Turkey Call All Access

Brent Rogers is a wild turkey hunter, historian, author, podcast guest, collector and more. And, he was the recent recipient of the NWTF Tom Kelly Communicator of the Year Award at the 2026 Convention and Sport Show for his communication effort that share the organization's mission to conserve the wild turkey and preserve our hunting heritage.  On this episode of the Turkey Call All Access Podcast, the NWTF's Pete Muller sits down with Rogers to talk about him receiving this honor at convention and hosting a seminar with members of the Primos Hunting focused on old turkey calls. Rogers is also currently celebrating the publication of his co-authored book, "The Origin and Evolution of Turkey Calls," which tells the story of the people, places and methods of early turkey call making. Muller and Rogers discuss a few of the notable stories that readers can expect.

Realtree and the National Wild Turkey Federation recently announced a landmark partnership with Realtree supporting the NWTF's Habitat for the Hatch initiative in the Southeast. Now, during the NWTF's 50th Convention and Sport Show, Realtree is celebrating it's 40th anniversary.  During the final day of the annual gathering of the NWTF flock in Nashville, the NWTF's Pete Muller and newly hired NWTF National Director of Wild Turkey Research Patrick Wightman sat down with Realtree Vice President Tyler Jordan to talk about the company's anniverary, the growth of a brand started by his father that extends beyond just the hunting community and also discuss why  Realtree is coming out big to support the NWTF's mission to conserve the wild turkey and preserve our hunting heritage. To learn more about Realtree, visit www.realtree.com.

When founder Toxey Haas launched Mossy Oak in 1986, he did so because he wanted to have a better way to hide from wildlife. Now 40 years and dozens of camo patterns later, Mossy Oak has helped countless hunters make memories through their adventures afield.  The NWTF's Pete Muller sits down with Mossy Oak's President and first official employee Bill Sugg and Director of Marketing Daniel Haas to talk the early years, the importance of turkey hunting to the brand, what it means to them to engage with the NWTF faithful each year at the Convention and Sports Show as well as what they have in store for the future! To keep up with new from Mossy Oak, visit https://www.mossyoak.com/.

As the daughter of Colonel Tom Kelly, the poet laureate of the turkey woods, Laura Bates is no stranger to the world of turkey hunting and the impact her father's books have had on so many hunters who take to the woods each spring.  With the upcoming launch of the Tenth Legion: Bootleg Revival edition, set for release at the 2026 NWTF Convention and Sport Show, Bates joins the NWTF's Jesse Warner to talk the history of Tenth Legion, the story behind the new release, stories about her dad from her childhood, both her and her dad's perceived contributions to turkey conservation and much more! To learn more about the upcoming book release, visit https://tomkellyinc.com.

With the NWTF Photography Contest, sponsored by Tactacam, currently open for submissions at https://your.nwtf.org/photo_contest/ (call for entries closes on January 10, 2026), wildlife and lifestyle photography are on our minds.  The NWTF's Jesse Warner continues conversations about wildlife photography by sitting down with Zack McQueen. You may have seen McQueen's work in the NWTF's photo contest, Wyoming Wildlife's Calendar or across social on his channels.  They talk Mcqueen's start in photography, his choice of camera equipment, specific shots McQueen worked hard to capture — like the one where you can see a turkey's gobble thanks to the steam in its breath — and much more!  To check out McQueen's photography work, visit https://www.instagram.com/z.mcqueen_photography/.

With the NWTF Photography Contest, sponsored by Tactacam, currently open for submissions at https://your.nwtf.org/photo_contest/ (call for entries closes on January 10, 2026), wildlife and lifestyle photography are on our minds.  On the episode, the NWTF's Jesse Warner sits down with talented photographer Clayton Worrell of Cedar Bluff, Iowa. They talk the origin of his photography studio name — Grizhawkins or Grizhawk, tactics used in the field to get shots he wants, setting goals for desirable images and much more! If you enjoy shooting turkeys from behind the lens just as much as you do from behind the gun, this is an episode you'll want to catch. To view Worrell's work, check him out on Instagram @Grizhawk or visit his website https://www.grizhawkins.com/. Or if you are headed to the NWTF Convention and Sport Show, you can visit his booth on the sport show floor — both 2055.  

As we know there is an elevated interest in wild turkey science within the turkey hunting community, we are working to bring you numerous updates and research summaries from the 13th National Wild Turkey Symposium in Kansas City, Missouri. This episode includes a conversation with the authors and presenters from the following papers included in the "New and Emerging Tools" session: "Investigating diel patterns of predation events in wild turkey using tri-axial accelerometer data" —- Wightman et al.(https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1631) "Use of LIDAR to examine habitat selection by incubating female wild turkeys in South Carolina" — Ulrey et al. (Presented by Nick Bakner) (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1628) "Assessing the potential of unoccupied aerial vehicles and deep learning to survey wild turkey populations" — Schumacher et al. (Presented by Mike Byrnes) (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1639) Additional guest includes the NWTF's Ricky Lackey To view the full symposium agenda, visit www.wildturkeysymposium.org.

