NWTF and USDA Forest Service Awards Recognize Conservation Achievements
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The National Wild Turkey Federation’s Making Tracks with the USDA Forest Service awards recognize people and projects that best incorporate conservation education, partnerships and wild turkey management. The NWTF presented the awards in different categories during its 49th annual Convention and Sport Show, sponsored by Mossy Oak, to projects and programs that bolstered NWTF’s mission delivery on our nation’s forests and grasslands.
2025 Making Tracks with the USDA Forest Service award recipients are:
Partnership Achievement Award, Group Category: Finger Lakes National Forest; Hector Ranger District
Forest Service Representatives: Greg Flood, Jodie Vanselow and Scott Wixom.
NWTF Representatives: Mitchell Blake, Cully McCurdy, Tara Moon, David Gladkowski, Pete Muller and the NWTF New York State Chapter.
The Partnership Achievement Program Award recognizes accomplishments in strengthening and expanding the partnership between the Forest Service and the NWTF.
This past summer, Forest Service staff at the Finger Lakes National Forest partnered with the NWTF for the National Board of Director’s quarterly meeting, which took place in Watkins Glen, New York. This quarterly meeting was the perfect opportunity for NWTF staff to announce the launch of the new Forests and Flocks Initiative and showcase the Finger Lakes National Forest as the first project attributed to the new northeastern initiative.
“We are beyond thrilled to receive this recognition from NWTF,” Vanselow said. “Partnerships drive most of our programs on the Finger Lakes National Forest, and without the effort from partners, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish the breadth of great work we do. Partnerships allow us to increase capacity in some cases, leverage our dollar with a partner, provide equipment to complete crucial habitat work and increase hunter access to the national forest. NWTF has been outstanding to work with and has helped make a great impact on the ground.”
“Sustainable, long-term, productive partnerships are difficult to come by, but the long-standing agreement between the Finger Lakes National Forest and NWTF is a testament to devoted partners who want to ensure the future of both game and non-game species,” Flood said. “This recognition highlights the importance of collaboration and the powerful impacts that partnerships can have in advancing conservation efforts; it is a reminder that working together creates lasting change. I am ecstatic to have been nominated for this award and I am excited to continue to build on this relationship to work together and create lasting change in conservation.”
Partnership Achievement Award, Group Category: Fremont-Winema National Forest; Chiloquin Ranger District – Hawks Team
Forest Service Representatives: Judd Lehman, Emerson Cogburn, James Kolesar, Kevin Keown and Todd Clement.
Patriot Restoration Operations (PROPS): Dale MacDougall, Cherise MacDougall and Jake Barlow.
The Chiloquin District of the Fremont-Winema National Forest was the first forest and district in their region to work with NWTF and the Washington Office Risk Reduction Solutions Team to implement an innovative project under the Pilot Timber Transport Project.
The Fremont-Winema is part of the Klamath River Basin Wildfire Crisis Strategy landscape, and this project was an important part of increasing the pace and scale of accomplishing work on the ground. The Chiloquin District, PROPs and the NWTF have formed a great working relationship that will enable and further great work to get done on the ground.
This project included the cutting and removal of ponderosa pine, some of which was transported via railroad to mills in need of wood in Wyoming and South Dakota. The district worked with several different external partners for project implementation. The Chiloquin District team has demonstrated how to think big and use creative tools to get work done.
“The Hawks Project and working with NWTF and Patriot Ops has been a great experience,” Lehman said. “It was exciting to take a project from conception to being fully implemented in less than a year as we went from talking about this concept to having over 4,000 acres thinned in a very short timeframe. The project was unique because of the need for it to have logs available quickly. We estimated the volume rather than cruising it to save time and relied on NWTF and Patriot Ops to get the prep work completed on the ground. The project ended up scaling out very close to what we estimated, looks great on the ground, and is now ready to have prescribed fire.”
This project is one of many that will be implemented under a 130,000-acre categorical exclusion. Additionally, this project was pivotal to keep the Timber Transport Pilot moving without losing momentum and incurring large costs.
Habitat Management Program Award, Group Category: Ochoco National Forest; Paulina Ranger District – Sunflower Project
Forest Service Representatives: Robbie Piehl and Monty Gregg.
The Habitat Management Program Award is a multiple-year award that recognizes program accomplishments through ecosystem management projects that benefit wild turkey habitat over several years.
