MA State Chapter Founded 1983

Mission statement: To Protect our Hunting Heritage and Conserve the Wild Turkey resource and its habitat throughout the state of Massachusetts!

Every hunter in Massachusetts should join the NWTF, especially those who enjoy hunting turkeys.

MA State Chapter - Major Accomplishements:
Hunt Safety Stickers: The state chapter purchases thousands of these stickers for the Mass Department of Fish & Wildlife. We are proud to help make the sport of Turkey Hunting in MA safer through this contribution.

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM: We'll eventually provide 3 PDF
forms with instruction on how to mail an application to your local chapter: Scholarship award amounts are:
Local Chapter Scholarship $250
State Chapter Scholarship $1000
National Scholarship award $10,000.
If interested contact MA State Chapter President Brian Korte (his info is found on the Meet the Board page) or contact your local chapter President (Their info is also on the Meet the Board page).
What info do we need for a person to apply for a Local, MA State & National Scholarships?
Who is elgible: HS Seniors - persuing a college education in an outdoor related field. Must be a member of the NWTF?
What: $250 Local Chapter, $1000 State Scholarship, $10,000 National - Scholarship Award.
When: What date do they need to apply by - decision date?
Where: Please send your application to your local chapter president and cc the State Chapter President?
Why: We provide this funding to help encourage youth to focus on careers that will help our cause.
How: They write a paper telling us their College aspirations.
Need their Full Name, Mailing Address, Phone,
NWTF Membership # __________________________________ from their current membership card.

Mt. Watatic: The State Board Appropriated $5,000
to forever protect land on Mt. Watatic.

Poland Brook WMA The State Board Appropriated $10,000 to convert 25 acres of overgrown forest land into early successional forest habitat ideally designed to provide habitat for American woodcock & turkeys in the Poland Brook Wildlife Management Area. This project serves as a model for cooperative habitat work between conservation organizations and state agencies.

Food Plots: Habitat enhancement undertaken by members.

Johnny Appleseed: Planting Crab Apple Trees to serve as a winter food source.

Jakes Events: Every year numerous JAKES events occur within the state of MA. These events serve to educate our Youth on outdoor activities and safety. It enriches their lives and creates bonds between families. Expose a child close to you to one of these events and enjoy a day of fishing, BB Gun & 22 Rifle Shooting, Turkey Calling, Archery, Muzzleloading and other outdoor skills. Check the EVENTS section to see when your next youth event will take place.

Donation of 13 Bows & dozens of arrows to start an Archery In The Schools program at the Muddy Brook Elementrary & Monument Mountain Middle Schools located in the Berkshire Hills of MA.

Youth Hunting initiative and mentoring:

Sponsoring Youth Shooting through the purchase of targets and ammunition to support a competitive youth team.

Donations to Shooting Ranges: Example - the Lee Sportsman's Club in Lee, MA. The State Board donated money to help them purchase adjacent land to keep their range from being closed.

HUNT SAFELY STICKERS (need PDF of the sticker - Jim Cardoza)

REGIONAL BIOLOGIST (Doug Little) What you do how you can help members, state…

MA STATE CHAPTER NWTF TRAILER

A traveling educational tool.

The trailer is outfitted with loads of information on the NWTF and information on the state of Massachusetts.

You'll see it at events like the Big Moe and Big E Sportsman's Show as well as local Jakes events and banquets.

Our plans are to eventually outfit the trailer with a LASER SHOT SYSTEM to make it more interactive and attractive to engage youth at events.

CALLING CONTESTS

YOUTH PROGRAMS

FISHING DERBIES Picture shows 2004 Berkshire Chapter Ice Fishing Derby Winner

TURKEY Education BOXES

ARCHERY in the Schools EQUIPMENT:

TURKEY HUNTERS CARE - Each year the Mass Board and many members of the regional boards as well as other concerned members donate turkeys to food banks, local churches, parishes, and shelters or places that feed the hungry. It is an important part of giving back. These are all store purchased turkeys and the food goes a long way toward helping others in need.

DONATIONS TO MANY OUTDOOR CAUSES

NATIONALS EFFORTS

BROOD SURVEYS (Jim Cardoza our State Rep coordinates this activity) - Each Summer a brood survey is conducted by the state to determine the number of successful hatches and to see what impact the weather, predation, disease and other issues have on infant survival. Participate and help make the survey a more meaningful measurement tool. You can find a link to the brood survey form on the Links pages.

Quaker Boy Fall Forage Seed Planting

Crabapple Tree Planting

NOTES from Doug Little our Reg Biologist:

Massachusetts NWTF Wild Turkey State Super Fund Projects:

Administered jointly by the NWTF, its state chapters and state wildlife agencies, the Wild Turkey Super Fund is used for projects that support the conservation of the wild turkey and preservation of the hunting tradition. Nationally, NWTF chapters and cooperating partners have raised and spent more than $224 million for wild turkey conservation. Since 1985 over $125,781 has been raised and spent by Massachusetts chapters on projects within the state. A sampling of these projects is provided below.

EDUCATION
Spent $15,252 on educational programs including scholarships, education boxes, 4-H and teacher workshops.

Awarded 7 scholarships, Donated more than 36 education boxes to area schools
Spent $5,121 on educational projects for volunteers and professionals including:

Volunteer leadership workshops, state web sites and newsletters, purchased 10 educational CD-ROMs

JAKES
Spent $13,547 to introduce youth to outdoor activities, conservation and hunting. Sponsored 10 JAKES Conservation Field Days throughout the state.

Hunting Heritage
Spent $9,100 to protect and promote the hunting tradition including contributions to the U.S. Sportsman’s Alliance and the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

Hunter Safety
Spent $26,859 to support hunter safety classes and initiatives within the state. Purchased hunter safety materials and equipment, including interactive shooting systems.

Women’s Programs
Spent $5,458 on programs, materials and equipment to introduce women to the outdoors, hunting, shooting and conservation.
Conducted 5 Women in the Outdoors events throughout the state.

Rewards
Spent $2,015 to protect wild turkeys and other wildlife through support of state sponsored reward programs, the printing of reward signs and reward payments.

Wild Turkey Management, Habitat Enhancements, Research & Land Purchases

Spent $7,691 on:

Operation of wild turkey check stations, tree planting, hunter satisfaction surveys, support of law enforcement activities Purchased equipment to support law enforcement and management activities including: ATV’s , weight scales for check stations, surveillance cameras, gates to limit vehicular access
Purchased equipment related to research such as radio telemetry equipment.
Purchased 1,019 acres of land or conservation easements to preserve wildlife habitat and provide additional hunting areas.
Tree planting projects and enhancing wild turkey brood habitat across the state.

Other
Spent $23,785 on other projects including organizational dues, travel expenses to professional meetings, special NWTF projects, and chapter rebates.

LEGISLATIVE ISSUES - OVERVIEW ON CURRENT LEGISLATIVE ISSUES – THESE CAN BE PDF’S OF LETTERS LIKE THOSE RECENTLY DRAFTED BY DOUG / Brian ON PERTINENT MA STATE & NATIONAL ISSUES. As well as a links to Legislative pages on:

NRA www.nra.org

CONGRESSIONAL SPORTSMANS Foundation http://www.sportsmenslink.org/

GOAL www.goal.org