LEWISTOWN, Ill. - The elected volunteer board for the National Wildlife Turkey Federation in Illinois met in January and awarded funds to support local programs such as scholarships, JAKES, WITO, 4-H, National Shooting Sports Association, Sportsmen’s Caucus, and Conservation Programs. This year, the Fulton County 4-H Shooting Sports program was selected and approved to receive funds by the Board of Directors of the Illinois State Chapter of the NWTF from the Hunting Heritage Super Fund. All projects were thoroughly considered by the board before decisions were made and voted upon. The board takes into consideration both habitat related projects that address the first half of their mission conservation of the wild turkey, as well as educational and shootings sports related projects that address the second half of their mission; preservation of the hunting heritage. The local NWTF Chapter of the Spoon River Gobblers was instrumental in nominating the Fulton County 4-H Shooting Sports Club to receive this funding. The grant will greatly assist the Fulton County 4-H Shooting Sports Club in purchasing ammunition, targets, safety glasses, ear protection, and other supplies needed to properly educate youth safety while handling firearms.
About University of Illinois Extension: University of Illinois Extension is the flagship outreach effort of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, offering educational programs to residents of all of Illinois' 102 counties — and far beyond. Extension provides practical education you can trust to help people, businesses, and communities solve problems, develop skills, and build a better future. U of I Extension offers educational programs in five broad areas: energy and environmental stewardship, food safety and security, economic development and workforce preparedness, family health, financial security, and wellness, and youth development.
About 4-H: Illinois 4-H strives to help youth learn skills for living. University of Illinois Extension provides 4-H programs in every county in Illinois. Illinois 4-H aims to impact the lives of 200,000 youth each year through sustained learning clubs and groups and short-term programming.
Source: Krista Gray, University of Illinois Extension, 309-547-3711, kristakg@illinois.edu