As we know there is an elevated interest in wild turkey science within the turkey hunting community, we are working to bring you numerous updates and research summaries from the 13th National Wild Turkey Symposium in Kansas City, Missouri. This episode includes a conversation with the presenter from the following paper included in the "Tools to Estimate Survival" session: "Evaluating camera survey methods for estimating wild turkey abundance" — Buckley et al (Presented by Nick Bakner) (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1643) Additional guest includes Kyle Hand, Statewide Game Bird Specialist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. While we were not able to sit down and have further conversations with all presenters or authors from the session about tools to estimate survival, please check out the following research papers: "Comparison of methods for estimating wild turkey poult survival estimates" — Quehl et al. (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1617) "A framework for analyzing wild turkey sighting data" — Diefenbach et al. (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1623) To view the full symposium agenda, visit www.wildturkeysymposium.org.

As we know there is an elevated interest in wild turkey science within the turkey hunting community, we are working to bring you numerous updates and research summaries from the 13th National Wild Turkey Symposium in Kansas City, Missouri. This episode includes conversations with the authors from the following papers included in the "Human Dimensions and Hunting" session: "Hunting impacts male wild turkey movement and resource selection: insights from a hunted and nonhunted population" — Wightman et al. (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1629) "Geographical variation in male eastern wild turkey gobbling activity relative to female nesting chronology" — Moscicki et al. (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1627) Additional guests include the NWTF's Ricky Lackey. While we were not able to sit down and have further conversations with all presenters or authors from the session about human dimensions and hunting, please check out the following research paper: "Reviewing human dimensions of wild turkey hunting research and synthesizing future directions" — Steele et al. (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1645) To view the full symposium agenda, visit www.wildturkeysymposium.org.

As we know there is an elevated interest in wild turkey science within the turkey hunting community, we are working to bring you numerous updates and research summaries from the 13th National Wild Turkey Symposium in Kansas City, Missouri. This episode includes a conversation with the author from the following paper included in the "Population Dynamics - A Regional Look Around the USA" session: "Comparing nesting rate and space use between extant and translocated eastern wild turkeys" — Argabright et al. (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1626) Additional guests include the NWTF's Annie Farrell. While we were not able to sit down and have further conversations with all presenters or authors from the session about regional population dynamics, please check out the following research papers: "Vital rates and population trajectory of a decline in eastern wild turkey population in southeastern Oklahoma" — Butler et al. (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.70002) "Factors influencing eastern wild turkey population growth in northeastern South Dakota" — Tyl et al. (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1636) "Spring survival of wild turkeys in Delaware" — Holland et al.(https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1624) To view the full symposium agenda, visit www.wildturkeysymposium.org.

As we know there is an elevated interest in wild turkey science within the turkey hunting community, we are working to bring you numerous updates and research summaries from the 13th National Wild Turkey Symposium in Kansas City, Missouri. This episode includes conversations with authors or presenters from papers included in the "Habitat Selection" session: "Effects of temperature and precipitation on wild turkey brood survival in the southeastern United States" — Boone et al. (Presented by Chris Moorman) (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.70003) "Inter-annual lek fidelity in eastern wild turkey flocks" — Argabright et al.  (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1638) "Decreased female survival may explain wild turkey decline" — Lashley et al.(https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1642) Additional guests include the NWTF's John Burke and Kacie Bauman. To view the full symposium agenda, visit www.wildturkeysymposium.org.

As we know there is an elevated interest in wild turkey science within the turkey hunting community, we are working to bring you numerous updates and research summaries from the 13th National Wild Turkey Symposium in Kansas City, Missouri. This episode includes conversations with authors or presenters from papers included in the "Habitat Selection" session: "Multi-scale evaluation of eastern wild turkey nest site selection and nest survival" — Moscicki et al. (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1635) "Measuring congruence between available and selected vegetation at wild turkey nest sites" — Bakner et al. (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1626) Additional guests include the NWTF's Ricky Lackey. While we were not able to sit down and have further conversations with all presenters or authors from the session about about habitat selection, please check out the following research papers: "Spatial and temporal variation in female wild turkey roost site selection" — Nieves et al. (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1634) "Is wild turkey habitat selection spatially consistent? A three-decade meta-analysis in Mississippi" — Butler et al.(https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.70000) To view the full symposium agenda, visit www.wildturkeysymposium.org.

As we know there is an elevated interest in wild turkey science within the turkey hunting community, we are working to bring you numerous updates and research summaries from the 13th National Wild Turkey Symposium in Kansas City, Missouri. This episode includes conversations with authors or presenters from papers included in the "Disease Ecology and Predation" session: "Influence of lymphoproliferative disease virus on behaviors of female easter wild turkeys during reproductive periods" — Chamberlain et al. (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1632) "The Notorious P.I.G.: Wild pigs are not primary predators of wild turkey nests" — Collier and Chamberlain (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1618) Additional guests include the NWTF's Ricky Lackey. While we were not able to sit down and have further conversations with all authors or presenters from papers included in the session about disease ecology and predators, please check out the following research papers: "Our current understanding and research needs for lymphoproliferative disease virus in wild turkeys" — Goodwin et al (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1644) "Environmental influences on development of aflatoxins in supplemental feed for wildlife" — Day et al.(https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.70001) To view the full symposium agenda, visit www.wildturkeysymposium.org.

