The National Wild Turkey Federation has been a conservation leader and hunter advocate for nearly 50 years. During this time, we have never experienced the level of financial concern as we face today.

Due to COVID-19 and the resulting halt of our fundraising events this spring, the NWTF has experienced a near catastrophic loss of revenue that has forced us to cut operational expenses to ensure the sustainable financial health of the organization. As a result, we have laid off over 50 staff. The loss of these dedicated, passionate individuals is extremely difficult for the Flock. They are friends, colleagues, mentors and members, and we will miss them greatly and pray for them.

We are reaching out to our volunteer chapters, partners and supporters to discuss our plans moving forward, including how their areas will be staffed. We hope to have most of these details sorted out soon.

Fundraising events are ramping up again, and we are now safely holding banquets and other events with fewer than 250 people, following all local, state and national guidelines to protect our guests, members and staff. In addition, we will continue online fundraising efforts, including a new capital funding campaign, Call for All.
We still have a steep hill to climb to recover from the effects of the pandemic, and we have a major goal ahead of us to raise at least $5 million by the end of August. Together, we can get there, but we need the help of our members, donors, friends and partners like never before.

We sincerely hope you will join with us and answer the Call for All by renewing your membership, attending an event or online fundraiser or making a donation today.

Sincerely,

Becky Humphries
NWTF CEO

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) is asking the public to be on the lookout for spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect with the potential to seriously affect Michigan’s agriculture and natural resources. This insect could damage or kill more than 70 varieties of crops and plants including grapes, apples, hops and hardwood trees. To date, spotted lanternfly has not been detected in Michigan.

First found in the United States in 2014 in southeastern Pennsylvania, spotted lanternfly has been spreading rapidly across the nation. Infestations have been confirmed in Delaware, Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia.

“Spotted lanternfly could negatively impact our grape industry,” said Robert Miller, invasive species prevention and response specialist for MDARD. “But it also has the potential to damage stone fruits, apples and other crops in Michigan’s fruit belt as well as important timber species statewide.”

Spotted lanternfly egg masses resemble old chewing gum, with a gray, waxy, putty-like coating. Hatched eggs appear as brownish, seed-like deposits. Spotted lanternfly nymphs are wingless, beetle-like and black with white spots, developing red patches as they mature. Adults are roughly 1 inch long. Their folded wings are gray to brown with black spots. Open wings reveal a yellow and black abdomen and bright red hind wings with black spots transitioning to black and white bands at the edge.

“Prevention and early detection are vital to limiting the spread of spotted lanternfly,” said Miller. “Spotted lanternfly cannot fly long distances, but they lay eggs on nearly any surface, including cars, trailers, firewood and outdoor furniture. Before leaving an area where a quarantine is present, check vehicles, firewood and outdoor equipment for unwanted hitchhikers.” Read more

Read more

By Glen Wunderlich

Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

When I think about personal experiences over the past six decades and how they’ve formed the person I’ve become, they all share a common element:  discovery; some of it originated with friends and some with family.  But, the best moments of discovery came from people who took the time to pass on a certain skill or piece of knowledge.

When I was an emerging baseball pitcher in the early 60s, a friend of the family taught me the art of tossing a knuckle ball.  It was a different kind of pitch:  Nobody knew where that dancing ball was going – not the catcher, hitter or even I could predict its path.  That’s the nature of a knuckle ball, but it sure was fun confounding everyone.

And, the English teachers in elementary school had a way of driving certain principles of our complicated language into our brains – some of which remains spot-on 60 years later.  Here’s one:  To show possession of any noun, add an apostrophe “s”, except if the noun is plural and ends in “s”, just add an apostrophe.  That’s it, word for word.  How it hurts to see that little apostrophe misplaced by today’s professionals.

However, it was our neighbors next door who took me fishing with them for the first time.  Oh, how excited I was to learn how to use those archaic closed-faced reels.  A few years later I would hitchhike regularly to Upper Straits Lake in Oakland County, where I would rent a rowboat from Bill Shaw.  The only boat I’ve ever owned still takes me on adventures by means of arm-strong power and oars.

Now, with the great-grandkids leaving the big city to stay with me for a few days, the opportunity to impart a bit of outdoors wisdom to them is a responsibility worthy of doing it right.  It seems so long ago – although only one year has passed – that I spent a few hours on a lake with my great-grandson in that same little boat.

However, this summer’s visit will include my great-grandson’s two younger twin sisters, and for the first time, they will be camping outdoors.  As Americans are recreating less outside and have gone on a billion fewer outings in 2018 than they did only a decade ago, we are going to buck that ominous trend.  So what if the adventure is in our backyard?  To the youngsters it will be a rustic getaway far, far away from games that exercise only thumbs.

What makes it exciting for me is the idea of introducing the kids to the overflowing wildlife we have in our midst and sometimes take for granted.

