Chairman
Robert Abernethy joined the Board of Directors of Stewardship West as Chairman in 2023. In 2020,
Robert retired after 7 years as President of the Longleaf Alliance, a 501 C3 non-profit conservation
organization dedicated to the restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem in the southeastern US. Prior
to 2012, Robert served as Director of Agency Programs for the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) for 17 years. While at the NWTF, he headed up the restoration of the wild turkey throughout the US
and Canada and developed, managed, and grew the NWTF Stewardship Contracting Program with the
USFS to the point that by 2011 the NWTF managed more Stewardship Contracts than any other non-
profit in the US.
During his career as a Certified Wildlife Biologist and Professional Wetland Scientist,
Robert has worked throughout the US on projects as diverse as wetlands restoration in Louisiana
marshes, western Tennessee bottomland hardwood forests and eastern North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
Robert enjoys hunting whitetails, elk, and wild turkeys across the country and managing the family farm
in eastern NC with an emphasis on loblolly pine timber production, longleaf restoration and maximizing
hunting opportunities for whitetails and wild turkeys. He is married and has two grown children.
