EDGEFIELD, SC — The Missouri State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation recently met in Columbia to review Hunting Heritage Super Fund project proposals for the 2023 funding awards. After the review and ranking process, the Proposals were presented to and approved by the Missouri Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors budgeted $119,223 for conservation projects and $76,200 for Hunting Heritage-related projects, including educational outreach events, chapter scholarships, support of 4H Shooting Sports, and hunts.
Funds awarded by NWTF will be matched with nearly $500,000 in partner funds for approved projects, representing a 5:1 match ratio.
“We have great partners and great volunteers here in Missouri who annually keep us at the top of the leader board in dollars raised and mission accomplishments,” said John Burk, NWTF district biologist for Missouri, Illinois and Iowa. turkey is real, and these new allocations are examples of effective measures being put in place to address the problem.”
Conservation projects receiving funding include:
- Unlimited $30,000 donation to the Conservation Program for use in Missouri.
- $5,000 for the Mark Twain National Forest to conduct invasive non-native species control on a 135-acre site plus 18 miles of right-of-way.
- $10,000 to support cost-share work on an estimated 1,000 acres of private land in the MO/IA Oaks Focal Landscape.
- $7,100 to support cost-share work on an estimated 1,000 acres of private land in the Missouri River Hills.
- $10,000 to purchase native warm-season grass seeders for the Gasconade and Miller County Soil and Water Conservation Districts.
- $12,000 to help restore 500 acres of native warm-season grass in the Big Muddy National Wildlife Refuge.
- $6,667 to help purchase a UTV that will be used primarily to burn 1,000 acres a year in Missouri’s national wildlife refuge system.
- $2,800 to help establish a 16-acre warm-season native grass field on a Mark Twain Lake turkey management unit.
- $5,000 to help purchase a fully stocked prescribed burn trailer for the newly established Mid Missouri Prescribed Burn Association.
- $10,000 to provide general financial support for the Missouri Prescribed Fire Council.
- $4,556 to help purchase a tiller to create pollinator plots on private land.
Partners include Pheasants and Quail Forever, Mid Missouri Prescribed Burn Association, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Mark Twain Lake Forest Council, US Fish and Wildlife Service, NWTF Iowa State Chapter, NWTF Illinois State Chapter, Gasconade, and Miller Soil and Water Conservation. Districts, Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation, Missouri Department of Conservation, and USDA Forest Service, among others.
About the National Wild Turkey Federation
Since 1973, the National Wild Turkey Federation has invested more than half a billion dollars in wildlife conservation and has conserved or enhanced more than 22 million acres of critical wildlife habitat. The organization continues to advance wildlife conservation, forest resiliency, and robust recreational opportunities across the US by working across borders at the landscape scale. Today, the NWTF is investing heavily in wild turkey research to ensure the future of wild turkey populations and is working to ensure Healthy Habitats and Healthy Crops.