Why the preservation of our
hunting heritage matters
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Photo by Matt Lindler |
What is the NWTF?
We are an organization dedicated to the conservation of the wild turkey and the preservation of our hunting heritage.
But who is the NWTF?
We are sportsmen, women and children who care deeply about our natural resources and the wild places we love to hunt.
We cherish the memory of the ridge top gobbler we hunted last spring and fondly remember the cornfield where we saw that big buck at sunset two years ago.
Some of us follow bird dogs through waving stands of grass from south Georgia to Montana in pursuit of bobwhite quail and pheasant.
And most of us would rather spend a bitterly cold winter morning knee deep in a flooded oak flat or beaver pond than waste that morning in a warm bed.
We know why we hunt, but why are so many of us driven to make others understand our passion? Why does a conservation organization put just as much emphasis on our hunting heritage?
Sure, JAKES events and Wheelin' Sportsmen hunts are rewarding and moving to participating volunteers. Women in the Outdoors events are fun, watching ladies learn the skills necessary to feel comfortable on outdoor excursions.
But what does carrying a kid, woman or disabled hunter into the woods to shoot a turkey really have to do with conservation?
The connection is the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. This model, which was developed over the last 100 years, has effectively restored wildlife to its highest levels in the last century. It was made possible by dedicated hunters.
Without hunters spending hard-earned cash on guns and ammunition, bows and arrows, and hunting licenses, there would be no money to hire the wildlife biologists, conservation officers and foresters necessary to complete the restoration of so many wildlife species. In order to save wildlife species and the wild places where we love to hunt them, we have to have hunters.
No other civilization or nation has lost their wildlife resources and then rebuilt them like we have. It has not happened in Europe, Asia or Africa. We have the most successful model to sustain healthy wildlife populations, and it all depends on a public that loves hunting and loves the animals they hunt.
We must raise the next generation of hunters to understand what it is like to stand on the edge of a forest opening and listen to a gobbling wild turkey and cherish it and want to protect it for their children.
In order to raise this type of citizen, we have to train them. And we have to train moms and dads who may not have experienced hunting during their youth.
So many kids today have no idea how much they would love the hunting experience because no one has taken them.
I encourage all our volunteers and chapters to get involved with the NWTF outreach programs. Hold a JAKES or Women in the Outdoors event. Sponsor a Wheelin' Sportsmen participant on a hunt, or just take someone hunting who has never been.
As conservationists, we have to make time to introduce new people to hunting and fishing. Our lifestyle depends on it. And while participating in this oldest of human activities, we are also ensuring the survival of all the animals that we so dearly love to pursue. — James Earl Kennamer, Ph.D.