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Faces of Conservation
Carl Dixon, National Wild Turkey Federation

Carl Dixon, President of the NC National Wild Turkey Federation
Carl Dixon
Chair of National Wild Turkey Federation
© The Nature Conservancy

Conservation partners form the backbone of The Nature Conservancy. Ranging from state and federal agencies to individual landowners and everything in between, these partners are integral to conservation success in landscapes across North Carolina and around the world.

The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) is a perfect example. A grassroots, nonprofit organization with more 500,000 members, the NWTF’s mission is to support scientific wildlife management on public, private and corporate lands as well as to support wild turkey hunting as a traditional North American sport. Their mission fits perfectly with the Conservancy’s own.

Mr. Carl Dixon is serving his second term as president of the NWTF in North Carolina. With 77 chapters across the state, this keeps Dixon mighty busy…but never too busy to find conservation projects that matter.

When Dixon heard through the grapevine that International Paper would be selling land and that the Conservancy was a likely buyer, he knew he’d spotted an ideal chance to work together. NWTF had worked on prior Conservancy projects on the Needmore tract and Roanoke River and was pleased with the outcome. Dixon went to the NWTF North Carolina board asking for $50,000 to support the Conservancy’s purchase of the International Paper lands.

“As successful as NWTF is in protecting habitat for turkeys, we just can’t make our dollars grow the way we can by working with The Nature Conservancy,” said Dixon. “We were looking for a project that sportsmen and conservationists alike could get behind. Our board was pleased to fund this wonderful project and to preserve land not just for the present but for future generations of hunters.”

Dixon and the NWTF, like so many Conservancy supporters, have seen the loss of land across North Carolina and resulting loss of places to hunt, hike and enjoy the outdoors.  The Conservancy’s purchase of International Paper’s properties will ensure that all wildlife species, as well as all sportsmen, have a future in our state.