GALENA, I.L. — At the Midwestern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Deer and Wild Turkey Study Group meeting, NWTF conservation leadership announced the organization’s new Midwestern Roots to Roost Initiative. This bold, cross-boundary conservation effort will restore and enhance critical wildlife habitat on public and private land across Midwestern states, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.
“The Midwest is comprised of some of our nation’s most diverse and ecologically rich landscapes,” NWTF co-CEO Kurt Dyroff said. “At the same time, much of this land is privately owned, and so it is essential that we accelerate the pace and scale at which we are working with private landowners and agency partners on lands of all ownership. Our new Roots to Roost Initiative will unite conservation stewards across America’s heartland and make a landscape-scale impact that will conserve the wild turkey and our natural resources for future generations.”
The new initiative was created out of urgency to reverse the wide-spread loss and degradation of critically important, disturbance-dependent ecosystems, such as prairie grasslands, savannas, barrens and open woodlands. These habitats are essential to wild turkeys, deer, pollinators, amphibians, songbirds and various rare and federally threatened plants and animals.
“Our partnerships with state and federal agencies are vital to delivering the NWTF’s mission on a landscape scale,” said Jared McJunkin, NWTF director of conservation operations for the central United States. “It was an honor to formally announce our Roots to Roost Initiative here to our agency partners, and it underscores our shared commitment to restore habitat, empower landowners and ensure the Midwest’s natural resources are conserved into perpetuity.”
In a region where nearly 90% of the land is privately owned, a major component of the Roots to Roost Initiative is providing targeted programs for landowners, such as trainings, technical assistance and innovative tools like online learning modules for educating landowners, resource professionals and habitat managers.
“As someone from the Midwest and working in the Midwest, it’s cool to see an initiative that is focused on our unique challenges [and] our unique landscape,” said Luke Garver, Illinois Department of Natural Resources wild turkey project manager. “So, to see a focus that is going to bring in those private landowners, not only for boots-on-the-ground work but the education part of it, and looping in the other NGOs and other conservation professionals — I couldn’t be more excited.”
Through the collaboration with the NWTF, agency partners and private landowners, Roots to Roost will unite people across boundaries through the life-changing power of the outdoors.
Initiative Priorities:
- Addressing the loss and degradation of ecosystems by educating landowners and professionals on the importance of managing grasslands, savannas and forests for wild turkeys and other wildlife.
- Supporting restoration and active management practices such as prescribed burning and forest thinning to maintain healthy ecosystems.
- Securing funding for innovative research and professorships that explore the impacts of management on wild turkey productivity.
- Engaging stakeholders through outreach and education to foster a greater understanding of habitat management’s role in conservation.
Roots to Roost will also tackle conservation challenges related to water quality and forest health and will elevate regional ecological resilience by strengthening education and outreach efforts, investments in research, participation in political advocacy and supporting active habitat management through strengthened conservation partnerships.
The initiative aims to build on NWTF’s success in the Midwest by increasing its annual impact by at least 5% — adding 250,000 acres of conservation work over the next decade. In total, Roots to Roost will impact 1.2 million acres of public and private lands through direct management of grasslands, forests and savannas guided by the latest scientific research.
The new Roots to Roost Initiative dovetails into the NWTF’s other regionally based conservation initiatives, including the Forests and Flocks Initiative, the Habitat for the Hatch Initiative and the Waterways for Wildlife Initiative.
“Roots to Roost interlocks perfectly with our ongoing regional initiatives across the country,” NWTF co-CEO Jason Burckhalter said. “Through our initiatives, we are able to tailor our mission delivery to address specific regional challenges. Conservation stewardship and hunting heritage run deep in the Midwest, and we are excited to unite people like never before through the shared love of our natural treasures and the life-changing power of the outdoors.”
About the National Wild Turkey Federation
Since 1973, the National Wild Turkey Federation has invested over half a billion dollars into wildlife conservation and has positively impacted over 24 million acres of critical wildlife habitat. The NWTF has also invested over $10 million into wild turkey research to guide the management of the wild turkey population and to ensure sustainable populations into perpetuity. The organization continues to deliver its mission by working across boundaries on a landscape scale through its Four Shared Values: clean and abundant water, healthy forests and wildlife habitat, resilient communities and robust recreational opportunities. With the help of its dedicated members, partners and staff, the NWTF continues its work to provide Healthy Habitats and Healthy Harvests for future generations.
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