TFT vs NWTF?

[deerhunt1988]

Here is something to lull over. NWTF regional directors make more money than most biologists who work for state wildlife agencies, including some of the turkey coordinators for those states.

[Vintage]

I believe TFT is doing the right thing and will improve the turkey population. I also think there membership fees are to high.

[Greg Massey]

Maybe in the future they could have an annual membership drive with a small discount in adding new members ... TFT....  or look at doing this at the banquets as a way to draw more attention to the new organization. IMO

[guesswho]

Good idea, maybe they will take this into consideration.

[Greg Massey]

Good idea, maybe they will take this into consideration.

People like discounts especially my wife, she will walk 1/2 mile across a store for the discount rack to save a dollar... 

[GobbleNut]

I remember when you were on the other side of the fence.  We would occasionally talk while leaning on the fence.   Then one day I noticed you had climbed up on the fence to sit down during the  occasional N"WTF" conversation.   Now when I see these conversations it seems you have fallen off the fence and we are leaning on the same side most of the time, that's scary .

  Yes it is scary!   What is the world coming to?! 
Your take is pretty much right on target.  I was, at one time (been about fifteen years ago now), a staunch supporter of the NWTF.  It would take waaayyy too many paragraphs to cover what I witnessed that moved me from defending the NWTF to moving to the other side of that fence.

Regardless of my changing personal perspective, I do believe that NWTF has its place and that folks that want to support the organization can find justification for that.  For me, the mission just changed too much over the years from what I got involved with it for way back in the 70's. 

As for TFT, if they stick with something near that original NWTF mission, I will be a staunch supporter of that organization....   

[Greg Massey]

I remember when you were on the other side of the fence.  We would occasionally talk while leaning on the fence.   Then one day I noticed you had climbed up on the fence to sit down during the  occasional N"WTF" conversation.   Now when I see these conversations it seems you have fallen off the fence and we are leaning on the same side most of the time, that's scary .

  Yes it is scary!   What is the world coming to?! 
Your take is pretty much right on target.  I was, at one time (been about fifteen years ago now), a staunch supporter of the NWTF.  It would take waaayyy too many paragraphs to cover what I witnessed that moved me from defending the NWTF to moving to the other side of that fence.

Regardless of my changing personal perspective, I do believe that NWTF has its place and that folks that want to support the organization can find justification for that.  For me, the mission just changed too much over the years from what I got involved with it for way back in the 70's. 

As for TFT, if they stick with something near that original NWTF mission, I will be a staunch supporter of that organization....   

What upset me the most with NWTF was all the money that was spent on that shooting range, wanting it to look like a golf course ...

[Cowboy]

Biggest difference is NWTF mostly BUREAUCRATS. TFT mostly TURKEY HUNTERS. 

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[Greg Massey]

Biggest difference is NWTF mostly BUREAUCRATS. TFT mostly TURKEY HUNTERS. 

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I agree with you and the NWTF started out the same way all turkey hunters especially our local chapters. Our chapter is the oldest chapter in Tennessee ...

[Cowboy]

Biggest difference is NWTF mostly BUREAUCRATS. TFT mostly TURKEY HUNTERS. 

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I agree with you and the NWTF started out the same way all turkey hunters especially our local chapters. Our chapter is the oldest chapter in Tennessee ...

True. Agree 100%.

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[Spitten and drummen]

NWTF is just like Ducks Unlimited. A non profit organization that pays high salaries to the head honchos , , provides extravagant banquets for the elite , provides generous paychecks for the select good ole boys and the select few of the organization get to travel around hunting across the country at the best places on your dime. Like Forest Gump said " That's all I'm gonna say about that".

[Old Gobbler]

Okay ...time for me to chime in

Turkey Biology , Restoration , Conservation and land management is probably the most important issue to Turkey hunters , some would say crisis facing us today and in the future...if we don't FOCUS on that .... that future will progressively be dimmer and dimmer. Many of us who are old hats to this ,have noticed the changes

TFT is not a rival organization to the NWTF ,  I would urge you to continue to support the NWTF ...and I would recommend you support TFT also ! I've assisted NWTF and several organizations here and elsewhere and I'll continue to support them in the future, and I (Oldgobbler.com)plan on assisting TFT in the future because it's the right thing to do , and it will help Wild Turkeys

Shannon

[Dtrkyman]

I'm not opposed to the NWTF but after being a committee member of a chapter myself and some friends started I saw all I needed to see from those clowns!

In the three years I was involved they had a new NWTF rep each year, each one was more like a bad used car salesman than the last!


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[eggshell]

Here is something to lull over. NWTF regional directors make more money than most biologists who work for state wildlife agencies, including some of the turkey coordinators for those states.

I have to comment, when I read your post I actually chuckled. I have real life experience in this. Way back in the late 80s and 90s before i retired from my career as a Fish Hatchery Superintendent, raising an average of 5 million fish a year for Ohio anglers. My crew would often work with the turkey trapping crews in our off season. The average salary for all those people was less than $40,000.00 and mine was a bit higher. I was also active in the NWTF then and one of my good friends, who I often hunted with, managed to get a regional director's job. He would call me to take people pheasant hunting (I had a powerhouse dog and access to good habitat) that the NWTF wanted to impress. We also hunted together just the two of us and in conversations I learned he made a larger salary than I did and he also traveled and hunted all over the country on NWTF expense account, while I saved like a miser to fund my hunts. He openly admitted it wasn't fair and it hurt the relationships with state personel. However, he was a high energy salesman at banquets and raised a lot of money.

To Gobblenut's point, I believe he would have done the job for much less. He is a good guy and loved turkey hunting. He had other income and done the directors job out of love for the sport. There are many good and capable people that would jump on the NWTF administrative jobs for much less and do a great job. Take top level Wildlife agency heads (like Ohio's Chief of the Division of Wildlife) who manage and direct all the wildlife resources of an entire state and typically make about 30% of the salary of the NWTF director (approx. $350,000.00) Those people would do just fine running the NWTF, they are intelligent and good hardworking people. Yet modern business is profiled to compensate top level maoney makers as a base of their group's budget and earnings. I understand that, but I do agree that Non-profits are different. I should have explained that I believe they earn their pay, but that doesn't mean we pay them exorbantly.

[Bolandstrutters]

My question is, how many more studies can we possibly do?  Putting all that donated money and time towards habitat would benefit the wild turkey way more than anything.  TFT isn't even listening to its own biologist when it comes to predator removal.  Every research i've seen when it comes to trapping basically says its useless if you don't have the habitat.  But they are pushing these coon trapping events like its somehow going to save poults 4 months from now.  If those 500 people who participated would have done prescribed fires instead of trapping a few coons now that would have made a difference.  How much more research do we need?  Poults are not surviving.