Bass Pro is a Big Fish for the NWTF

Bass Pro Shops has been a long-time, staunch supporter of the NWTF. In the last year, the company and its founder John L. Morris, have reaffirmed their position as one of the premier partners of the NWTF.

In the last year alone, Bass Pro Shops has partnered with the NWTF to provide $300,000 to support the NWTF’s mission of conservation and the preservation of our hunting heritage.

“Johnny Morris and Bass Pro Shops have long stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the NWTF,” said George C. Thornton, NWTF CEO. “We could ask for no better partner and look forward to many more years of working together as we implement the Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. initiative.”

Bass Pro Shops selected the NWTF as one of its monthly conservation partners, allowing its patrons to donate to the NWTF during checkout. Not only does this promotion help generate dollars that are invested into America’s conservation movement but it also helps raise awareness of the NWTF and its mission.

At the 2013 NWTF Convention and Sport Show, Morris made a surprise announcement of a major, four-year donation to the NWTF that would total $400,000. Morris presented a check for the first installment of the donation to NWTF CEO George C. Thornton in front of hundreds of dedicated NWTF volunteers.

In 2006, Morris received the NWTF Lynn Boykin Hunting Heritage Award for his dedication to conservation and securing the future of hunting for others. Bass Pro Shops also was honored with the NWTF’s Corporate Achievement Award in 2005 for its dedication to conservation.

The continued and enhanced support of Bass Pro Shops is especially critical as the NWTF embarks on its bold Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. initiative, which will conserve and enhance four million acres of critical upland wildlife habitat to increase wild turkey populations, create 1.5 million new hunters and establish 500,000 additional acres of hunting access.

This new initiative will help tackle the challenges facing the sporting community: national turkey populations have declined 15 percent with much more dramatic declines in some historically important areas; 6,000 acres of upland wildlife habitat are lost every day; hunter numbers are not keeping pace with population growth, endangering the fund model for conservation in North America.

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.