Our Impact

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At the National Wild Turkey Federation Texas Chapter, the outdoors isn’t just what’s on the other side of the glass, it’s where we feel most alive. And we’re making Texas the best it can be for the people and wildlife who call it home.

NWTF Texas and its partners have identified the most critical areas of habitat in the state. We are actively managing that land for the future of the wild turkey.

NWTF Texas and its partners recruit hunters and conservationists through hunter education and mentored hunts.

NWTF Texas supports public hunting access through lease programs, staying current on legislative issues that impact hunter access and working with landowners to garner access for hunting. 

Here are some of our recent success stories

Post Oak Savannah Restoration Project in Texas Complete

The NWTF and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recently completed a collaborative post oak savanna restoration project on the Gus Engeling Wildlife Management Area, a nearly 11,000-acre WMA purchased using Pittman-Robertson funds, in northwest Anderson County, Texas.

Post Oak Savannah habitats in Texas are a dwindling ecoregion found in the eastern part of the state and are comprised of thick grasses and forbes interspersed with oak species, making great forage and brood habitat for wild turkeys.

The project began in 2015 on a 2,000-acre section of the WMA with the removal of undesirable upland hardwood species, including post oak, blackjack oak, sandjack oak and black hickory. This reduction of the basal area (density of trees) through logging efforts allowed more sunlight to reach the forest floor, returning the post oak savanna ecoregion back to a more natural state and promoting beneficial habitat for wild turkeys and countless other wildlife.

The project also sold the marketable timber for more than $137,000, funds the NWTF held in a stewardship contract to be used for on-the-ground habitat management work that will maintain post oak savanna restoration efforts.

“We used those funds to do service work on the WMA by creating 3.4 miles of 75-foot-wide fire lines, conducting an herbicide treatment on 1,661 acres and promoting the use of prescribed burning,” said Annie Farrell, NWTF District Biologist.

“The NWTF has helped facilitate multiple wild turkey releases on the Gus Engeling WMA, and several NWTF chapters have held numerous wildlife field days for you there, too,” Farrell said. “Texas Parks and Wildlife Department continues to use the WMA as a demonstration area for Post Oak Savannah restoration.”

NWTF Texas Save the Habitat. Save The Hunt.

NWTF’s national habitat and hunting heritage initiative continues to move forward in the Lone Star State with habitat acres accruing in some of your NWTF Focal Landscapes and beyond from west to east, and north to south. Since 2014, we have enhanced or conserved over 100,037 acres of habitat on public and private lands through state and federal partnerships. As well, public access has been opened in Texas on 93,278 acres for that same time period with our assistance through hiring of three NWTF Private Lands Leasing Biologists for TPWD. UPDATE: TPWD has applied for new Voluntary Public Access Program money from USDA and if successful, will sign a new agreement with NWTF to host another new Private Land Leasing Biologist position (one) in Texas for ~3-4 years which would start on September 1st, 2020.

Lake Ray Roberts Public Hunting Land Access Projects

We completed additional hunter access projects in late summer at Lake Ray Roberts Public Hunting Land in Grayson, Cooke, and Denton Counties with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, including burning of brush piles, mowing of native vegetation on public dove hunting fields, installation of new fencing, signage, and gates, and parking areas. Many thanks to Ms. Annie Farrell for managing this project for improving hunter access. I hope that some of your readers/members in that area of the state have utilized those areas...really nicely done with your name on them.

Oaks & Prairies Joint Venture

Now that we’re well on the way to implementing a $2.95M grant from USDA-NRCS on behalf of the Oaks & Prairies Joint Venture to treat ~60,000 acres of grasslands and oak savannah habitat in Central Texas and Oklahoma, work with interested private landowners has begun. Total value of the 5-year project is $6M including private landowner contributions, and habitat for grass-land birds including northern bobwhite, white-tailed deer, Rio Grande wild turkeys will result chiefly from invasive woody plant removal and promotion of Rx burning/grazing to enhance land for wildlife and live-stock. This work is happening in partnership with state and federal agencies, plus other conservation organizations like Pheasants Forever, Inc./Quail Forever, Quail Coalition, and the Noble Research Institute, all on private working lands, farms and ranches.

Caddo-LBJ National Grasslands 5 Year Challenge Cost Share Agreement

National Wild Turkey Federation has now completed work (all current funding used) on the LBJ (Wise County) and Caddo (Fannin County) National Grasslands through a Challenge Cost Share Agreement. We are thankful for this opportunity to have partnered with U. S. Forest Service and proudly acknowledge Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas A&M Forest Service as excellent cooperators in this work. The U. S. Forest Service came behind all the mechanical work done during 2014-2018 on LBJ National Grassland and Caddo National Grassland WMA with extensive Rx burning operations to further add value to the 18work and monies expended. This is getting some good habitat reclamation work done for sure! UPDATE: We are a co-applicant for a new $2.2MJoint Chiefs’ Project to secure funding for continuation of this long term work there.

