The Biden-Harris Administration recently announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service and the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) have signed a 20-year national master stewardship agreement.
This agreement paves the way for these partner organizations to work together to address the wildfire crisis in the West and promote healthy forests across the U.S. It also includes an initial $50 million commitment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as well as regular agency appropriations and other sources.
“This agreement reflects our strong, long-standing relationship with the National Wild Turkey Federation and its four decades of forest restoration work on national forests and grasslands,” said USDA Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. “Larger wildfires, more frequent natural disasters, and other disturbances that continue to threaten the health of the nation’s forests and grasslands, and the wildlife habitat they provide, means the work we do together is even more vital.”
When Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the Forest Service’s wildfire crisis strategy at the beginning of this year, the NWTF began to identify areas where they could assist. Using funding made possible by this agreement, the NWTF will develop regional projects to protect communities, reduce wildfire risk and improve forest health, wildlife habitat and water quality on national forests and grasslands.
This agreement is the largest in the NWTF’s 50-year history and is one of the first long-term agreements of…..
