NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mike McKernan, of Twin Brooks, South Dakota, has been elected to the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Board of Directors.

McKernan is the South Dakota State Chapter President and has been an NWTF member since 1999. He has served on the state board of directors since 2004. He currently serves as the district director for eastern South Dakota, in addition to his position as state president.

“I’m looking forward to serving on the board, working with everyone, to help keep our organization going in the right direction,” McKernan said. “The main thing is to promote our initiative, Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt.; that’s really important. And I’m looking forward to helping keep us the number one conservation organization in the country.”

Since becoming a member of the NWTF, McKernan helped to start the Whetstone Gobblers chapter, which is one of the top chapters in the state, and he currently serves as chapter president.

He was involved with Eastern wild turkey releases in Grant County, South Dakota, where he resides, and is currently assisting with a study of Eastern turkeys by a student from the University of West Virginia. McKernan has been instrumental in getting 501 Auctions, the online NWTF banquet accounting system, off the ground in South Dakota.

McKernan, a retired Grant County Sheriff, also serves on the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks’ Turn in Poachers Board of Directors and the state board of directors for the South Dakota Grassland Coalition.

McKernan is an actively involved volunteer in his county with the 4-H Shooting Sports Program and is a hunt safe instructor. He was the 2004 South Dakota NWTF Volunteer of the Year and a 2013 inductee into the South Dakota NWTF Hall of Fame.

“Mike will make an excellent addition to our board of directors,” said Becky Humphries, NWTF CEO. “His passion for the wild turkey and his intimate knowledge of our on-the-ground volunteers give him a unique perspective as we move forward to Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt.”

About the National Wild Turkey Federation
When the National Wild Turkey Federation was founded in 1973, there were about 1.3 million wild turkeys in North America. After decades of work, that number hit an historic high of almost 7 million turkeys. To succeed, the NWTF stood behind science-based conservation and hunters’ rights. The NWTF Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. initiative is a charge that mobilizes science, fundraising and devoted volunteers to raise $1.2 billion to conserve and enhance more than 4 million acres of essential wildlife habitat, recruit at least 1.5 million hunters and open access to 500,000 acres for hunting. For more information, visit NWTF.org.

Contact Pete Muller at (803) 637-7698