) that wild turkeys in New Mexico are much better off than they would have been without NM turkey hunters organizing under the NWTF way back when,...and so are turkey hunters.  Unfortunately, the focus on the kind of work done in the the 80's, 90's, and up until 2010 or so has seemingly disappeared here,...and so have the desires of many of the volunteers from that era to remain as the dedicated members we once were.  ...And that's a shame....   

[Greg Massey]

I have enjoyed the old days of the NWTF and i hope they still maintain a present in the future. That's all I've got to say about it.

[idgobble]

Starting in about 1978, NM turkey hunters formed several local chapters and a state chapter under the NWTF banner.  From roughly 1980 until 2010, a LOT of great work was accomplished in that time that would very likely not have happened if sportsmen had not joined into those chapters under the NWTF.   The organization brought us together under a common cause of improving wild turkey populations and wild turkey management in this state. 

The fundraising activities were focused on raising money for "on the ground" projects that DIRECTLY benefitted wild turkeys here.  I personally participated in an average of three to five projects a year for around thirty years,....projects that were consistently focused on improving wild turkey habitat in southern NM.  Most of those projects were designed to provide water sources for turkeys since water is the primary limiting factor in much of this region.  Volunteers in the northern part of the state did the same in that region. 

Could NM sportsmen have accomplished the same amount of good without the NWTF giving us a rallying entity to bring us together?  Sure we could have,...but would it have happened?  I doubt it seriously.  That work would likely never have taken place without the formation of the NWTF which brought us all together and gave us a way to get the dollars to pay for the work we did.

In terms of wild turkey management, those of us within our chapters with backgrounds in wildlife management (of which there were a number of us), looked at how wild turkeys were being managed in the state and used the NWTF banner as a lobbying force to get things changed here.  Up until around 1980, turkeys were looked at by our Game Department as basically a consolation prize for deer hunters in the fall.  Buy a deer license and get a bonus turkey license, free of charge, as part of the deal,...and have at it with whatever weapon you wanted to use. 

It took some doing, but we finally convinced our G&F folks that turkeys were a game species on their own merit.  We got the wholesale fall slaughter stopped and got some reasonable fall hunting regulations put in place. 

Any on you come to NM to spring turkey hunt?  You know why there is a two-bird spring bag limit here so you have more opportunity?  I can tell you that without the lobbying efforts by the NM NWTF chapters back in the 1980's, this state would still have a one-bird spring limit.  Yes, WE did that!  In addition to our Merriam's and Rio Grande populations, the only reason there is a stable and thriving Gould's population in southwestern NM is due to our NWTF members convincing our G&F Department that those birds were unique and worth focusing some management efforts on.  We also were the one's responsible for getting the public the opportunity for a chance (albeit very limited) at hunting them. 

As I have stated, I am not a fan of where the NWTF has gone in the last decade or so, but I can state with the utmost confidence (and authority) that wild turkeys in New Mexico are much better off than they would have been without NM turkey hunters organizing under the NWTF way back when,...and so are turkey hunters.  Unfortunately, the focus on the kind of work done in the the 80's, 90's, and up until 2010 or so has seemingly disappeared here,...and so have the desires of many of the volunteers from that era to remain as the dedicated members we once were.  ...And that's a shame....   

I feel the same way and we did many of the same things in my state.  We even successfully lobbied the Legislature to designate turkeys as big game so there could be higher penalties for poaching them.  I suppose we could have started an organization to gather turkey hunters together to work on projects but it would have been much, much harder. NWTF helped us get started in many ways. In 1982 we had about 400 turkeys in Idaho when we started the chapter. By 1992 we probably had 50,000 and we topped out at close to 100,000. We got good ideas and good advice from NWTF and we started a whole new industry in Idaho that has generated millions of dollars for the state economy and F&G.  Many small towns in central and North ID where just about deserted in April and May. Now we sometimes have to wait in line to eat at a restaurant and we reserve motel rooms way ahead. Before 1982 they were empty in the Spring except for a few bear hunters. And our work resulted in millions of hours of great recreation for sportsmen over the last 38 years.

[bigbird]

I'm not sure how the chapter is structured. I'm sure they send all the money back to headquarters. If that's the case then like mentioned by gooserbat I can see locally where they donated $42,000 to a project that total was $290,000 total. I'm proud of that. That is a good portion of money for a national forest project

[eggshell]

I'm like most, I saw more local impact in the early years. By the time NWTF was an established entity Ohio turkey reintroduction was well under way and core populations were established. The state had done the hard work and was looking to grow the flock. I guess the biggest thing they done was bring more people to the sport and that gave turkeys more clout as revenues from turkey hunting increased. They purchased transport boxes, locally volunteers planted food plots and they shared cost in several land purchases. They gave some grants for research, but I have long forgot what those were for. If I was to take a wild arse guess at breaking down the importance of their contributions to establishing the wild turkey here, by percentage it would be:

State Agency 80% of the work
NWTF 15%
Other contributors ( private and corporate) 5%

Like I said, that's a guess but an informed one.

