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2023 SEED SUBSIDY PROGRAM

Greetings to all NJ NWTF members. The 2023 NWTF Seed Subsidy Program provides new seed for food plots for NWTF Members. This program is administered by National, but the seed is limited to the amount allocated from your State Chapter's Superfund by the State Chapter. Each State Chapter sets a budget for the year in which it wants to participate in the program. The New Jersey budget subsidizes at 15% off the cost of FIVE BAGS per member, but unlimited amounts of non-subsidized seed (limited by quantities available, first come, first served basis) can be purchased. Price per bag includes delivery to your door. This year, the NJ State Chapter approved FIVE TYPES of seed to qualify for the Seed Subsidy Program. 2023 Seed Subsidy Allocation Name Type Reg. Price Subidized Price: Quantity: Coverage: Turkey Gold™ Chufa Annual Grass/Legume $98 $83 50 Lb Bag 1 Acre NWTF Nesting & Brood Cover Mix of Annuals and Perrenials $81 $69 25 Lb Bag 1 Acre Buckwheat A very popular feed crop for wildlife, as well as an excellent cover crop. $105 $89 50 Lb Bag 1 Acre Huntmaster Clover Blend Offers the finest red and white clovers along with our highly digestible, long lasting, stress tolerant chicory. $71 $60 9 Lb Bag 1 Acre Wildlife Buffet Easily establishes for season-long attraction. The blend contains the top summer planted legumes, sunflowers and hybrid millets. Mix contains: Pearl Millet, Proso Millet, WGM Sorghum, Forge Soybean, Buckwheat, Red Pepper Cowpea, Peredovic or Black Oil Sunflower. $62 $53 25 Lb Bag 1 Acre The New Jersey State Chapter has set a budget of $750 in subsidy funds at our April 5th meeting. These funds would be available only on a first-come, first-served basis, and once these funds are used up, the subsidy program for 2023 is over in New Jersey. To purchase this seed, members must still go to NWTF Seed Subsidy Sign In Page . You will need your Membership No, Name and Address as it appears on your membership card or your Turkey Country Magazine. Both subsidized and non-subsidized seed must be ordered on the same form, and cannot be ordered from a state in which they do not live. Again, this is first-come, first-served. Sincerely, Lou Gambale Lou Gambale New Jersey State Chapter President National Wild Turkey Federation For more information, please visit the NWTF website, or contact: Bob Eriksen 27 Canterbury Road, Phillipsburg, NJ 08865 H: 908-454-1882 C: 908-319-6968 boberiksen1023@gmail.com

2023 CONSERVATION SEED PROGRAM

The NWTF Conservation Seed program provides surplus seed to conservation groups and private individuals to use the seed for wildlife use. The only restriction is that the seed cannot be harvested or used for livestock feed. The seed can be used in fallow fields, or along the edges of active fields, but cannot be harvested. The NWTF acquires a number of loads of surplus RR (RoundupReady) corn from Dow AgroSciences and will start shipping to chapters in February. RR Corn seed can be planted and then the ground can be treated with "roundup". The Roundup will kill the weeds but not the corn. A fifty-pound bag of this seed can cover approx 2 acres. NO CONSERVATION SEED FOR NEW JERSEY In New Jersey we usually get our Conservation Seed via the Pennsylvania Chapter order. However, due to the difficulties in getting the seed to New Jersey, The State Chapter has opted to not participate in the program.

THUNDER MOUNTAIN HABITAT PROJECT

The NJ State Chapter has been maintaining approximately 35 acres of meadows in the federal lands of the Delaware Gap, National Recreation Area, near Walpack. These meadows are fallow farm fields that would revert to hardwoods if they were not maintained. Working in conjunction with federal and state wildlife personnel, volunteers from the NWTF have been maintaining the meadows with brush hogs, chain saws, and clippers for the past several years. The volunteers get together about twice a year to remove and clear heavy brush and woody plants that would eventually close the meadows. Turkeys and other wildlife benefit from meadows due to the grasses and insects that thrive there. Additionally, other animals benefit from the 'edge' effect along the outside of these meadows as light is able to benefit plants inside the treeline that would normaly be shaded by the larger trees. We are in need of volunteers to continue this project. If you are interested in working for the wild turkey and or enjoy conservation field work, contact: Ray Eriksen 557 Edwards Street Phillipsburg, NJ 08865

2023 SPRING SCHEDULE

NO REGULAR WORK PARTY SCHEDULED Work Parties are usuallly Tentatively Scheduled for a Weekday in early March with a rain date a week later if the Walkill NWR Staff is available to help. The "powers that be" so to speak, have basically made it impossible for NWTF volunteers to work with chainsaws on Federal Lands. At this point, we may have to abandon the project we have strived to maintain over these past 30-plus years. With a Weekday Date, our only hope is the manpower of the Walkill NWR staff, with Chainsaw Qualifications. If we have the work party, NWTF volunteers will be able to move cut brush, but we will not be able to use any power equiments at all. We will keep you posted. Ray Eriksen, Thunder Mountain Chair

2014-2020 LANDIS SEWERAGE AUTHORITY QUAIL HABITAT RESTORATION PROJECT

In 2014 the Landis Sewerage Authority, working with the Division of Fish and Wildlife on a quail habitat restoration project, sought funding from the New Jersey State Chapter of the NWTF. The project involved the restoration of approx 300 acres of prime Quail habitat by the planting of various perennial grass seed/wildflower mixes. Taking the lead on the NWTF's Save the Habitat/Save the Hunt initiative, Lou Gambale of the Tri-County Longbeards Chapter presented the project to the State Board. The Board subsequenty allocated $3000 of Superfund Monies to the project with certain restrictions to help reduce the costs of the project and to put the NWTF in charge of the project. Shortly thereafter, several conservation groups donated to the NWTF's superfund to support this project. Through NWTF contacts the price of the seed purchased cost significantly less than the proposed purchase price presented. The LSA project is an long-term project that was schedueled for at least 5 years. Now that the Project is in its TENTH YEAR and NEARLY COMPLETE our other partners in this endeavor have taken over financially, so the NJ State Chapter is no longer financially involved but the Project does have our technical support if needed.