Show-Me Gobbler A Tri-Annual Publication of the George C. Clark Missouri Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation Volume 36 Number 3 • December 2017 Making New Hunters Through Hunter Education Programs One of the Missouri State Chapters goals outlined in the Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. 10 year plan is to recruit, retain, or reactivate (R3) 20,000 hunt- ers by the year 2023. Two of the primary strategies to achieve this goal is to provide mentored hunt- ing opportunities and assist with hunter education program delivery. This past summer your super fund dollars helped support the Discover Nature Girls Camps that occurred in all 8 MDC regions. Annually, these camps are designed to provide 20-50 girls ages 11-15 with a weekend of outdoor education, exposure to a variety of outdoor related activities, and their hunter education training and certification. This past summer, 250 girls attended 30 young ladies, their chaperones, and MDC Conservation Agent Brian Bartlett are pictured at one of the 8 Discover Nature Girls Camps hosted by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and sponsored by the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), the Missouri these 8 camps, received their hunter education Conservation Heritage Foundation (MCHF) and a host of other supporters. certification, and were a part of the R3 effort here in Missouri. For more information about similar events go to: https://mdc-event-web.s3licensing.com/ conservation sales tax that provides 60% of the Missouri Saving the Hunt Department of Conservations operating revenue to provide the services we depend upon. However, the ma- The NWTF is one of many conservation based nongov- jority of the remaining funding necessary is still hunter ernmental organizations (NGO’s) here in Missouri that dependent and most other states don’t have this source all do great work in “Saving the Habitat.” Missouri also and are even more dependent upon hunter numbers for probably does a better job than most anywhere else in their funding. working collaboratively with one another to maximize our effectiveness in moving the needle for conservation. Of equal importance in keeping hunter numbers grow- At the halfway point of our 10 year strategic plan, we ing is the strength of our collective voice. The North are on track to accomplish our goal of conserving and American Model of Wildlife Conservation is founda- enhancing 300,000 acres towards the national goal of tional to why we have the wildlife resources that prob- achieving 4 million acres. This is great news and your ably most of us take for granted. Because even many hard work and commitment at the local level has made hunters cannot explain what the model is and how the 7 this happen. basic principles function, some of the key elements are increasingly being challenged. As our numbers shrink Although all of our goals both nationally and at the state our ability to effectively stand up to these challenges is level have been aggressive, what has turned out to be the weakened. most challenging are our recruitment, retention, and reactivation goals (R3). At the national level, we set 1.5 Although Missouri leads the country in R3, being million hunters created as the 10 year goal with 20,000 one of only a few states that actually gains more hunt- being Missouri’s portion. ers than we lose, even Missouri is just slightly ahead of even. Agency directors from across the country are Hunter creation goals were part of the 10 year plan be- very concerned about what the next 10 years will bring. cause of the important link between hunters and conser- The current trend indicates that as the years tick by and vation. Although most folks are at least somewhat aware more baby boomers cycle out, we are rapidly approach- of how hunters provide an important revenue stream for ing a threshold, below which, this system will no longer conservation, most are probably not aware of the impor- function effectively. tant details. In addition to the license fees themselves, the excise taxes placed on their sporting arms, ammuni- Our efforts have us in the top 10 states in the country in tion, and archery equipment are portioned back to the R3. However, we have consistently fallen short of achiev- Saving the hunt is a multigenerational effort. states based upon a formula that includes the size of the ing our annual goals. Missouri chapters do a great job of state as well as the number of hunters the state sells li- executing our outreach programs (JAKES, WITO, and censes to. We are blessed in Missouri with the design for Wheel’n) and this will always be an important part of continued on next page 2 Show-Me Gobbler — 2017 President’s Report As I sit to write It’s been a horrific year for loss of our natu- this report this ral resources due to terrible wildfires here in the beautiful Thanks- United States. Not only the amount of wildfires giving Day, I has increased but also the amount of damage reflect on things from those fires. Research on the cause of such that I am thankful catastrophic fires, has pointed to hotter and drier for. Our families weather conditions, longer fire seasons, a lack of of course and active forest management, underfunding of the wonderful friends U.S. Forest Service’s forest health and restoration that’s always there programs, as well as legal battles. for us. To live in SHOW-ME this great country, Our State Chapter Presidents from all over the where we can nation, sent letters to our congress encouraging worship as we choose, bear arms, hunt, fish and all them to support the Resilient Federal Forest Act of 2017, along with many of our members calling their GOBBLER the things we each enjoy on a regular basis. All of R.L. Bennett, President Regional Biologist this is because of our Veterans, past and present. representatives. It was amazing that the passage of this very important legislation was not one sided, P. O. Box 1186 John Burk THANK YOU VETERANS. Nixa, MO 65714 573-676-5994 but hard work across the party lines. As we say in H: 417-725-1973 [email protected] It has been an exciting and eventful year at the the NWTF, when we work hard together for a com- C: 417-840-3949 NWTF. Our National Board hired a new CEO, mon goal, it’s amazing what we can accomplish. We Regional Director [email protected] Tim Besancenez Becky Humphrey. They asked Becky to take a good thank congress for their hard work and encourage Chairman of the Board 2710 Eagles Drive look at our expenditures and projected income, to them to continue to work across party lines to solve Tim Brooks Pacific, MO 63069 see if we need to make changes, in order to make problems all across this great Nation. Working 1809 Michael Dr. 636-257-7121 us stronger as a organization. After much consid- alone we accomplish little, but working together we Louisiana, MO 63353 [email protected] eration, it was determined to cut several jobs at our can accomplish much. 573-754-6692 Regional Director headquarters in Edgefield, South Carolina. As we [email protected] Larry Neal at the NWTF, continue working to streamline our In this issue there is bio’s of our members run- Dan Zerr V. President 2780 Hwy. V expenditures, in order to use more of every dollar ning for election to our NWTF State Board of 8522 Orf Rd Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 our volunteers raise to further our mission and our Directors, along with a ballot. I would encourage Lake St. Louis, MO 63367 573-334-8881 latest initiative SAVE THE HABITAT. SAVE THE each of you to vote and mail your ballots in. (636) 625-1608 [email protected] [email protected] HUNT. I have the utmost confidence in our Na- Regional Director I would like to wish each of you a very Merry Brian Duckett, Secretary Mike Allen tional Board and CEO to make the NWTF stronger Christmas and the greatest of New Year. than ever before. 120 Foxtree Dr. 20240 State Highway J. Hazelwood, MO 63042 Brashear, MO 63533 R. L. Bennett, President (314) 574-9213 660-323-5531 George Clark MO State NWTF Chapter [email protected] [email protected] Bernard R. (Bernie) Grice, Jr. Regional Director 1213 Marcassin Drive Derek Payne Saving the Hunt continued from page 1. Columbia, MO 65201-7224 (East KS-West MO) H: 573-445-6967 714 E 16th St who we are. However, we need to focus more attention Mentored hunts: Fax 573-445-8515 Kearney, MO 64060 on taking these introductory programs to the next C: 573-268-0453 Cell: 573-999-4574 level and provide more mentored hunting experiences - Name [email protected] Editor/Designer in an effort to seriously work on bringing new folks - Chapter affiliation [email protected] Joe Pendergrass into the hunting community. - Date of hunt (can be approximate i.e. Show Me More Outdoors 2017 deer rifle season, etc.) 573-368-1402 An additional challenge that we have faced nationally - Number of new hunters created [email protected] in delivering our 10 year plan has been getting the re- sults of the events and mentored hunting experiences STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: The Show-Me Gobbler is published three times recorded. Please help us do a better job of tracking the per year by the George C. Clark Missouri State Chapter of the National Wild Needed for hunter education info is: Turkey Federation and is circulated statewide to its membership as well as other great things that you are accomplishing.