Page 46 - Mar/Apr 2022 Outdoor Okahoma Magazine

OKLAHOMA WILDLIFE CONSERVATION FOUNDATION SPOTLIGHT

Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation

Foundation Update

Foundation Funds Grant Writer to Aid ODWC

Part of the Wildlife Department’s Strategic Plan launched in 2020 was an initiative to develop new revenue streams beyond traditional
sources. A team of dedicated ODWC employees set about to compile a new revenue project fact sheet for nine projects that appeared
to offer the greatest potential. The team then developed a new revenue project scoring metric for ranking each proposal.
One highly ranked concept was creation of a large-scale grant writing program. This idea was offered to the Oklahoma Wildlife
Conservation Foundation, which embraced it and has enlisted Write On Fundraising in Tulsa to further the initiative.
Each ODWC division was asked to submit a list of top priorities for grant funding, and these were prioritized into a Top 10 list. They are:
• Arcadia Conservation Education Area repair and enhancement. • Education programs.
• Bear and wildlife management projects. • Wildlife restoration efforts.
• Close to Home Fishing Program support. • Shooting ranges renovation and creation.
• Equipping Game Wardens. • Wildlife Management Area improvements.
• Hackberry Flat renovations. • Stars & Stripes license program.

Any additional funding generated by Write On through the Foundation’s support can be used to enhance existing programs and
in many cases can be matched with federal funds.
In the absence of license fee increases, these alternative sources of revenue will become even more critical in ODWC’s quest to
effectively manage Oklahoma’s fish and wildlife resources.

James L. Johnson, Board of Directors

From the inception of the
Foundation in 2018, James PrOVIDED
L. Johnson has been eager
to do his part to serve its
mission in helping pre-
serve the great outdoors
for future generations. He
was encouraged to become
a founding director by close
friends who also are serv-
ing on the board.
Hunting, angling and out-
door pursuits are and have
always been a high priority
for Johnson and his family.
“I have been very blessed in
my life to travel to some of the Johnson takes a shot while hunting.
most remote places on Earth in pursuit of outdoor adventures,” Johnson’s favorite outdoor activity is observation. “The
Johnson said. “This has helped me in my appreciation for the older I get, the more I really enjoy observing wildlife. It may
vast and diverse opportunities that the state has to offer.” be watching a covey of quail moving across a food plot, to

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