At its annual convention held January 2019 in Stevens Point, the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) honored two WOCA members for their work on behalf of conservation.
Tim Eisele was honored as the chapter’s Outdoor Writer of the Year, and Dan Small was named Conservation Educator of the Year.
Eisele, a charter member of the Wisconsin chapter, said he came to an organizational meeting in 1981 and was so intrigued by the goals and opportunities the new organization represented that he joined NWTF.
“I applaud the work you are doing to enhance habitat and recruit new hunters,” Eisele told the group.
On the convention’s first night, Small showed the award-winning “Wild Turkeys in Wisconsin” video, which aired in early 2019 on commercial and public stations in five states, and participated in a panel discussion on the status of wild turkeys.
In accepting the educator award, he acknowledged the program’s executive producer, NWTF life member Mark LaBarbera, and videographer/editor Dave Roll. “This production was a group effort,” Small said. “We also had help from NWTF, the DNR and many others.”
The video can be seen online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6ivW1F_8pU&t=1529s
Others honored included DNR Pierce County conservation warden Isaac Kruse, Wildlife Law Enforcement Officer of the Year; retired DNR chief warden Todd Schaller, Distinguished DNR Partner; and Doug Duren, Land Stewardship Award.