A year ago, I was struck by one of the twin’s excited reaction as she noticed a cottontail rabbit, dashing away from the four-wheeler we were on together.  I thought to myself that I would open the door to the wild world for them when the time was right.

Now, that time has come and camp preparations have already begun.  We’ll be alone together under the stars amid the coyotes, turkeys and whitetail deer.  A campfire, a tent, sleeping bags, hot dogs and marshmallows are sure to make an indelible mark on the impressionable minds.  And, nobody knows where the experience may lead.

Raising awareness/donations for expansion of national pollinator habitat

St. Paul, MN – Coinciding with National Pollinator Week, June 22-28, Pheasants Forever and the Monarch Joint Venture are hosting a virtual Miles for Monarchs nationwide event to raise awareness around the decline of native pollinators, while generating much-needed financial support to advance pollinator conservation work throughout the country.

Miles for Monarchs is an exciting way to support monarch butterflies and associated pollinator habitat through athletic activities. By way of running, walking, biking, hiking or paddling through monarch regions of the United States, individuals and families can help raise critical funds for monarch research, education, and habitat projects.

“Pollinator Week festivities may look a little different this year, but there is still so much work to carry forward and fun to be had in sharing your support for pollinators,” stated Wendy Caldwell, executive director of the Monarch Joint Venture. “Miles for Monarchs makes it easy to choose any type of exercise you love, see how far you can ‘migrate’ during pollinator week, and help tell the story of pollinators and your support for them throughout your network. Registering to be a part of Miles for Monarchs not only supports monarchs and their amazing annual migrations, it supports the many other pollinators, wildlife, and plants who share the same habitats.” Read more

Recovery of the Eastern Migratory Population of Whooping Cranes continues to gain momentum as spring nesting winds down after at least 21 pairs nested in Wisconsin this spring. The current estimated Eastern Migratory Population size is 83, which includes 40 females, 40 males, 3 Whoopers of unknown sex to date. To the best of biologists’ knowledge, at least 75 Whooping Cranes are in Wisconsin, 4 are in Michigan, and 1 is in Illinois, while three other Whoopers’ locations have not been confirmed during the past month.

Of the 83 Whooping Cranes in this reintroduced Eastern Migratory Population, 14 were wild raised by nesting pairs, showing a significant level of success among the reintroduced population. The other 69 Whoopers in the wild population were captive-reared and reintroduced to the wild as part of the Eastern recovery project.

The above population totals do not include this year’s newly hatched Whoopers, but biologists have ascertained that at least 21 pairs nested in Wisconsin this spring and at least 14 eggs hatched. One of the problems with North America’s Whooping Cranes is that they reproduce very slowly.

The primary Whooping Crane population nests in Wood Buffalo National Park and the surrounding area in Canada, where Northwest Territories meets the northeast border of Alberta. This population that numbers about 500 Whooping Cranes migrates south through the Great Plains to wintering range centered at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf Coast of Texas.

The monumental bird conservation project to reintroduce the Eastern Migratory Population of Whooping Cranes has been led by the International Crane Foundation, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and state departments of natural resources from states along the migration route of this reintroduced population of Whooping Cranes. For more information about the Eastern Migratory Population of Whooping Cranes and the work being conducted by the International Crane Foundation around the world, see https://www.savingcranes.org/whooping-crane-eastern-population-update-june-2020/

Wildlife biologists and technicians with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources have been tracking reports of a bull elk spotted in the south-central part of the Upper Peninsula in Menominee County.

The young elk was reported first by a private landowner June 6, within about 10 miles of the Wisconsin border. Since then, there have been several additional sightings, including some unconfirmed reports of an accompanying cow elk.

The presence of the bull elk has been confirmed with photographs. Read more

DALLAS — Several weeks ago, DSC and DSC Foundation launched the Hunters CARE (COVID Anti-poaching Relief Effort) program. The purpose of the Hunters CARE program is to expeditiously deploy funds to on-the-ground anti-poaching efforts during these trying times.

The world has been immeasurably impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the conservation community has not been immune to its far-reaching consequences. As a result of hunt cancellations and postponements, hunting operators have been left with limited income to maintain their anti-poaching presence in their critical wildlife areas.

Corey Mason, DSC executive director, says, “Everyone recognizes the significant impact that COVID has had around the world from financial strain to loss of employment. The same is true across the African continent in which hunters’ dollars have not flown to Africa and they have not been there in the sense of employment as well. As unemployment has increased, so has the need for people to head to the bush to try to feed their family.”

DSC and DSC Foundation created the Hunters CARE program with the aim to quickly alleviate the fallout that COVID-19 has had on our important partners in the field. To date, the Hunters CARE program has helped secure over 16 million acres of habitat across seven different African countries and maintain the employment of more than 370 anti-poaching scouts. Read more