National Wild Turkey Federation
founded in 1973
Edgefield, South Carolina
- from about 1.3 million wild turkeys in North America
– after decades of dedicated work more than 6 million turkeys - almost 250,000 NWTF members
- Save The Habitat, Save The Hunt
National Wild Turkey Federation
Post Office Box 530
Edgefield, South Carolina 29824-0530
(800) THE-NWTF(843-6983)
nwtf.org
About NWTF
The National Wild Turkey Federation is a hunter-driven conservation group dedicated to the wild turkey and to preserving hunting heritage. It was chartered on March 28, 1973, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, by Tom Rodgers, an insurance salesman and syndicated outdoor writer, and moved that same year to South Carolina, where it is headquartered in Edgefield. When the NWTF began there were about 1.3 million wild turkeys in North America. Through research, habitat work and partnerships with wildlife agencies, the federation helped bring the bird back to more than 6 million today, a recovery the NWTF calls one of America’s greatest conservation stories.
The NWTF counts more than 250,000 members and volunteers. Its Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. initiative, launched in 2012, conserved or enhanced more than 4 million acres, recruited more than 1.5 million new or lapsed hunters and opened nearly 668,000 acres to hunting by 2020, two years ahead of schedule. Its JAKES youth, Women in the Outdoors and Wheelin’ Sportsmen programs bring new people into hunting, and its Edgefield campus includes the Winchester Museum. Co-CEOs Jason Burckhalter and Kurt Dyroff have led the group since 2022.
Key Facts
- March 28, 1973: NWTF chartered in Fredericksburg, Virginia
- 1981: JAKES youth program established
- 1998: Women in the Outdoors program and the Winchester Museum open
- 2012: Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. launched
- 2020: Initiative goals met two years ahead of schedule
- 2022: 20-year stewardship agreement with the USDA Forest Service
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Sources
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