CEO Notes – January/February 2026
The rut has concluded in most regions, waterfowl seasons are in full effect, and the annual yearning of a forest-filled chorus of springtime gobbles becomes stronger by the day.
No matter where you are in your pursuits, one thing is for certain: our experiences outdoors are life-changing and inspire us to steward our land and wildlife for future generations.
While we eagerly await spring green-up and all the sights and sounds of the turkey woods, there’s no better time to get pumped up for the spring season than our annual Convention and Sport Show in Nashville, Tennessee, and this year is a particularly special year that you will not want to miss.
2026 marks our 50th national convention. Our first convention was held in 1977 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, with just over 2,000 people in attendance. This is where the first Grand National Calling Championships were held. Over five decades, the NWTF’s Convention and Sport Show has experienced monumental growth, becoming the ceremonious kick off to the spring turkey season each year. Last year, we broke our record, with more than 82,000 passionate conservationists in attendance and more than 500 exhibitors.
As we celebrate the growth of our national Convention and Sport Show — and the countless memories it has created — we are just as excited about what is on the horizon for the NWTF, not only for our gathering in Nashville, but for expanding strategic mission delivery efforts across the country.
In this issue, we detail the sunsetting of the America’s Big Six of Wildlife Conservation for our NWTF-owned, landscape-scale initiatives, including Waterways for Wildlife, Habitat for the Hatch, Forests and Flocks and Roots to Roost, with a Western initiative to be included soon.
Our initiatives allow us to address specific conservation and hunting heritage challenges within distinct landscapes and align resources, partnerships and strategies to the diverse needs of each region, ensuring our efforts are targeted and effective.
Moreover, our initiatives help us engage with our current partners while expanding opportunities to work with new and non-traditional partners to make the largest possible impact on wild turkeys and the ecosystems on which they depend. While the work NWTF state chapters accomplish within their states is vital to our mission, our initiatives provide a gateway for state chapters to address broader regional challenges and participate in landscape-scale mission delivery. Whether working to defeat policy measures in opposition to our mission in the Northeast or providing landowners with valuable tools and resources in the Midwest, our initiatives allow us to work through strategic implementation to increase populations, bolster the health of ecosystems and preserve our hunting heritage. You can read about these initiatives and their progress beginning on page 10.
The NWTF’s 10-year strategy, now entering the third year, will ramp up our efforts in 2026, starting with our monumental 50th Convention and Sport Show. We look forward to your involvement as we take our mission delivery to new heights and unite a nation through the life-changing power of the outdoors.