05/24/2010
 Joel Pedersen, NWTF director of land access programs, recently graduated with the 2010 class from the prestigious National Conservation Leadership Institute. Click image for print quality version |
NWTF Staff Graduate From Prestigious Leadership Institute
EDGEFIELD, S.C. — Well-trained conservation leaders play an important role in the future of North America's land, water and wildlife resources.
Research shows that about 77 percent of state fish and wildlife agency senior leadership will retire by 2015, and more than half of federal conservation leaders even sooner. To address this alarming trend, the National Conservation Leadership Institute (NCLI) annually selects 36 promising conservation experts and leaders to participate in a rigorous, eight-month training program.
Joel Pedersen, National Wild Turkey Federation director of land access programs, and Mark Hatfield, NWTF director of strategic planning, recently graduated as two of only four participants representing non-governmental organizations in NCLI's class of 2010.
"The NWTF strives to provide knowledgeable and capable leadership for our dedicated volunteers as we continue our mission of conserving the wild turkey and preserving our hunting heritage," said James Earl Kennamer, Ph.D., NWTF chief conservation officer. "Joel and Mark have made us proud by completing this prestigious training program and I'm confident they will continue to make decisions that benefit wildlife and habitat across North America now and in the future."
Each NCLI graduate learns to teach skills, strengthen confidence and lead from some of the nation's most influential conservation leaders and experts, including Harvard's Kennedy School of Government professor Marty Linsky, co-author of the book "Leadership on the Line."
During the past eight months, Pedersen and Hatfield have worked with the other participants on priority leadership challenges and solutions that included completing the institute's intense 11-day residency at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, W.Va.
 Mark Hatfield, NWTF director of strategic planning, recently graduated with the 2010 class from the prestigious National Conservation Leadership Institute. Click image for print quality version |
Pedersen resides in Edgefield, S.C., and has worked for the NWTF since 1999. Hatfield lives in Johnston, S.C., and joined the NWTF staff in 2004.
The NWTF is a nonprofit conservation organization that works daily to further its mission of conserving the wild turkey and preserving our hunting heritage.
Through dynamic partnerships with state, federal and provincial wildlife agencies, the NWTF and its members have helped restore wild turkey populations across the country, spending more than $306 million to conserve 14 million acres of habitat for all types of wildlife.
