Turkey Call All Access

The tradition of telling hunting stories goes back to some of the earliest discovered cave drawings known to man. While the medium for telling these stories has changed over millennia, stories of the hunt are how we share and connect with something that is so fundamentally human. Whether it's the tales of the hunt, the misadventures, our passions for the pursuit or our love of wildlife and wild places, sharing the story is how we connect to something that awakens the soul.

On this episode of the Turkey Call All Access Podcast, the NWTF's Paul Campbell sits down with Brent Rogers, Doc Weddle and Michael Simpson to revisit the Bottomland Book Club seminar from the 2024 NWTF Convention and Sport Show and talk turkey history, literature, hunting and more!

On this episode of the Turkey Call All Access Podcast, the NWTF's Paul Campbell travels to West Point, Mississippi to visit with the Mossy Oak Gamekeepers crew. 

Campbell is joined by Bobby Cole, Lannie Wallace and Dudley Phelps of the Gamekeepers to share a few turkey hunting stories and discuss all things private land conservation, turkey research and the future of our cherished bird.

Programs designed to share the life-changing power of the outdoors are a key component of the NWTF's mission to conserve the wild turkey and preserve our hunting heritage. 

On this episode, NWTF R3 Coordinator for the Northeast Jesse Warner sits down with Bre Bashford and Coral Minchey to discuss two programs in Georgia — Artemis Georgia and Academics Afield — that are introducing the outdoors to women and college students. 

Learn more NWTF education and outreach programs that are reaching women, youth or those with disabilities.

Hunter advocacy plays a crucial role in preserving our hunting heritage. As threats to public lands, hunting access and wildlife habitats grow, the need to advocate for America’s hunters is more important than ever to protect our outdoor traditions.

For the final podcast discussion of NWTF Conservation Week, NWTF’s Morgan Evans and Jesse Warner join NWTF Storyteller Hannah McKinney to dive into national R3 efforts, the Hunt for Good Campaign, the importance of policy and ways you can get involved to make a difference.

It's NWTF Conservation Week, and today's discussion is about fire. NWTF Storyteller Hannah McKinney is joined by a panel of NWTF staffers — NWTF biologists Dave Nikonow and Ricky Lackey, NWTF Director of Conservation Operations West Patt Dorsey and NWTF Wildfire Crisis Strategy Manager Molly Pitts — for a talk about fire across the landscape and the impacts on turkeys and other wildlife.

Check out the whole conversation to learn about the history of fire in this country, implementation of fire in the southeast vs the west and also learn what landowners may be able to do on their own properties in regard to fire.

NWTF Conservation Week continues with a deep five into a topic that will surely pique the interest of turkey hunters — wild turkey reproduction.

Ensuring hens are able to successfully reproduce and recruit poults into adulthood is critical for maintaining a stable wild turkey population across the country.

For today's discussion, NWTF regional biologists Chuck Carpenter and John Burk join NWTF Managing Editor of Web and Digital David Gladkowski to discuss the nuances of wild turkey reproduction between their two differing regions and all that goes into making sure hens are able to create more turkeys year after year. 

Wild turkeys and a host of other game and non-game species thrive in a patchwork of habitats, including forests, open grasslands, agricultural fields, water corridors and more.

For Conservation Week 2024, NWTF district biologists Derek Alkire, Ryan Boyer and Mitch Blake sit down with NWTF Managing Editor of Web and Media David Gladkowski to talk about the NWTF's efforts to ensure the wild turkey's annual cycle needs are met through habitat diversity and how members and landowners can help. 

Who was it that once said, “To talk about conservation and not talk about water is just dry conversation.”

As the NWTF celebrates its 4th Annual Conservation Week, we would be remiss to not talk about the incredible importance of water and its integral role to the NWTF’s mission to conserve the wild turkey and preserve our hunting heritage. 

NWTF regional biologists Annie Farrell and Clayton Lenk, Western Water Specialist Travis Smith and Director of Conservation Operations Central Jared McJunkin sit down with NWTF Storyteller Hannah McKinney to talk about the NWTF's Waterways for Wildlife Initiative and other projects geared toward improving the element that connects us all: water. 

Taking its support of wild turkey research into new territory, the NWTF recently established the first-ever National Wild Turkey Federation Distinguished Professor position with the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.

Coming on the heels of the NWTF officially naming Dr. Mike Chamberlain as the chair of this position, the NWTF's Paul Campbell sits down with the Wild Turkey Doc himself and Mark Hatfield, NWTF national director of science and planning, to talk about the landmark announcement and what it means for wild turkeys.

Learn more about the NWTF's investments in research.

Paul Campbell and Pete Muller of the NWTF are joined by Leslie Thompson, the "Niche to Meet You" podcast host, to talk about her new miniseries that was just launched this past week covering wild turkey conservation. 

While Thompson chronicles her journey to learn about the history and conservation of our cherished bird and the people who play an important role in continuing one of America's greatest conservation success stories, there are few spoilers about the story she tells in her four-part series. You'll have to check out the series on your own to learn all the details.

Her website teases the series as "a 4-part mini-series about the weird, wonderful Wild Turkey and the effort to conserve it. It’s an important story about mending seemingly irreparable gaps and changing the world."

Photo Credit: Leslie Thompson