QDMA Named North Carolina Conservation Organization of the Year
OutdoorHub 09.17.14
The Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) was recently named the 2013 Conservation Organization of the Year in North Carolina. The honor was bestowed as part of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation’s 51st Annual Governor’s Conservation Awards.
Walter McDuffie of Elizabethtown, North Carolina, a QDMA Life Member and vice president of the QDMA’s Braden Lakes Branch, accepted the award on behalf of QDMA members in the Tar Heel State. Several other QDMA Branch volunteers were also in attendance for the award presentation.
According to the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, the Governor’s Conservation Awards “are a long-standing effort to honor individuals, governmental bodies, organizations, and others who have exhibited an unwavering commitment to conservation in North Carolina. These are the highest natural resource honors given in the state.”
In presenting the award to QDMA, North Carolina Wildlife Federation CEO Tim Gestwicki said, “In North Carolina, QDMA has emerged as a leading advocate for youth education.” He also applauded QDMA’s support for common-sense regulation of the captive deer industry in North Carolina and advocacy for more early successional habitat in the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests.
“It wasn’t so long ago that seeing a white-tailed deer in much of North Carolina was a bit of rarity, and we too quickly forget that we have healthy populations of deer and ducks and trout and bass because hunters made it happen. For continuing that legacy of leadership, QDMA is the 2013 Conservation Organization of the Year.”
Joe Hamilton, QDMA Founder and native North Carolinian, emphasized that recognition for this accomplishment is to be shared by QDMA members and particularly the dedicated volunteers in North Carolina. The 2013 North Carolina Conservation Organization of the Year trophy and plaque will be displayed at QDMA National Headquarters in Bogart, Georgia.
QDMA Branches in North Carolina include the North Carolina Advisory Council, the Bladen Lakes Branch, the Cape Fear River Branch, the North Central Branch, the Sandy Run Creek Branch, the Southern Appalachian Branch and the White Store Branch.
The North Carolina Wildlife Federation is a non-profit conservation organization dedicated to all North Carolina wildlife and its habitat since 1945, and it can be found online at www.ncwf.org.
Contact
Tanner Tedeschi, Communications Manager
tanner@qdma.com
