Fish and Wildlife Management

Fish and Wildlife Management BSA Supply No. 33307

Wildlife management is the science and art of managing the wildlife—both animals and fish—with which we share our planet. Maintaining the proper balance and the dynamics that go with it requires humankind's attention. We use this stewardship tool to help minimize or eradicate the possibility of extinction of any given species. We want our descendants to have the opportunity to experience the same animal diversity that we now enjoy.

Requirements

1. Describe the meaning and purposes of fish and wildlife conser�vation and management.
2. List and discuss at least three major problems that continue to threaten your state's fish and wildlife resources.
3. Describe some practical ways in which everyone can help with the fish and wildlife conservation effort.
4. List and describe five major fish and wildlife management practices used by managers in your state.
5. Do ONE of the following:
   1. Construct, erect, and check regularly at least two artificial nest boxes (wood duck, bluebird, squirrel, etc.) and keep written records for one nesting season.
   2. Construct, erect, and check regularly bird feeders and keep written records of the kinds of birds visiting the feeders in the winter.
   3. Design and implement a backyard wildlife habitat improvement project and report the results.
   4. Design and construct a wildlife blind near a game trail, water hole, salt lick, bird feeder, or birdbath and take good photographs or make sketches from the blind of any combination of 10 wild birds, mammals, reptiles, or amphibians.
6. Do ONE of the following:
   1. Observe and record 25 spe�cies of wildlife. Your list may in�clude mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Write down when and where each animal was seen.
   2. List the wildlife species in your state that are classified as endangered, threatened, exotic, game species, furbearers, or �migratory game birds.
   3. Start a scrapbook of North American wildlife. Insert markers to divide the book into separate parts for mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Collect articles on such subjects as life histories, habitat, behavior, and feeding habits on all of the five categories and place them in your notebook accordingly. Articles and �pictures may be taken from newspapers or science, nature, and outdoor magazines, or from other sources including the Internet (with your parent's permission). Enter at least five articles on mammals, five on birds, five on reptiles, five on amphibians, and five on fish. Put each animal on a separate sheet in alphabetical order. In�clude pictures whenever possible.
7. Do ONE of the following:
   1. Determine the age of five species of fish from scale samples or identify various age classes of one species in a lake and report the results.
   2. Conduct a creel census on a small lake to estimate catch per unit effort.
   3. Examine the stomach contents of three species of fish and record the findings. It is not necessary to catch any fish for this option. You must visit a cleaning station set up for fishermen or find another, similar alternative.
   4. Make a freshwater aquarium. Include at least four species of native plants and four species of animal life, such as whirligig beetles, freshwater shrimp, tadpoles, water snails, and golden shiners. After 60 days of observation, discuss with your counselor the life cycles, food chains, and management needs you have recognized. After completing requirement 7d to your counselor's satisfaction, with your counselor's assistance, check local laws to determine what you should do with the specimens you have collected.
8. Using resources found at the library and in periodicals, books, and the Internet (with your parent's permission), learn about three different kinds of work done by fish and wildlife managers. Find out the education and training requirements for each position.

Resources

Scouting Literature

Boy Scout Handbook; Fieldbook; Animal Science, Bird Study, Camping, Environmental Science, Fishing, Fly-Fishing, Forestry, Insect Study, Mammal Study, Nature, Oceanography, Pets, Reptile and Amphibian Study, Soil and Water Conservation, and Veterinary Medicine merit badge pamphlets

Books

• Arnosky, Jim. Field Trips: Bug Hunting, Animal Tracking, Bird-Watching, Shore Walking. HarperCollins Publishers, 2002.
• Behler, John. Reptiles (The National Audubon Society First Field Guide). Scholastic Trade, 1999.
• Cassie, Brian. Amphibians (The National Audubon Society First Field Guide). Scholastic Trade, 1999.
• Chinery, Michael, ed. The Kingfisher Illustrated Encyclopedia of Animals: From Aardvark to Zorille—and 2,000 Other Animals. Kingfisher Books, 1992.
• Forsyth, Adrian. Mammals of North America: Temperate and Arctic Regions. Firefly Books LTD, 1999.
• Griggs, Jack, ed. All the Birds of North America: American Bird Conservancy's Field Guide. HarperCollins, 1997.
• Leopold, Aldo. A Sand County Almanac, reissue ed. Ballantine Books, 1990.
• Maynard, Thane. Working With Wildlife: A Guide to Careers in the Animal World. Orchard Books, 2000.
• Sayre, April Pulley. Put On Some Antlers and Walk Like a Moose: How Scientists Find, Follow, and Study Wild Animals. Millbrook Press, 1997.
• Vergoth, Karin, and Christopher Lampton. Endangered Species. Scholastic Library Publishing, 2000.
• Wernert, Susan J., ed. Reader's Digest North American Wildlife. Reader's Digest Adult, 1998.

Organizations and Web Sites

American Birding Association
P.O. Box 6599
Colorado Springs, CO 80934-6599
Telephone: 719-578-9703
Web site: http://www.americanbirding.org

American Fisheries Society
5410 Grosvenor Lane
Bethesda, MD 20814
Telephone: 301-897-8616
Web site: http://www.fisheries.org

International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
444 North Capital Street, NW, Suite 544
Washington, DC 20001
Telephone: 202-624-7890
Web site: http://www.iafwa.org

Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics
P.O. Box 997
Boulder, CO 80306
Toll-free telephone: 800-332-4100
Web site: http://www.LNT.org

National Audubon Society
700 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
Telephone: 212-979-3000
Web site: http://www.audubon.org

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
1120 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC 20036
Web site: http://www.nfwf.org

National Marine Fisheries Service
1315 East West Highway SSMC3
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Web site: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov

National Wildlife Federation
11100 Wildlife Center Drive
Reston, VA 20190-5362
Telephone: 703-438-6000
Web site: http://www.nwf.org

National Zoological Park
3001 Connecticut Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20008
Telephone: 202-357-2700
Web site: http://nationalzoo.si.edu

The Nature Conservancy
4245 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100
Arlington, VA 22203-1606
Web site: http://nature.org

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Toll-free telephone: 800-344-9453
Web site: http://www.fws.gov

Wildlife Conservation Society
2300 Southern Blvd.
Bronx, NY 10460
Telephone: 718-220-5100
Web site: http://wcs.org