The National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI) and the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), both requiring the creation and management of early successional habitat for success, renewed their commitment to working together at the 2017 Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ annual conference in Sandy, Utah recently.
Jim Douglas, director of Nebraska Game & Parks and vice chair of the NBCI Management Board, and Becky Humphries, NWTF’s chief executive officer, signed the commitment.
Both groups share mutual goals for upland wildlife habitat enhancement and restoration across public and private lands. Both organizations have designated focal regions in which to concentrate their efforts and, in many cases, there are commonalities, creating opportunities for collaboration and coordination in implementation.
“Both our efforts are habitat-based and early successional habitat is critical for both organizations,” said NBCI Director Don McKenzie. “There is a substantial overlap in habitat requirements for both bobwhites and wild turkeys. It’s only logical that we look at those overlaps and work together wherever possible for the benefit of both species.”
“Setting the stage for future collaborative habitat projects with partners as important to us as the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative is truly exciting,” said NWTF CEO Humphries. “Our march to achieve our mission to Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. takes all of us working towards a common goal and it takes partners like the NBCI.”
About NBCI
Headquartered at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture’s Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, NBCI is an initiative of the National Bobwhite Technical Committee (NBTC) to elevate bobwhite quail recovery from an individual state-by-state proposition to a coordinated, range-wide leadership endeavor working at regional and national levels. The committee is comprised of representatives of 25 state wildlife agencies, various academic research institutions and private conservation organizations. Support for NBCI is provided by the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Program, state wildlife agencies, the Joe Crafton Family Endowment for Quail Initiatives, the University of Tennessee, Quail and Upland Game Alliance, Park Cities Quail and Roundstone Native Seed.For more information, visit bringbackbobwhites.org.
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 – a charge that mobilizes science, fundraising and devoted volunteers to conserve or enhance more than 4 million acres of essential wildlife habitat, recruit at least 1.5 million hunters and open access to 500,000 acres for hunting. For more information, visit NWTF.org.
