CEO Notes – September/October 2025
Fall is just around the corner, and NWTF members across the country are sharing the life-changing power of the outdoors with friends and loved ones.
Be it elk bugles raining down from ridgetops; brook trout spawning in the cold, autumn currents; velvet-antlered deer daylighting in pine forests; and everything in between — we hope that you can connect with the immense power of nature and America’s hunting traditions this fall. More importantly, we hope that you share it with others.
While we are excited about everything that fall offers, we are in awe of all that our volunteers, staff and partners have accomplished this year and continue to achieve.
In June, the hunting and conservation community rallied in an extraordinary tour-de-force effort to stop the proposal to sell America’s public lands. On social media and through media outlets across the country, we showed the world how passionate our industry is and how powerful we are when we unite a nation through our shared love for our natural treasures.
Using the NWTF’s policy and advocacy tools, over 8,000 letters from NWTF members sent a powerful message to our federal representatives: OUR PUBLIC LANDS ARE A TRUST OWNED BY WE THE PEOPLE. You can read more about this triumph here.
Over the summer, we received more wild turkey research proposals from universities and partners than ever before in a given year. This record-breaking year illustrates our partners’ continued interest and commitment to the conservation of the bird we love. New and state-of-the-art wild turkey research projects that drive the practical management of the wild turkey have been evaluated by NWTF staff and the NWTF’s National Wild Turkey Technical Committee. We are planning for another historic investment in the future of conservation of the wild turkey.
The NWTF endowment at the University of Georgia has grown substantially. In just over a year, our national board of directors, NWTF state chapters and supporters contributed nearly $1 million to this endowment. The NWTF Distinguished Professorship at the University of Georgia will help fund wild turkey research and cultivate a pipeline of wild turkey managers and researchers far into the future.
As the endowment grows, so too will the resources it provides to the position’s chair (currently Dr. Mike Chamberlain). Not only does this funding ensure wild turkey research continues into perpetuity, but it brings the NWTF — and our mission — to countless college students. This is how we create the next wave of wild turkey biologists, managers, researchers and NWTF volunteers. In addition, we have exciting news about how we are taking this model we helped create at UGA and applying it far and wide.
In the meantime, please join us in celebrating the importance of conservation and its vital role during our 5th Annual Conservation Week, Sept. 21-27. We have some big announcements coming that you won’t want to miss! To learn how you can specifically get involved during our Conservation Week, visit NWTF.org.