NWTF Celebrates National Hunting and Fishing Day

The NWTF encourages Americans to celebrate National Hunting and Fishing Day Sept. 22 by enjoying time in the outdoors and introducing that experience to others.

Local NWTF chapters from throughout the country are at the forefront of the Sept. 22 celebration of National Hunting and Fishing Day.  The NWTF supports National Hunting and Fishing Day to bring attention to the importance of introducing people to an outdoor lifestyle and the NWTF’s mission of conservation and the preservation of our hunting heritage.

“The NWTF supports National Hunting and Fishing Day as a celebration of conservation efforts in this nation and a vehicle to help create the next generation of conservationists,” said Tom Hughes, NWTF assistant vice president of conservation programs.

Thanks to initiatives such as the NWTF-sponsored Families Afield program, the number of hunters rose 9 percent from 2006 to 2011 according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey. Previous decades had shown a disturbing decline in the number of hunters.

Through their purchases of state hunting licenses and taxes on outdoor equipment, sportsmen are a driving force in funding conservation.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state fish and wildlife management throughout the nation is funded primarily through the purchase of hunting, fishing and trapping licenses and through more than $7 billion in excise taxes collected from the sale of hunting, target shooting, and fishing equipment and motor boat fuels.

So without sportsmen, there would be no conservation.

More than 20 NWTF JAKES youth events are planned on National Hunting and Fishing Day. At JAKES (Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Ethics and Sportsmanship) events, expert instructors supervise youth in their safe participation in a wide range of activities, including shooting, archery and fishing.

NASCAR driver Tony Stewart is this year’s honorary chairman of the National Hunting and Fishing Day celebration. Many state and federal agencies will provide special opportunities for hunting and fishing on the day.

The NWTF has demonstrated its commitment to conservation by investing $412 million to conserve 17.25 million acres of wildlife habitat. The NWTF is creating new hunters and conservationists through its JAKES, Women in the Outdoors and Wheelin’ Sportsmen outreach programs, which encourage participation by people of all experience and skill levels.

For more information on the NWTF, visit www.nwtf.org or call (800) THE-NWTF.

National Wild Turkey Federation

The National Wild Turkey Federation is the leader in upland wildlife habitat conservation in North America. The NWTF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving the wild turkey and preserving our hunting heritage.

Through dynamic partnerships with state, federal and provincial wildlife agencies, the NWTF and its members have helped restore wild turkey populations throughout North America, spending more than $331 million to conserve nearly 16 million acres of habitat. Wild turkeys and hundreds of other species of upland wildlife, including quail, deer, grouse, pheasant and songbirds, benefit from this improved habitat.

The NWTF also brings new conservationists and hunters into the fold through outdoor education events and its Women in the Outdoors, Wheelin' Sportsmen, JAKES and Xtreme JAKES youth outreach programs. Our dedicated NWTF volunteers introduce about 100,000 people to the outdoors through these programs every year.

Founded in 1973, the NWTF is headquartered in Edgefield, S.C., and has local chapters in every state and Canada. According to many state and federal agencies, the restoration of the wild turkey is arguably the greatest conservation success story in North America's wildlife history.