Anonymous Angel Gifts $180K for Whitetail Conservation

America’s public-land hunters have an angel who has requested privacy, and we thank him or her.

Here at Popular Outdoorsman, we often spend time sadly discussing the people who abuse our public lands and the animals that make their home there. So it’s a lovely day when we can happily discuss the people who cherish and treasure American conservation … and today is that day. The National Deer Association (NDA) has just announced that an anonymous donor is putting his or her money right where his or her heart is. How much? Well, $180,000 to support NDA’s recently-announced national initiative known as Improving Access, Habitat and Deer Hunting on Public Lands, is one heck of a gift for a private citizen no matter their means.

The Improving Access, Habitat and Deer Hunting on Public Lands is a project that leverages the needs of hunters on public lands with NDA’s expertise and conservation partners, including the U.S. Forest Service. This gift will accelerate the project’s work, allowing NDA to reach a goal of improving 1 million acres of public land by 2026, at least five years ahead of earlier expectations.

“This project directly improves hunting access for hunters and habitat on the ground while allowing us to reinvest funds back into conservation,” said NDA Chief Conservation Officer Kip Adams. “This transformational gift will allow us to impact more acres in the Northeast, Southeast and Western U.S. in a much shorter time frame. This is fantastic for deer herds and deer hunters.”

Through an agreement, NDA, USFS and shared stewardship coordinators mutually identify and select proposed projects for completion on public lands. These may include prescribed fire treatments; vegetation management such as timber thinning to promote healthy forests; watershed restoration and maintenance; control of noxious and exotic species and the reestablishment of native species; recreational facility management; and road and trail maintenance or decommissioning to restore and improve water quality.

Work in Kentucky and Mississippi will impact an estimated 55,000 to 65,000 acres, and NDA and USFS are on track to have projects in six states totaling 175,000 to 265,000 acres in 2022.

The NDA donor believes in the project’s mission of ensuring the future of wild deer through habitat management as well as NDA’s mission. If you or anyone you know may be interested in helping us reach our goals with this initiative and supporting our mission, please contact our Chief Development Officer, Lauren Varner, at lauren@deerassociation.com.