Standard Habitat Incentive Program Highlights

Through the FY19 Standard Habitat Incentive Program, we impacted 5,314acres of private lands for $138,534.88. Project treatments included prescribed fire, construction of fire breaks, herbicide application, hardwood tree planting, pine tree planting, mulching, and native grass establishment. Through the FY19 Neches River Habitat Incentive Program, specifically designed for habitat conservation for wild turkeys in the Neches River corridor, we treated 1,128acres with prescribed fire and herbicide for a total cost share assis-tance of $72,292.35to private landowners. Since the program began in 2017, the CDN and NWTF have treat-ed 6,858 acres for $340,167.15. In FY20, we have 20 projects planned, which if completed, will impact 5,483 acres for $222,142.47 of cost share assistance, where 84% of the practice acres are prescribed burning.

NWTF Texas 2020 Super Fund Highlights

On January 25th, 2020, the Texas State NWTF Chapter Board of Directors approved your annual Super Fund Budget with a working balance of $175,811. Highlights are:

Habitat Enhancement ($81,268) - TPWD Matador WMA riparian/upland enhancement is $5,000 of $20,000 total (Rolling Plains); TPWD Muse WMA brush removal/range seeding is $10,000 of $40,000 total (Rolling Plains); TPWD Twin Buttes Reservoir PHL aerial and mechanical brush control is $10,000 of $125,000 total (Edwards Plateau); TPWD James Daughtrey WMA aerial brush control is $5,000 of $20,000 total (South Texas); TPWD Alazan Bayou WMA Chinese tallow control is $8,000 of $32,000 total (Pineywoods); TPWD Caddo Lake WMA forestry mulching is $2,500 of $10,000 total (Pineywoods); and, USACE Lake Granger PHL fireguard installation and Rx burning is $7,000 of $26,700 total (Edwards Plateau) totaling $122,000 for on-the-ground work tied to these named TPWD Wildlife Management Areas due to 3:1 matching Pittman-Robertson federal aid funds; and, an additional $151,700 for on the ground work on designated TPWD Public Hunting Lands due to additional matching TPWD state funds, USACE funds, and Bureau of Reclamation funds, so that the total of all on-the-ground habitat work this year is $273,700. The cooperative NWTF East Texas District Biologist position support is $25,000 (with TPWD, USDA Forest Service, and NWTF), with an additional undesignated amount of $8,768 reserved in the Save the Habitat line item for flexibility with new opportunities that may arise during the year, and that must be approved by the Super Fund Committee on a case-by-case basis.

Education ($22,525) - Wild About Turkey education boxes were funded at $500, Texas State NWTF Newsletter is funded for $11,000, the NWTF-hosted state website is $400, a new item of State Marketing was funded at $3,000, a TPWD Cross Timbers Rio Grande wild turkey publication was funded at $3,125, a TPWD Panhandle Wildlife Conference sponsorship was funded at $1,000; and, volunteer travel for the NWTF National Leadership Conference to be held in conjunction with the National Convention is funded at $3,500.

Scholarships ($11,500) - Local chapter scholarships are $8,000 (up to 16 at $500), a statewide $2,500 scholarship is provided; and, a Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society collegiate scholarship was provided at $1,000.

Youth Events ($7,000) - JAKES events are provided $2,000 at $500 each, plus $1,000 from the Outreach Fund; Youth Shooting Sports events are $3,000 at $500 each; and, National Archery in the Schools Program is $2,000 at $500 each.

Hunting Heritage ($18,768) - The American Hunting Heritage Fund is provided for at $5,000; the Outdoors Tomorrow Program is funded at $5,000; and, an additional undesignated amount of $8,768 is reserved in the Save the Hunt line item for flexibility with new opportunities that may arise during the year that must be approved by the Super Fund Committee on a case-by-case basis.

Wild Turkey Restoration ($4,000) - Funding to assist TPWD Eastern wild turkey restoration costs (shipping costs, disease testing, fuel, per diem) is $4,000 and accumulates for future years if needed.

Women In The Outdoors ($1,000) - Statewide WITO events are $1,000 at $500 each with supplemental funding by the Outreach Fund of an additional $1,000.

Habitat Signage ($3,000) - $3,000 for statewide habitat restoration work by Texas NWTF and with partners is provided.

Wheelin’ Sportsmen ($1,000) - Statewide Wheelin’ Sportsmen events are funded at $1,000 ($500 each) plus $1,000 from the Outreach Fund.

Other ($10,000) - State Chapter membership rebate is ~$5,000; Turkey Hunters Care is $1,000 at no more than $250 per chapter (½ of $500 for frozen turkeys); TPWD Tech Rep travel to National Convention and regional tech meetings is $2,000; support for Texas Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus work is $1,000; and, the 2020 Bronze Level Sponsorship for TPWD’s Lone Star Land Steward Awards Program is $1,000.

National Convention ($15,750) - Up to $15,750 is provided for travel to send the Texas State Chapter President, volunteer leaders (board members), the TPWD State Game Warden (NWTF Wildlife Officer of the Year), and the NWTF Joe Kurz Wildlife Manager of the Year.

Our Texas Super Fund year is January 1st through December 31st of each year. Project proposal submission deadline for next year’s budget is November 1st, 2020. Contact or Annie Farrell (afarrell@nwtf.net) or Gene T. Miller (gmiller@nwtf.net) for a NWTF Hunting Heritage Super Fund Project Proposal form with instructions (electronic submission preferred) and any questions.

Prepared by Gene T. Miller, CWB®