April 21, 2026

NSSF Joins Vermont in Firearm Industry-Funded Conservation Milestone

By Mark Oliva

(From left to right, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, NSSF’s John McNamara, Vermont Lt. Gov. John Rodgers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Tom Decker and Vermont Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Jason Batchelder were on hand to unveil the marker celebrating the restoration of wild turkeys in Vermont.)

Let’s talk turkey. Specifically, wild turkey.

There was a time when the largest of America’s upland game birds was a distant memory in quaint Vermont towns. Thanks to the vision of biologists in 1969, memories of wild turkeys roaming the hillsides of Vermont’s Green Mountains turned into a much more vibrant present reality. Vermont officials released 17 wild turkeys on Feb. 28, 1969. Those birds are the foundation of the estimated 50,000 that roam the state today.

NSSF joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and National Wild Turkey Federation to present a marker at the West Pawlet, Vt., Volunteer Fire Department, near the site of the original release of those 17 turkeys over 50 years ago. Several more were released in nearby Hubbardton in 1970 and turkey relocations continued from 1973 through 1986, establishing wild turkey populations in multiple counties. Some of the birds from those successes were later relocated to other states and countries for further restoration efforts.

“The firearm and ammunition industry is incredibly proud to support one of the greatest conservation success stories in our nation’s history — wildlife restoration,” said John McNamara, Vice President of Member Services for NSSF. “The story of the wild turkey in Vermont is a powerful example of what that commitment makes possible.”

Wild turkeys, which were once abundant in Vermont, were nonexistent by the late 1800s. Habitat loss and unregulated hunting pushed them off the landscape. The distant gobbles of toms searching for hens were absent for decades.

Vermont wasn’t alone in that predicament. That was the case across much of America. Nationwide, just an estimated 100,000 wild turkey remained. Turkeys weren’t the only species facing the threat of completely disappearing. Whitetail deer numbered just half a million. Ducks and other waterfowl were few. Rocky Mountain elk numbered just 41,000 and pronghorn antelope were in an even more dire situation, with just 12,000 estimated on the plains in the early 1900s.

That’s when Nevada’s U.S. Sen. Key Pittman and Virginia U.S. Rep. Absalom Willis Robertson had the vision of shifting an 11 percent excise tax on firearms and ammunition to fund wildlife conservation in state government agencies. The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, commonly known as the Pittman-Robertson Act, was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The law shifted the tax money from going directly into the U.S. Treasury to the Secretary of the Department of the Interior to distribute to the states.

To date, that fund has generated over $31 billion, when adjusted for inflation, for annual apportionments to the states for managing wildlife resources. Those excise tax dollars, which also now include a 10 percent tax on handguns, is paid by firearm and ammunition manufacturers and importers. Along with an excise tax paid by the archery industry, those funds pay for wildlife conservation, public land access, public recreational shooting range development and improvement and hunter education. Last year alone, over $1.3 billion was distributed to state wildlife agencies and a total of $804,790,385 is directly sourced to the firearm and ammunition industry.

That’s turned wildlife conservation in America into the gold standard for the world. Vermont’s turkeys, which were nonexistent until those 17 were released in 1969, now number over 50,0000. On a national scale, wild turkeys recovered to 7 million across America today. Whitetail deer number over 32 million, ducks and waterfowl are estimated at over 44 million, Rocky Mountain elk number over 1 million and over 1.1 million pronghorn antelope roam the plains.

“That success is a testament to the strong partnerships behind conservation efforts — state agencies, federal wildlife professionals, NGO partners and the firearm and ammunition industry — working together under the American Model of Wildlife Conservation,” McNamara explained at the Vermont celebration of wild turkey reintroduction. “Most importantly, today’s dedication represents a promise to future generations — that our wildlife, our landscapes and our outdoor traditions will endure.”

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