Intro To Wildlife Management - CSmith

Introduction to Wildlife Conservation &
Management Principals
Key Topics
• Wildlife Conservation
• Management & Conservation Principles

Wildlife Conservation
Concept of wildlife conservation has been

around since ancient times. Restrictions on
taking game are mentioned in the Bible, first
official hunting season may have been
established in the 13th century by Kubla
Kahn.
Wildlife Conservation (cont.)
Today, wildlife conservation has evolved into
a science, but its goal remains essentially the
same: to ensure the wise use and
management of renewable resources. Given
the right circumstances, living organisms that
we call renewable resources can replenish
themselves indefinitely.
• Conservation: Is the wise use of natural
resources, without wasting them.
Preservation
• Preservation: (Saving natural resources,

but with no consumption of them), is
another means of protecting or saving a
resource, such as outlawing hunting of
endangered species. Both preservation and
conservation are necessary to sustain
resources for future generations.
Lessons in Wildlife Management
• Early attempts at wildlife management in

the United States were skewed toward
protection and preservation.
– A reaction to widespread declines due to

unregulated subsistence and market
hunting.
• .
Lessons in Wildlife Management
(cont.)
• In the early 1900s, wildlife managers

attempted to preserve a mule deer herd in
the remote Kaibab Plateau of Arizona.
Hunting was banned, and predators were
destroyed. The result was severe
overpopulation, habitat destruction and
mass starvation
Lessons in Wildlife Management (cont.)
• The Kaibab Plateau was opened to
managed hunting in 1929, which brought
the population into balance with the habitat.
Today, a large, healthy herd of mule deer
inhabits the area.
Lessons in Wildlife Management (cont.)
• Wildlife managers learned there is more to

conservation than just protecting wildlife.
They discovered that nature overproduces
its game resources, and that good wildlife
management yields a surplus that can be
harvested by hunters, trappers, and
anglers.
Habitat Management
Most critical aspect of

wildlife conservation is
habitat management.
Habitat loss presents the

greatest threat to wildlife.
Habitat Management (cont.)
These five essential elements must be present:
• The need for food and water is obvious.
• Cover is needed for
shelter as well as to
protect animals while
feeding, breeding,
roosting, nesting, and
traveling.
• Space is necessary to avoid over-competition
for food. Some animals also need a certain
amount of territorial space for mating and
nesting.
• Arrangement refers
to the placement of
food, water, cover
and space in a
habitat.
• For example, quail will spend much of their

time where shrub and grassland areas
converge. This is called edge effect. Most
animals can be found where food and cover
meet, particularly near a water source.
River bottoms are ideal, offering many
animals all their habitat needs along one
corridor.
Balancing Act
Habitats must be in balance in order to support
wildlife. Remove a certain population of plants or
animals from a community, and the community
may not survive. This typically happens when
urban development pushes into wildlife areas.
Carrying Capacity
Resources in any given habitat can support

only a certain quantity of wildlife. As
seasons change, food, water, or cover may
be in short supply. Carrying capacity is
number of animals habitat can support all
year long. Carrying capacity of a certain
tract of land can vary from year to year. It
can be changed by nature or humans.
Limiting Factors
Factors that limit potential production of wildlife
include:
• Disease and starvation
• Predators and hunting
• Pollution
• Accidents
• Old Age
Limiting Factors (cont.)
If the conditions are balanced, game animals will

produce a surplus, which can be harvested.
The Hunter’s Role in Wildlife Conservation
Since wildlife is a renewable resource with

surplus, hunters can help maintain wildlife
populations at a healthy balance for the
habitat. Regulated hunting should never
lead to threatened or endangered wildlife
populations.
Hunting is effective wildlife management
tool. Hunters play important role by
providing information from the field that
wildlife managers need.
(cont.)
Funding from hunting licenses has helped

many game and non-game species recover
from dwindling populations
In addition to participating in the harvest of

surplus animals, hunters help sustain game
populations by:
(cont.)
• Filling out questionnaires
• Participating in surveys
• Stopping at hunter check

