Page 11 - 2020 May/June Outdoor Oklahoma

NWTF SELECTS OKLAHOMANS FOR NATIONAL HONORS

The National Wild Turkey Federation recently honored ogists provide tech-
Oklahomans in four categories at the 44th annual NWTF nical assistance to PROVIDED BY NWTF
Convention and Sport Show in Nashville, Tenn. private landowners
on a full-time basis.
2020 Wildlife Officer of the Year And the Oklahoma
Kenny Lawson, Game War- Land Access Pro-
den for the Oklahoma Depart- gram seeks to allow
ment of Wildlife Conservation PROVIDED BY NWTF access to quality
based in McCurtain County, private lands for
received the 2020 Wildlife public use.
Officer of the Year Award. “Opening private
The award goes to those who lands for public
have excelled in teamwork access, improving
and innovation, excellence wildlife habitat
and innovation, attitude and and creating strong ODWC Wildlife Biologist Eric Suttles and
leadership, and achievements partnerships — Director J.D. Strong accept the national NWTF
and accomplishments these are intrinsic Land Stewardship Award.
“To be recognized by the components to the NWTF mission, and it is great seeing a
NWTF, who I believe is the state agency pushing a similar mission,” NWTF CEO Becky
greatest conservation orga- Humphries said.
nization in the country, is a ODWC Game Warden Kenny Lawson
huge highlight in my career,” accepts the national NWTF Wildlife Best Inaugural Hunting Heritage Program Award
Lawson said. Officer of the Year Award. The award was given to the Tri-City Sportsmen Chapter.
He’s served as a Game Warden for 30 years and has tirelessly Bobby Armstrong and Rick Nolan accepted the award on
protected Oklahoma’s vast natural resources. Through a sev- behalf of the Newcastle, Blanchard and Tuttle, OK NWTF
en-week span of studying 50,000 photos from covert cameras, Chapter. The Tri-City Sportsmen hosted a deer hunting work-
Lawson single-handedly implicated 25 suspects of poaching shop designed to assist new or novice hunters who do not
bucks, does and a bear. The criminals faced thousands of have the benefit of a friend, family member or colleague to
dollars in fines and had hunting privileges revoked for life. mentor them.
Lawson has been at the forefront of apprehending poachers in
Oklahoma, seizing anything from illegally harvested mountain
lion to retrieving over a mile of illegal gill nets from the waters PROVIDED BY NWTF
he patrols.
This award is not new to Oklahoma. We are honored to have
Oklahoma wardens win this award in two previous years when
Game Wardens Shane Fields and Spencer Grace received the
well-deserved award.

Land Stewardship Award
ODWC Director J.D. Strong and Wildlife Biologist Eric
Suttles accepted the Land Stewardship Award. “I’m honored
to receive this esteemed award on behalf of the Department
and our hard-working biologists and technicians who pour
out their sweat and toil every day for nothing more than
the reward of a prosperous flock and a better hunt for our
sportsmen and women,” Strong said. “This award embodies
the strong and productive partnership we have forged over the
years with NWTF, which has enabled us to do so much more Bobby Armstrong and Rick Nolan of Tri-City Sportsmen Chapter accept
to improve habitat and grow hunting than we could ever do the national NWTF award for Best Inaugural Hunting Heritage Program.
on our own. Thank you to the thousands of NWTF donors,
volunteers and staff that give so selflessly to help us do what Fund-Raising Award
we do in Oklahoma.” Tulsa NWTF Chapter leaders Garrett McClendon and Jeff
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Springman accepted an award that recognized the chapter for
embodies the NWTF mission. Designated private lands biol- annual fund-raising that exceeded $75,000 during 2019.

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