National Wild Turkey Federation
An international nonprofit conservation and education organization focused on wild-turkey management, habitat protection, and the preservation of hunting heritage.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) is a private nonprofit organization established in 1973 in the United States. Its stated mission combines conservation of the wild turkey with preservation of hunting heritage. The organization works with wildlife agencies, landowners, corporations, hunters, educators, and local volunteers to improve habitat, support scientific wildlife management, expand access to outdoor recreation, and introduce new participants to hunting and other outdoor activities. The NWTF is best understood as a membership, fundraising, advocacy, and field-program organization rather than as a conventional consumer brand. Its network includes more than 250,000 members and volunteers across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and additional countries, supported by thousands of local activities and roughly 2,350 chapters according to the supplied reference material. Its principal fundraising platform is the Hunting Heritage Super Fund Banquet, a community event program created in 1983. These banquets combine social gatherings, conservation fundraising, auctions or sales of firearms and merchandise, and support for projects selected or implemented with local partners. A central part of the NWTF's conservation role is collaboration with federal, state, provincial, and international wildlife agencies. Through its Making Tracks program, the federation helps coordinate the movement of wild turkeys from areas with established populations to suitable habitat where populations are sparse or absent. It also supplies equipment, transport boxes, volunteers, and funding for restoration work. The organization supports habitat acquisition and improvement on public, private, and corporate land, including prescribed burning, water development, wildlife openings, tree and seed planting, riparian restoration, and improved hunting access. The federation's conservation agenda extends beyond one restoration technique. Its technical committee brings together wild-turkey biologists and wildlife professionals to advise on research, management, restoration, and education. The North American Wild Turkey Management Plan uses geographic information systems and partnership planning to identify important habitat and potential projects. Regional programs such as Operation Appleseed, Operation Oak, Operation Heartland, Operation SOS, Operation Big Sky, Guzzlers for Gobblers, and riparian initiatives adapt habitat work to local ecological conditions. NWTF also presents hunting as a form of outdoor education and stewardship. JAKES, introduced in 1981, teaches children about wildlife management, safety, ethics, sportsmanship, and outdoor skills. Xtreme JAKES extends that approach to teenagers. Women in the Outdoors provides hands-on instruction for women, while Wheelin' Sportsmen creates hunting, fishing, shooting, and other outdoor opportunities for people with disabilities. Families Afield, conducted with partner organizations, seeks to reduce regulatory and practical barriers for young and first-time hunters. The federation additionally operates scholarship programs and supports access initiatives intended to preserve participation in outdoor traditions. Its public-facing communications have included Turkey Country magazine, youth publications, online resources, television programs, videos, hunting and calling information, educational materials, and an online store for branded merchandise and outdoor products. Through these channels, the NWTF serves both conservation audiences and hunters. The organization reports that its partnerships and programs have contributed to the restoration and management of North American wild-turkey populations, habitat improvement across millions of acres, and the introduction of new participants to outdoor activities. Exact program totals vary by initiative and reporting period, and should be read as organizationally reported figures rather than independently audited financial statistics.
History
The National Wild Turkey Federation was founded in 1973 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to wild-turkey conservation and the continuation of hunting traditions. Its formation came during a period when wildlife agencies and conservation organizations were using regulated management, habitat work, and coordinated animal relocation to rebuild populations of important game species. The NWTF developed a role as a coordinating and fundraising partner that could connect professional wildlife managers with hunters, landowners, local volunteers, and corporate supporters. The organization's early work centered on the practical requirements of wild-turkey restoration: identifying suitable habitat, supporting research, improving land-management practices, and helping wildlife agencies transfer birds into areas where they had disappeared or become scarce. The NWTF established a technical committee involving wild-turkey biologists from state and provincial agencies. This structure gave the federation a science-based advisory foundation while allowing it to mobilize membership and private funding for projects that public agencies could not always finance alone. In 1981, the federation introduced JAKES, short for Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Ethics and Sportsmanship. The program used youth education to connect hunting participation with safety, ethical conduct, wildlife management, and broader outdoor skills. Xtreme JAKES was later created for teenagers. These programs became part of a larger effort to maintain an intergenerational hunting culture while presenting hunting as a regulated activity linked to habitat and wildlife stewardship. The Hunting Heritage Super Fund Banquet, launched in 1983, became the NWTF's signature fundraising mechanism. Local chapters and volunteers use the banquet format to raise money for conservation and outreach projects in the communities where funds are generated. The events also provide a platform for auctions, merchandise, firearms, social activities, and recruitment. This chapter-based model has helped the federation turn membership participation into a recurring source of project finance and local engagement. During the following decades, the NWTF expanded its habitat and access work. Project HELP, introduced in 1992, provided landowners with advice and access to seeds and seedlings for habitat improvement. Regional initiatives were developed for different parts of North America, including programs focused on oak, orchards, prairie and grassland habitat, water resources, riparian corridors, and wintering areas. More Places to Hunt addressed the shortage of accessible hunting land through land purchases, conservation easements, partnerships, and policy work. The federation also broadened its participation programs. Women in the Outdoors provided women with practical instruction in hunting and other outdoor activities. Wheelin' Sportsmen created opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in hunting, fishing, shooting, and related events. Families Afield was developed with partner organizations to address legal, educational, and practical barriers that can prevent young people and first-time hunters from entering the field. These programs positioned the NWTF as both a species-conservation organization and a national outdoor-recreation network. The Making Tracks program formalized the federation's cooperation with wildlife agencies on turkey relocation. Wild turkeys are trapped in areas with strong populations and moved to suitable habitat with limited or absent populations. The NWTF supports these operations with equipment, transport materials, financial assistance, and volunteers. Its work complemented decades of state and provincial agency activity and contributed to the broader recovery of wild-turkey populations across North America. The federation has undertaken species- and region-specific restoration projects as well. Go for the Gould's supports the restoration of Gould's wild turkeys in southern Arizona through cooperation with the Arizona Game and Fish Department and Mexican partners. The North American Wild Turkey Management Plan uses geographic information systems to identify habitat priorities and coordinate projects across jurisdictions. The NWTF has also supported prescribed fire, water development, wildlife openings, reforestation, seed distribution, access improvements, and management planning on public, private, and corporate lands. Alongside field work, the NWTF built a communications and education platform. Turkey Country became its principal magazine for wild-turkey conservation, hunting, field research, and equipment. JAKES and Xtreme JAKES publications served younger audiences. Television and online media extended the organization's reach through hunting programs, land-management advice, turkey-calling information, educational material, chapter news, and event information. The organization remains active as an international nonprofit with a large membership base and a network of chapters, volunteers, agency partners, and corporate supporters. Its long-term identity rests on the combination of wildlife conservation and hunting-heritage preservation. The NWTF reports that its programs and partnerships have helped improve or conserve more than 17 million acres of habitat, support wild-turkey restoration, and fund outdoor education and access initiatives. Because these figures are program claims that may be updated over time, they should be interpreted in the context of the reporting date and the federation's own measurement methods.
