Wildlife Management Technician Honored by Wild Turkey Federation

RALEIGH, N.C. (Feb. 28, 2008)– A Wildlife Management Technician credited with improving wild turkey habitats in the southeastern Coastal Plain has been honored as one of the best in his field by the North Carolina State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation.

David Stewart was recently named the Wildlife Management Professional of the Year for 2007.

He has worked for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission since 2003, and leads management activities on 71,734 acres of land in his area.

“He has played an integral part in developing and implementing several wild turkey habitat enhancement projects on Suggs Mill Pond Game Land,” said Victor French, a commission biologist who nominated Stewart for the award. “His career efforts have certainly contributed to the success of the wild turkey in Bladen County and other parts of North Carolina.”

Stewart, Crew Leader for the Suggs Mill Pond crew, continues to lead his crew in maintaining gates and wildlife openings that were the result of two National Wild Turkey Federation Superfund Projects on the Singletary Tract of Bladen Lakes State Forest in the mid-90s.

His other successes include helping to improve the habitat for wild turkeys on the Suggs Mill Pond Game Land by using various plantings to create feeding and foraging areas. Stewart and his crew also assist in prescribed burnings for more than 4,000 acres each year, and monitor the responses of bobwhite quail and songbirds to habitat modifications.

Stewart was honored during the State Chapter’s awards banquet in January.