Study guides · Stuff Every Wildlife Manager Scout Should Know
Practice facts for the Fish and Wildlife Management merit badge. Not an official Scouting America credential. Grab a snack: this guide is the friendly version, with the answers explained and a groan-worthy joke waiting at the end of most cards.
Knowing Wildlife Manager Scout saves you money, time and the occasional embarrassment.
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Short answer: Influencing wildlife, habitat, and people interactions
Wildlife management influences interactions among wildlife, habitats, and people to achieve planned results.
Groan of the day: Don't duck the issue, manage it!
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Earth's biodiversity
A key aim of wildlife management is halting biodiversity loss using ecological principles.
Groan of the day: Biodiversity loss is no small fry.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Carrying capacity
Carrying capacity is an ecological principle managers consider when planning for wildlife populations.
Groan of the day: Carry on, capacity!
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Habitats
Most wildlife biologists are concerned with conserving and improving habitats for wildlife.
Groan of the day: Home is where the habitat is.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Managing wildlife for the well-being of game
Gamekeeping is managing or controlling wildlife for the well-being of game species.
Groan of the day: Keep your game face on.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: The right to kill fish and wildlife game
The history of wildlife management begins with game laws regulating the right to take game.
Groan of the day: That's the law of the wild.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Close seasons when they could not be taken
The Game Act 1831 protected game birds with close seasons when taking them was illegal.
Groan of the day: Closed season means birds get a break.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: A time when hunting is allowed by law
Open season is when wildlife may legally be hunted, usually outside breeding season.
Groan of the day: Open season is not a shopping spree.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: A time when wildlife is protected from hunting
Closed season protects wildlife from hunting, usually during breeding season, and is enforced by law.
Groan of the day: Closed season gives wildlife a breather.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Poaching
Hunting during closed season is illegal and termed poaching.
Groan of the day: Poaching is not a recipe for success.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: The United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sets guidelines for waterfowl and migratory gamebird seasons and bag limits.
Groan of the day: Migratory birds follow flyways, not flyers.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: State game commissions
State game commissions, including wildlife biologists and interest groups, set seasons for state regulated game.
Groan of the day: Deer season is a state affair.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Minimize external influences on a population and its habitat
Custodial management is preventive and protective, minimizing outside influences on wildlife and habitat.
Groan of the day: Custodial care keeps things wild.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: A national park protecting ecological processes
Custodial management suits national parks where protecting ecological processes is a stated goal.
Groan of the day: Parks deserve a hands-off hug.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Acts on a population by changing numbers directly or indirectly
Manipulative management changes population numbers directly or by altering food, habitat, predators, or disease.
Groan of the day: Manipulate the habitat, not the mood.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: When a population is harvested or too low or too high
Manipulative management fits situations where a population is harvested or reaches unacceptable levels.
Groan of the day: Too many or too few? Manage the crew.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Reducing human impact to restore self-sustaining ecosystems
Rewilding reduces human impact so ecosystems can restore themselves to a self-sustaining state.
Groan of the day: Rewild and let nature smile.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: A species with an outsize effect on its ecosystem
Rewilding recognizes keystone species, which have an outsize effect on their ecosystems.
Groan of the day: Keystone species hold the arch together.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Control of real or perceived pests for wildlife, farmers, or safety
Pest control manages real or perceived pests for the benefit of wildlife, farmers, gamekeepers, or human safety.
Groan of the day: Pests can be a real buzzkill.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Taxed guns and ammunition to fund wildlife management
The Pittman-Robertson Act placed a 10 percent tax on guns and ammunition, funding state wildlife management and research.
Groan of the day: That tax helps wildlife get back on track.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Active management of the elk population
The Leopold Report recommended active management of Yellowstone's elk population based on scientific data.
Groan of the day: Elk need a plan, not a panic.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Removal of wolves from the park
Many biologists think removing wolves let elk herds grow, causing overgrazing in parts of Yellowstone.
Groan of the day: No wolves, more elk, more munching.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: The population rebounded
After culling stopped in 1968, the elk population rebounded, reaching a historic high later.
Groan of the day: Elk made a comeback tour.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Closed the hunting season for white-tailed deer from May to November
Rhode Island closed the white-tailed deer hunting season from May to November in 1839.
Groan of the day: Deer got a summer vacation.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: The art of making land produce sustained annual crops of wild game
Leopold defined wildlife management as the art of making land produce sustained annual crops of wild game for recreation.
Groan of the day: Leopold knew how to grow game.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Became the first nature protection law in the world
The Sea Birds Preservation Act 1869 was the first nature protection law in the world.