As we know there is an elevated interest in wild turkey science within the turkey hunting community, we are working to bring you numerous updates and research summaries from the 13th National Wild Turkey Symposium in Kansas City, Missouri. This episode includes conversations with authors or presenters from papers included in the "Wild Turkey Genetics" session: "Role of kinship in sociality of female eastern wild turkeys" — Chamberlain et al. (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1630) "Genetic structuring and within-flock relatedness of eastern wild turkeys" — Watkins et al. (Presented by Chamberlain) (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1622) Additional guests include the NWTF's Ricky Lackey. While we were not able to sit down and have further conversations with all presenters or authors from the session about wild turkey genetics, please check out the following research paper titled "Investigating the role of management decisions in subspecies hybridization across the wild turkey's range" — Beckman et al. (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1625) To view the full symposium agenda, visit www.wildturkeysymposium.org.

As we know there is an elevated interest in wild turkey science within the turkey hunting community, we are working to bring you numerous updates and research summaries from the 13th National Wild Turkey Symposium in Kansas City, Missouri. This episode includes conversations with authors or presenters from papers included in the "Status, Brood Survey and Hen Survival" session: "Status and Distribution of Wild Turkeys in the United States" — Dr. Bret Collier (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1621) "A National Standardized Wild Turkey Brood Survey: The First 6 Years" — Zach Danks (https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.1641) Additional guests include the NWTF's Jared McJunkin and Doug Derek Alkire. To view the full symposium agenda, visit www.wildturkeysymposium.org.

As we know there is an elevated interest in wild turkey science within the turkey hunting community, we are working to bring you numerous updates and research summaries from the 13th National Wild Turkey Symposium in Kansas City, Missouri. This episode includes summary talks from the "Welcome & Introductory Remarks" session that included Eric Kurzejeski's "Wild Turkey Research: A Look Back" and Dr. Bret Collier's "Wild Turkey Research: Present and Future." Additional guests include the NWTF's John Burk and Doug Little. To view the full symposium agenda, visit www.wildturkeysymposium.org.

It is an exciting time in the NWTF Education and Outreach arena, especially as we continue to grow our programs.  The NWTF's vision has always been to unite a nation through the power of the outdoors, and through talking with NWTF education and outreach staff, one can see how far we've come.  To celebrate National Hunting and Fishing Day for 2025, we sat down with Mandy Harling, National Director of Education & Outreach Programs, Morgan Evan, the National R3 & Relevancy Coordinator and Jennifer Davis, Hunting and Shooting R3 Coordinator for Michigan about what R3 is, the Hunt for Good Campaign, our amazing volunteers and all things hunting heritage. If you're craving an inspiring, feel-good conversation, tune in and enjoy! 

In this episode of the NWTF podcast, we explore what makes the West unique — and why conservation here matters to all of us. The American West is a region of unmatched beauty and opportunity, but also one of incredible complexity. From rugged mountains to sprawling deserts, its vast public lands provide vital wildlife habitat and unparalleled access for hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts. NWTF staffers take us inside the challenges and opportunities of Western conservation, from wildfire and drought to the growing urban–rural divide. Most importantly, we look at how partnerships and people are coming together to ensure that the West's wild places, wildlife, and outdoor traditions remain strong for future generations.

The NWTF has just launched its bold new Roots to Roost Initiative — a groundbreaking, cross-boundary conservation effort set to make a landscape-scale impact across the Midwest.  This initiative bolsters the organization's conservation, policy, and education efforts to increase wild turkey populations and conserve the diverse ecosystems they depend on.    In this episode of the Turkey Call All Access Podcast, we're joined by John Burk and Clayton Lenk, NWTF district biologists; Tyler Rhodes, NWTF National Forestry Initiative forester; and David Gladkowski, NWTF managing editor - web and media. Together, they dig into the vision behind Roots to Roost, the importance of habitat work on private lands, how landowners can get involved and more! 

In this episode of the NWTF Turkey Call All Access Podcast NWTF staff members from the Great Plains region explore the vital connection between wild turkeys, riparian ecosystems, and NWTF's Waterways for Wildlife Initiative. Together, they break down why riparian corridors—those narrow but powerful "ribbons of life" along rivers and streams—are so important to turkeys, hundreds of other wildlife species and the communities who depend on them. Listeners will hear firsthand how science and research are guiding conservation decisions in the Great Plains, the on-the-ground work NWTF and its partners are doing to restore and protect waterways and the lasting impact this initiative will have on wildlife and people alike. From invasive species removal to landowner collaboration, this conversation highlights how Waterways for Wildlife is shaping a healthier, more resilient future for America's Great Open Spaces.