EDGEFIELD, S.C.— The Alabama State Chapter of the NWTF recently approved its Super Fund allocations for 2022, apportioning $122,000 over the course of the year, which will be leveraged to $602,358.25 in partner match and impact nearly 100,000 acres throughout Alabama.
2022 funds will be used to aid much of the collaborative work the NWTF is engaged in throughout the state, including projects with Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, USDA Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy and the Longleaf Alliance, in addition to funding wild turkey research and NWTF Hunting Heritage events.
Of the total allocations, $60,676 will be specifically used to aid the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division for conservation projects throughout the state, primarily on wildlife management areas.
“We thank the NWTF and the Alabama Chapter Board of Directors for helping to support the conservation of wild turkeys in Alabama,” said Chris Blankenship, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Commissioner. “With their assistance we will continue working to ensure the future of this resource for generations to come.”
Working at both a regional and landscape scale, the NWTF’s conservation projects in Alabama are far-reaching. NWTF’s support to the Longleaf Alliance’s Ecosystem Support Team is part of the larger America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative. Working within the 1.3 million-acre Gulf Coast Plain Ecosystem Partnership landscape in southern Alabama, this team assists with habitat restoration, prescribed burning, invasive species control and other restoration practices on public and private land.
“A significant portion of our investment in Alabama is helping fund the equipment necessary for conservation delivery,” said Derek Alkire, NWTF District Biologist for Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee. “2022 will be a great year for conservation delivery in Alabama, but we are also investing in the ability to do it year after year by ensuring agencies and other organizations have the right tools and resources to do it.”
Moreover, the NWTF Alabama State Chapter is proud to allocate funds raised through its License Plate Fund to numerous NWTF Hunting Heritage related activities, including JAKES memberships for youth, support for the National Archery in the Schools Program, shooting sport events, scholarships and more.
“It’s safe to say that our mission to conserve the wild turkey and preserve our hunting heritage is alive and well in Alabama,” Alkire said. “It is thanks to our tremendous volunteers, partners and supporters that we are able to make such an impact in this great state.”
About the National Wild Turkey Federation
When the National Wild Turkey Federation was founded in 1973, there were about 1.3 million wild turkeys in North America. After decades of work, that number hit a historic high of almost 7 million turkeys. To succeed, the NWTF stood behind science-based conservation and hunters’ rights. Today, the NWTF is focused on the future of hunting and conservation through its Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. initiative. Since 2012, this 10-year initiative has already eclipsed goals of conserving or enhancing more than 4 million acres of essential wildlife habitat, recruiting or retaining more than 1.5 million hunters and opening access to more than 500,000 acres for hunting and other recreation opportunities. This critical work will continue to impact wildlife habitat and our great outdoors in the final years of the initiative.
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Source: Huntinglife