“It feels amazing to win this award because we started off with $30,000, and this project going forward has gained close to $300,000, which we can leverage for another one million dollars with our next partner,” Piehl said. “What started as something small, has become a 2,000-acre project, when we originally thought we’d only get a couple hundred.”
The Sunflower Project, located in Paulina, Oregon, is an area where there have been successful turkey releases in both 2000 and 2006. The focus of the project is to remove western juniper to enhance and restore sagebrush and bitterbrush habitat, to create foraging potential for several species, including turkey, elk, deer, sage grouse and pronghorn.
The first phase of the project began in October 2024, just over a year after signing the stewardship agreement with the NWTF. This project was successfully carried out despite delays from wildfires in the area.
“We had some fires that started in July,” Piehl said. “As a result, the area was within the fire boundary, and, unfortunately, a lot of what had burned was the bitterbrush and mahogany we were trying to save. But I felt as though the treatment should still be done.”
Piehl and Gregg both worked hard to secure partner funding for the project, using several partners including the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Oregon NWTF State Chapter.
“When Robbie started the project, I helped him figure out who to partner with,” Gregg said. “Historically, NWTF has been a part of our program for a very long time, and we’ve used the NWTF for their administration capacity. They are a tried-and-true partner.”
Conservation Education, Individual: Mary Miller, Cherokee National Forest
The Conservation Education award recognizes excellence for substantial involvement in the planning and execution of conservation education programs over multiple years that highlight wild turkey restoration, management and conservation.
“Conservation education is one of my passions,” Miller said. “I believe it is one of the most important things that we can do, making sure people know about the natural world. If people don’t know how valuable forests are, then my fear is that when politicians question the validity of national forests, and people don’t know how important these places are to our planet and to our future, nothing is stopping them from saying we don’t need those spaces. It’s extremely important to make people understand how valuable all of these natural areas are. It’s a lifesaver.”
Miller, recently retired after 34 years, has worked with the Cherokee National Forest in a variety of roles including wildlife biologist, wildlife program manager and natural resources staff officer. Miller has been involved in the staffing of the Forest Service booths at NWTF conventions since 1995. She also worked directly with the NWTF since 1991, when she started working as a district wildlife biologist to accomplish habitat improvement work on the ground.
Over her 30 years, she partnered with NWTF to create and implement the Cherokee National Forest’s first stewardship agreement, with many to follow. Miller also worked with the NWTF to complete many acres of wild turkey habitat improvements, utilizing NWTF’s Super Fund program.
Dena Holmes Collaboration Award, Individual: Tara Umphires – USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region
The Dena Holmes Collaboration award recognizes accomplishments in strengthening and expanding the partnership between the Forest Service and NWTF. This prestigious award acknowledges excellence in partnership building, collaboration and trust building.
Umphires took over a small number of programs in her region related to shared stewardship, including the Rocky Mountain Restoration Initiative. She came with an extensive and varied background in fire and district responsibilities, which made her an immediate asset to RMRI. She stays up to date on the latest research, has a good feel for the public, and thoroughly understands wildfire suppression, fuels reduction and Forest Service processes and programs.
Because RMRI was new, Umphires was open to learning while navigating the important goals of RMRI. Soon, she also served as the region’s point of contact for the Wildfire Crisis Strategy.
When the NWTF began Wildfire Crisis Strategy work, including a component that supported existing mill infrastructure was critical. Umpdhires worked diligently with other people and programs within the region to work on a five-year strategy that would provide transparency and some continuity for fiber coming from the national forest.
“The talented staff that are receiving Making Tracks Awards this year demonstrates the breadth of our collaboration with the Forest Service, from the Finger Lakes in New York, to the mountains of Tennessee, to out West where we are making our forests more resilient and better for wildlife, and everywhere in between — we are proud to honor our Forest Service partners for critical work in our nation’s national forests and grasslands,” said NWTF co-CEO Kurt Dyroff.
About the National Wild Turkey Federation
Since 1973, the National Wild Turkey Federation has invested over half a billion dollars into wildlife conservation and has positively impacted over 24 million acres of critical wildlife habitat. The NWTF has also invested over $10 million into wild turkey research to guide the management of the wild turkey population and to ensure sustainable populations into perpetuity. The organization continues to deliver its mission by working across boundaries on a landscape scale through its Four Shared Values: clean and abundant water, healthy forests and wildlife habitat, resilient communities, and robust recreational opportunities. With the help of its dedicated members, partners and staff, the NWTF continues its work to provide Healthy Habitats. and Healthy Harvests. for future generations.