stations
• Providing samples from harvested animals
• Funding for wildlife management through

license fees.
Management/Conservation Principles
Wildlife manager’s job is to maintain number

of animals in a habitat at or below habitat’s
carrying capacity, so no damage is done to
the animals or to their habitat.
In addition to looking at the total number of a

species in a habitat, wildlife managers also
monitor breeding stock correct mix of adult
and young animals needed to sustain a
population.
Management/Conservation Principles
(cont.)
To manage a habitat, wildlife managers

must consider historical trends, current
habitat conditions, breeding population
levels, long-term projections and breeding
success.
Wildlife Management Practices
• Monitoring Wildlife Populations:
Wildlife managers continuously
monitor birth and death rate of various
species and condition of their habitat.
This provides data needed to set
hunting regulations and determine if
other wildlife management practices
are needed to conserve wildlife
species.
Wildlife Management Practices (cont.)
• Habitat Improvement: As succession

occurs, change in habitat affects type and
number of wildlife habitat can support.
Wildlife managers may cut down or burn
forested areas to promote new growth and
slow down the process of succession. This
practice enables them to increase the
production of certain wildlife species.
Wildlife Management Practices (cont.)
• Hunting Regulations: Hunting regulations

protect habitat and preserve animal
populations. Regulations include setting
daily and seasonal time limits, bag limits
and legal methods for taking wildlife.
Beneficial Habitat Management Practices
• Food plots and planting

• Controlled burning
• Brush pile creation
• Timber cutting
• Ditching
• Diking
• Nuisance plant or animal control
• Mechanical brush or grass control
•Water holdings
Birth Rate
Number of young born to a wildlife species in one year.

Death Rate
Number of individuals that die in one year.
Succession
Natural progression of vegetation and wildlife populations
of an area; for example, as trees grow and form a canopy,
shrubs and grasses will disappear along with the wildlife
that use them for food and cover.
Predator
An animal that kills other animals for food
Wildlife Management Tools
• Laws: Wildlife laws must be flexible,

based on biological facts, and used in
combination with other management
tools. These game laws are necessary
to protect the safety of people, to
protect the game, and to insure a fair
share for future generations.
Wildlife Management Tools (cont.)
• Habitat Management: Ideal goal is manipulate
vegetation so necessities for life for variety of
wildlife are provided. Generally this is done by
controlled burning, selective forestry, food
planting where feasible and appropriate, and
other practices to maintain proper mix of habitat
requirements.
• Stocking: Purpose of stocking is release wildlife

species in areas that have suitable habitat but no
animal population.
Wildlife Management Tools (cont.)
• Hunting and Trapping: Valuable tools for
maintaining wildlife populations at or below
carrying capacity for the habitat. Goal is regulate
hunting so only excess animals in a population
are removed.
• Public Education: Necessary for public

understanding of wildlife management
programs. The more people know and
understand wildlife and its needs, the more likely
they will support management programs.
Questions?

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Introduction to Wildlife Conservation &

• Management & Conservation Principles

Concept of wildlife conservation has been

• Preservation: (Saving natural resources,

• Early attempts at wildlife management in

– A reaction to widespread declines due to

• In the early 1900s, wildlife managers

• Wildlife managers learned there is more to

Most critical aspect of

Habitat loss presents the

• For example, quail will spend much of their

Resources in any given habitat can support

If the conditions are balanced, game animals will

Since wildlife is a renewable resource with

Funding from hunting licenses has helped

In addition to participating in the harvest of

• Stopping at hunter check

• Providing samples from harvested animals

• Funding for wildlife management through

Wildlife manager’s job is to maintain number

In addition to looking at the total number of a

To manage a habitat, wildlife managers

• Habitat Improvement: As succession

• Hunting Regulations: Hunting regulations

• Food plots and planting

Number of young born to a wildlife species in one year.

• Laws: Wildlife laws must be flexible,

• Stocking: Purpose of stocking is release wildlife

• Public Education: Necessary for public

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