NWTF Montana Pledges $17,000 to Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. in 2014

National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) chapters in Montana budgeted more than $17,000 to further the new Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. initiative within the state in 2014.

The NWTF’s Montana State Chapter board of directors reviewed and allocated funding. Valuable partners will provide $305,000 in match funding.

“The Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. initiative is supported by our state boards and chapter members,” said Becky Humphries, executive vice president of conservation. “Hunting Heritage Super Fund money is critical to implementing the initiative, and investing in focal landscapes and hunter recruitment.”

The NWTF’s Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. initiative is a charge that mobilizes science, fundraising and devoted volunteers to give the NWTF more energy and purpose than ever. Through this national initiative, NWTF has committed to raising $1.2 billion to conserve and enhance more than 4 million acres of essential upland wildlife habitat, create at least 1.5 million new hunters and open access to 500,000 new acres for hunting, shooting and outdoor enjoyment. Without hunters, there will be no wildlife or habitat. The NWTF is determined to Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt.

The board of directors dedicated $15,000 in NWTF funding to proposed Hunting Heritage Super Fund projects that focus specifically on saving habitat; $2,167 will support projects to save hunting.

These projects will save vital habitat in Montana. Funding includes:

• $4,000 to support U.S. Forest Service (USFS) fuel-reduction treatments and wildlife habitat enhancement on the Ashland Ranger District of Custer National Forest.
• $3,500 to reduce fuel through prescribed fire on the Frenchtown Face Prescribed Fire Project on Lolo National Forest.
• $3,000 to enhance wildlife habitat by supporting Bureau of Land Management fuel-reduction treatments on Tin Can Hill Travel Management Area and Musselshell Breaks Watershed in Petroleum County.
• $2,500 to help USFS plant native forbs and shrubs on Bitterroot National Forest in southwest Montana.
• $2,000 to improve riparian areas through the NWTF’s Northern Plains Riparian Restoration Initiative.

The following projects support education, outreach and hunter access efforts in Montana. Funding includes:

• $1,000 to help secure an easement at Cub Creek for hunters to access USFS land on the Custer National Forest near Ashland.
• $667 to uphold outdoor traditions in the Manhattan School District through the National Archery in the Schools Program.
• $500 to support Montana’s Audubon Conservation Education Center classes at Pompeys Pillar National Monument.

For more information, visit www.nwtf.org or contact Melanie Swearingen at mswearingen@nwtf.net or (803) 637-7634.

National Wild Turkey Federation

The National Wild Turkey Federation is the leader in upland wildlife habitat conservation in North America. The NWTF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving the wild turkey and preserving our hunting heritage.

Through dynamic partnerships with state, federal and provincial wildlife agencies, the NWTF and its members have helped restore wild turkey populations throughout North America, spending more than $331 million to conserve nearly 16 million acres of habitat. Wild turkeys and hundreds of other species of upland wildlife, including quail, deer, grouse, pheasant and songbirds, benefit from this improved habitat.

The NWTF also brings new conservationists and hunters into the fold through outdoor education events and its Women in the Outdoors, Wheelin' Sportsmen, JAKES and Xtreme JAKES youth outreach programs. Our dedicated NWTF volunteers introduce about 100,000 people to the outdoors through these programs every year.

Founded in 1973, the NWTF is headquartered in Edgefield, S.C., and has local chapters in every state and Canada. According to many state and federal agencies, the restoration of the wild turkey is arguably the greatest conservation success story in North America's wildlife history.