David Allen

Press Release
EDGEFIELD, S.C. — For his hard work and dedication to land management and conserving wildlife, David. C. Allen of     Andrews, N.C., was recently honored with the National Wild Turkey Federation's Joe Kurz Excellence in Wildlife Management Award.

Allen, a 37-year veteran of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, received the award at the NWTF's National Convention and Sport Show, taking place Feb. 18 to Feb. 21 in Nashville, Tenn., and sponsored by MidwayUSA.
"I love wild turkeys, turkey hunting and the biology associated with wild turkeys," Allen said. "I'm surprised and pleased to receive this award, which honors many years of hard work for this great game bird."
The Joe Kurz Excellence in Wildlife Management Award recognizes wildlife managers who have proven themselves as exceptional stewards of wild turkey populations and habitat. Wildlife managers, such as Allen, are the unsung heroes who do on-the-ground work for wild turkeys and other wildlife.
"NWTF volunteers and state agencies nationwide have spent the past 37 years bringing wild turkeys back from alarmingly low populations," said the NWTF's Chief Conservation Officer James Earl Kennamer, Ph.D. "From the onset, David distinguished himself as a leader in North Carolina's turkey restoration efforts and has since made fostering wild turkey and other wildlife populations and land stewardship his life's work."
Allen has spent the last 35 years as a wildlife technician III and crew leader for the Andrews Wildlife Management Crew in Andrews, N.C. Since wild turkey restoration efforts began several decades ago, Allen has trapped and transferred 260 birds.
"David has many accomplishments for which to be proud. He's helped develop and maintain more than 1,000 acres of wildlife openings and prescribed burn areas and cooperated with the Great Smoky Mountain Chapter of the NWTF on more than 20 projects," said Kennamer.
Allen's conservation work doesn't stop when he's off the clock. Each year, he volunteers as a guide at a local turkey hunting fundraiser to benefit the North Carolina Chapter of The Wildlife Society and even finds time to manage a trout production facility.
The Joe Kurz Excellence in Wildlife Management Award is named in honor of Joe Kurz, a former Georgia Department of Natural Resources wildlife chief for his leadership and the vital role he played in improving wildlife management. Kurz was also a principal figure in the wild turkey trap and transfer program across North America.
Founded in 1973, the NWTF is a nonprofit conservation organization that works daily to further its mission of conserving the wild turkey and preserving our hunting heritage. Through dynamic partnerships with state, federal and provincial wildlife agencies, the NWTF and its members have helped restore wild turkey populations across the country, spending more than $306 million to conserve 14 million acres of habitat for all types of wildlife.