Award-winning Bootheel Boss Gobblers emphasize education and conservation

The Bootheel Boss Gobblers, the local chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, has become one of the not-for-profit organization's top chapters and has received several accolades. The chapter, founded in 1984, is the largest in Missouri, a state where hunting is big.

"We've been the top chapter in the state of Missouri for at least 15 years," says Tim Schwent, a charter member of the club who also serves on the NWTF Missouri State Board.

In both 2014 and 2015, the Bootheel Boss Gobblers received the No. 3 ranking in the Highest Net Membership category of the NWTF's L.A. Dixon Outstanding Local Chapters Award. This is quite an achievement, considering NWTF has some 2,350 chapters with about 250,000 members in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and 14 other countries.

The Zenon River Mountain Man Brigade shows trappings of an 1850s mountain man.Photo submitted by Tim Schwent

Also in 2015, the local chapter's JAKES Day won Best Special Projects category in the NWTF's Youth Outreach Award.

Juvenile wild turkeys are called Jakes, so it makes sense that it is used by the Bootheel Boss Gobblers in the name of the chapter's youth event, JAKES Day. It's an acronym for Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Experience and Sportsmanship. JAKES Day is an annual event aimed at attracting young people to the sport of hunting, and to educate them about different aspects of it.

Headline Bold:The Zenon River Mountain Man Brigade shows trappings of an 1850s mountain man.

At the event, booths are set up featuring different aspects of the sport, such as archery, air rifles and shotgun shooting of clay birds. There's also a Hunter Safety Trail, where the young people are presented with different scenarios and assess the legality, ethics and safety of taking a particular shot. Other booths give them the opportunity to make their own fishing lures or craft their own turkey calls using a plastic pipe.

Schwent, who has been involved with NWTF since 1983, before the founding of the Bootheel Boss Gobblers in 1984, says the chapter has also been recognized for its fundraising efforts.

Each year, clubs across the country hold an annual fundraiser called the Hunting Heritage Banquet and Auction. The Bootheel Boss Gobblers are in the category of chapters that have raised more than $50,000 at their banquet. Last year the charter grossed $80,000 at its annual banquet. As with any not-for-profit, fundraising is a critical part of the operation of NWTF and its mission to conserve the wild turkey and preserve hunting heritage.

There's an important distinction between conservation and preservation, Schwent explains.

"Conservation means we use a resource," he says. "Preservation means we don't touch a resource."

Conservation of wild turkeys means they are harvested and eaten.

"Basically, man is one of the wild turkey's predators," he explains.

The turkey population decreases 40 percent over the course of a year, and only 10 percent of that is due to hunting, Schwent says. Missouri has a turkey population of between 600,000 and 800,000.

"We harvest about 40,000, and they're almost all males," he says.

There is also an annual hunt for the Wheelin' Sportsmen, hunters who are physically challenged. The next such event will take place the third weekend in October when the group goes for a weekend hunting trip.

For more information about that event, or for more information about the Bootheel Boss Gobblers, call Schwent at (573) 225-3740.