I will offer one more opinion that won't be popular, but it's how I feel (right or wrong). If the NWTF had never existed we would still be where we are today. As turkeys increased interest would have, as deer hunters and grouse hunters encountered them. The state already had plans to fill all the available habitat. The one single thing that may be different is they played a key role in acquiring some land purchases that may not have happened without NWTF and that is also very valuable.

[GobbleNut]

I'm not sure how the chapter is structured. I'm sure they send all the money back to headquarters. If that's the case then like mentioned by gooserbat I can see locally where they donated $42,000 to a project that total was $290,000 total. I'm proud of that. That is a good portion of money for a national forest project

A lot of the dollars that end up getting put into projects benefitting wildlife come from what are known as "matching funds" from the federal government (Pittman/Roberson Act funding mostly, I believe).  I am certain all state wildlife management agencies are aware of that and use those matching dollars extensively. 

The program is set up such that funds contributed by private entities/non-profits for projects done for the public good can be matched at a roughly 3/1 ratio (for every dollar contributed by a private entity, the program can be "worked" so that the feds end up putting in three dollars).  Those large-dollar projects on federal land are mostly funded that way.  NWTF dollars, as well as any other non-profit, can go far that way,...IF they are used for the PUBLIC good. 

Although I am not absolutely certain, I do not believe those federal dollars can be matched on projects that are on private property or will not otherwise benefit the public since those matching dollars are basically tax-based.  The point being that if NWTF spends its funds on private projects or events/programs that do not benefit the public (which I am fairly certain it does quite a bit nowadays), those funds are not being matched,...resulting in that money being 25% as effective as it could be.  (Again, this is my understanding of that funding mechanism based on my involvement in it some time ago.  If someone has more or different information to add on this, please do so.)
 
So here's the deal:  If NWTF throws a party for its volunteers as a "shiny object" to keep them distracted from where their volunteer dollars are going, every dollar spent for that does $1 worth of good for the folks that go to the party.  If NWTF spends that same $1 on a public project to benefit wild turkeys or habitat, that dollar will turn into four dollars.  So, if you donate a dollar, which of those two do you want your dollar to go to? 

A) I know where I want my dollar to go,...and B) I am not distracted by the "shiny object".  ...And when NWTF tries to distract me with that shiny object, I will just keep my dollar 'cuz I ain't fallin' for it!   

[Marc]

NWTF used to help out a lot on WMA's in FLA. Not any longer. In fact it's been years since I've seen a NWTF project on public land in FLA.
The NWTF has become just like Ducks Unlimited. They pressure members for more and more money, and use that money to improve hunting on private lands for wealthy members. That is the reason I dropped my memberships to the NWTF and DU.

Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.

I am a duck hunter first, and moved away from DU as well for a time...  But, all of the conservation groups follow the money, and often do more for private than public hunters (cause that is where the money is).

At one point (10 years back or so) when I wrote DU & complained that much of the work DU was doing was actually working against hunters, I received a letter back stating that "DU is an organization for ducks, not for duck hunters."

DU still does a lot of work for breeding grounds and habitat improvement for breeding, and at least on the surface are no more cordial towards hunters in general in recent years.

[eggshell]

Gobblenut, Here is a link to the wiki on Pittman Robertson Federal aid in wildlife Restoration act. It is a pretty good explanation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittman%E2%80%93Robertson_Federal_Aid_in_Wildlife_Restoration_Act

This act established an excise tax on gear and supplies for outdoors sports. It is earmarked solely for State Agencies to  use. It's reimbursement for money spent by the states and is doled out by how many people live in the state and how many licenses are sold. It is reimbursed at 75% of cost.

I never used P&R money, but fisheries had a sister bill called the Dingle Johnson act and Wallop Breaux amendment. It worked the same way.

One of the neat things the Feds done was to allow you to claim money already spent in the past as an "In Kind Investment"  and draw from that for operational moneys. They would asses the value of what you submitted and reimburse you for 75% of it, this could include Real Property. It gave the states a way to start the revolving payments without delay and waiting on fund availability. Yes, if NWTF spent money that directly went to wildlife restoration through the state agency then that counted as "In Kind" moneys. Work and items that did not go directly to wildlife or land use where not reimbursable. So parties yielded nothing. The feds do retain a form of vested interest in any project or property that fed dollars are spent on. Basically if it's ever liquidated then the recovered moneys are forfeit into the fund for redistribution. Over my career I spent several million dollars of this money for sport fish restoration in the hatchery and it only cost the sportsmen of Ohio 25 cents on the dollar. Both the Pittman Robertson and dingle Johnson acts are Godsends to wildlife agencies. I needed a new production building for fish rearing as the 50 year old one I was using just wasn't set up for modern production. DJ funds supplied over a million dollars for a new building that allowed us to exponentially increase production and put more fish in the state waters. I don't know if we'd have ever built enough capital funds on our own. So when ever you think of it drop your congressmen and senators a note and tell them they should always protect these two funds.

I hope that helps