- 2003
Go for the Gould's restoration work expanded
[1]The NWTF and Arizona wildlife authorities undertook continuing transfers of Gould's wild turkeys into suitable southern Arizona mountain habitat.
- 2002
Xtreme JAKES introduced
[1]The federation expanded its youth programming with a version designed for teenagers between 13 and 18.
- 1992
Project HELP developed
[1]Project HELP began assisting landowners with habitat enhancement advice, seeds, and seedlings.
- 1983
Super Fund Banquet program created
[1]The Hunting Heritage Super Fund Banquet became the federation's principal chapter-based fundraising platform for conservation and outreach.
- 1981
JAKES launched
[1]The JAKES youth program began teaching wildlife management, hunting ethics, safety, sportsmanship, and outdoor skills to children.
- 1973
Federation founded
[1]The National Wild Turkey Federation was established as a nonprofit organization focused on wild-turkey conservation and hunting-heritage preservation.
Products and positioning
A conservation-led membership federation that links wild-turkey restoration, habitat stewardship, hunting access, outdoor education, and hunting-heritage advocacy.
Fundraising and membership events · 1983
Hunting Heritage Super Fund Banquets
The Super Fund Banquet is the NWTF's core local fundraising format. Chapters and volunteers organize gatherings that combine conservation messaging, social activities, auctions or sales, firearms and merchandise, and member recruitment. Proceeds support habitat work, hunting access, youth education, and other projects in the regions raising the funds.
Wildlife restoration
Making Tracks
Making Tracks is a cooperative wild-turkey restoration program conducted with federal, state, provincial, and international wildlife agencies. It helps coordinate the capture, transport, and release of wild turkeys into suitable habitat where populations are low or absent, while providing equipment, logistics, funding, and volunteer support.
Youth education · 1981
JAKES
JAKES, or Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Ethics and Sportsmanship, introduces children to wildlife management, safe and responsible hunting, fishing, hiking, and other outdoor activities. The program frames outdoor participation within conservation and ethical stewardship.
Teen outdoor education · 2002
Xtreme JAKES
Xtreme JAKES extends the federation's youth mission to teenagers. It offers more advanced outdoor opportunities and challenges while continuing to emphasize safety, ethics, wildlife management, and responsible participation.
Outdoor education
Women in the Outdoors
Women in the Outdoors provides hands-on learning opportunities for women in activities such as hunting, shooting, hiking, and other outdoor pursuits. Local events are intended to build practical skills and broaden participation in conservation-related recreation.
Inclusive outdoor recreation
Wheelin' Sportsmen
Wheelin' Sportsmen helps NWTF chapters organize hunting, fishing, shooting, and related outdoor events for people with disabilities. The program emphasizes access, participation, and community-based outdoor experiences.
Habitat management · 1992
Project HELP
Project HELP, or Habitat Enhancement Land Program, assists landowners with advice and habitat-improvement materials. It has included the sale or distribution of seeds and seedlings intended to improve land for wild turkeys and other wildlife.
Hunting access · 1987
More Places to Hunt
More Places to Hunt addresses declining access to quality hunting land through land purchases, conservation easements, partnerships, and legislative or policy activity. The initiative responds to urban growth, changing land ownership, and constrained public-agency budgets.
Magazine and publication
Turkey Country
Turkey Country is the NWTF's flagship publication. It combines wild-turkey conservation news, field research, hunting features, calling and equipment information, and updates on the federation's activities.
Marketing campaigns
- 2003Go for the Gould's
United States · Mexico
A restoration partnership involving the NWTF, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, and Mexican partners to return Gould's wild turkeys to suitable mountain habitat in southern Arizona.
Outcome. The supplied reference reports transfers of 320 Gould's wild turkeys from Mexico and Arizona to several southern Arizona mountain ranges since 2003.
- Families Afield
United States
A partnership initiative involving the NWTF and hunting and shooting organizations that seeks to reduce barriers to youth and first-time hunting participation through data, policy, and regulatory work.
Outcome. The supplied reference attributes more than 87,000 new hunters to legislation and regulatory changes associated with the initiative.
- Regional Habitat Programs
United States · Canada
A family of regionally tailored habitat programs, including Operation Appleseed, Operation Oak, Operation Heartland, Operation SOS, Operation Big Sky, Guzzlers for Gobblers, and riparian restoration initiatives.
Outcome. The programs have supported seedling planting, water development, winter habitat, grain and hay provision, and habitat improvement across millions of acres according to the supplied reference.
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