Groan of the day: Sea birds got a legal lifeboat.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Passed legislation to protect wildlife
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 was legislation passed to protect wildlife in the UK.
Groan of the day: Laws can be wildlife lifelines.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Subsidies to improve conservation value of farms
The UK government gives farmers subsidies through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme to improve conservation value.
Groan of the day: Stewardship pays off for wildlife.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Eradication of coyotes
The 1931 Animal Damage Control Act coordinated coyote eradication efforts, though coyotes adapted and survived.
Groan of the day: Coyotes proved too clever to clear out.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Their adaptability prevented significant population decline
Coyotes adapted so well that killing hundreds of thousands did not significantly reduce their population.
Groan of the day: Coyotes are clever survivors.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Biodiversity loss
Habitat destruction and fragmentation are major drivers of biodiversity loss, especially in the UK.
Groan of the day: Broken habitat means broken homes.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Plant new woodlands
Landowners with game or hunting interests are about 2.5 times more likely to plant new woodlands.
Groan of the day: Game interests can grow forests.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Food and shelter for game birds in winter
Landowners plant cover crops like maize or quinoa to provide food and shelter for game birds in winter.
Groan of the day: Cover crops cover the dinner table.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Linnets and finches
Cover crops provide food and refuge for declining farmland birds such as linnets and finches.
Groan of the day: Finches find fine dining in cover crops.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: They can negatively impact ecosystems
High densities of game birds can negatively impact ecosystems, reducing plant and insect diversity.
Groan of the day: Too many birds can crowd the buffet.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: They object to real or perceived cruelty
Critics object to real or perceived cruelty in some wildlife management and hunting practices.
Groan of the day: Different views make for wild debates.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: The countryside they look after exceeds nature reserves by nine times
UK gamekeepers claim the countryside they manage exceeds nature reserves and national parks by a factor of nine.
Groan of the day: That is a lot of land to look after.
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: State regulations and licenses
Your state may require a license to collect certain species, so check regulations before collecting.
Groan of the day: License first, collect later.
Short answer: Permission
You must have permission of the land manager before taking any samples.
Groan of the day: Ask first, sample second.
Short answer: Leave No Trace Seven Principles and the Outdoor Code
Scouts must follow the Leave No Trace Seven Principles and the Outdoor Code during field trips and collecting.
Groan of the day: Leave no trace, leave a good name.
Short answer: Artificial nest boxes
Building and checking artificial nest boxes for species like bluebirds or wood ducks is a management project.
Groan of the day: Nest boxes are home sweet home.
Short answer: The kinds of birds visiting
Keeping daily records of bird kinds visiting feeders over two weeks is a valid project.
Groan of the day: Feeders bring feathered friends.
Short answer: A wildlife blind
A wildlife blind near a game trail, water hole, or feeder lets you photograph or sketch wildlife.
Groan of the day: A blind helps you see without being seen.
Short answer: The age of fish
Fish scales can be read to determine the age class of species in a fishery.
Groan of the day: Scales tell fish tales of age.
Short answer: Catch per unit effort
A creel census on a small lake estimates catch per unit effort for anglers.
Groan of the day: Creel surveys keep catch counts honest.
Short answer: Local laws on releasing them
Before releasing aquarium organisms, check local laws and follow your counselor's direction for safe disposal.
Groan of the day: Never dump pets, check the rules.
Short answer: Hydrology
Hydrology is an environmental condition wildlife managers consider because water shapes habitats and populations.
Groan of the day: Water you waiting for? Hydrology explains!
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Pedology
Pedology is the study of soils, and it is one environmental condition wildlife managers consider.
Groan of the day: Don't soil the secret, share it!
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Reforestation
Reforestation is a habitat technique that wildlife managers can use to restore and improve habitat.
Groan of the day: Tree-mendous work, managers!
Sources: Wildlife management
Short answer: Coppicing
Coppicing is a management technique that cuts trees to encourage fresh growth and habitat structure.
Groan of the day: That's a cut above the rest!
Sources: Wildlife management
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Influencing wildlife, habitat, and people interactions. Wildlife management influences interactions among wildlife, habitats, and people to achieve planned results.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sets guidelines for waterfowl and migratory gamebird seasons and bag limits.
Active management of the elk population. The Leopold Report recommended active management of Yellowstone's elk population based on scientific data.
Biodiversity loss. Habitat destruction and fragmentation are major drivers of biodiversity loss, especially in the UK.
Artificial nest boxes. Building and checking artificial nest boxes for species like bluebirds or wood ducks is a management project.
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