Wildlife Management Program Outline (75 minute program) Lesson Overview: 1. Introduction 2. Discussion – Wildlife management problems 3. Individual Activity – Public perceptions of wildlife management over time 4. Discussion – Wildlife management basics 5. Group Activity – Georgia Deer Management Plan 6. Conclusion 1. Introduction (10 minutes) Hypothetical scenario: You’ve just been given 300 acres of land in the north Georgia mountains. According to the donor, the land is beautiful – forests, streams, and small lake, all teeming with wildlife (deer, birds, reptiles, fish, etc.). What will you do with your new property? Please take 3-5 minutes to write a short paragraph about how you will use this new land. Discussion: Ask a few students what they would do with their new property. Answers may include leave it alone, set up a game ranch, create a nature preserve, or build a country club. Encourage students to share their diverse perspectives, then tell them that many people around the county have had different ideas about how to manage wild lands for hundreds of years. In the next few minutes, we’ll talk about how our ideas and attitudes toward wildlife have changed over the years. 2. Discussion – Wildlife Management Problems (5 minutes) Intro to activity: Draw timeline on the board from 1850 to present day. Show U.S. population growth over that same period (about 23 million in 1850 to more than 300 million today). What does that mean for wildlife? Loss of habitat = big problem, people and wildlife in closer contact. Wildlife management becomes important, but wildlife management has lots of different meanings. 3. Individual Activity – Public perceptions of wildlife management over time (20 minutes) Activity: “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words” (from Project WILD) Tell students that they are about to see a set of photos. Once they see a photo they should quietly and independently write down their first impression of the picture, theories about what the picture represents, why they think the photo was taken, and who might object to the photo. Pass out worksheets to help guide their responses. After all 5 photos have been shown, go back to photo 1 and ask volunteers to share their thoughts. Discuss each photo, then place the image (or associated wildlife management strategy) somewhere on the timeline. The photos might cover the following phases of wildlife management:

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1850-1880 Market Hunters – Bison skulls waiting to be ground up as fertilizer Bison, elk, and deer herds decimated by westward expansion (wildlife = endless resource) around 1900 – butcher shop, common use of wildlife About 1902 - political cartoon featuring President Teddy Roosevelt’s reluctance to shoot a semi-captive female bear. Roosevelt initiated a shift toward a conservation approach – laws and licenses to regulate hunting early 1900s – Laws and licenses begin to regulate hunting (wildlife recognized as limited resource), hunting for subsistence and recreation mid 1900s – major fish hatchery operations; inventory, monitor and propagate species for stocking and reintroduction mid/late1900s – trapping and monitoring animals; research on ecology and population dynamics (darting vs. live-trapping) 1980s – Shift to non-consumptive uses (nature-based tourism, wildlife-watching, recreation, education) 1990s – Education becomes important wildlife management tool Today – non-invasive population research techniques more popular (genetics) Today – Modern hunters; more people hunt and fish than attend all professional sporting events each year; economic impact of hunting at $10 billion annually; most funding for state parks and wildlife programs comes from hunting/fishing licenses

Summary: Public perception of wildlife and wildlife management has changed over the ages. How would you describe this general trend? What are implications for the future? 4. Discussion – Wildlife Management Basics (15 minutes) What have we learned? Wildlife mangers should worry about several key ecological and social factors. Ecological: 1. Habitat (food, water, shelter, space – use Yellowstone wolf home range example) 2. Population dynamics (carrying capacity, life history, etc.) 3. Other factors (predators, pests, exotics, etc.) Exotic examples for GA include carp, fire ants Direct management practices include:  population monitoring, habitat inventory  manipulation of populations (propagation, stocking, transplanting, harvest, predator control) Social: 1. Public attitudes/awareness 2. Economic factors (consumptive and non-consumptive uses) 3. Conservation laws (example: Endangered Species Act – 1973) Indirect management practices include:  protection/manipulation of habitat  financial incentives

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public education and outreach

Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy for Georgia (GA DNR):  identification of rare species/habitats and priority research needs  incentive-based habitat protection/restoration  review of existing conservation laws and policies  educational outreach 5. Group Activity - Georgia Deer Management Plan (20 minutes) Example: Over the past 32 years: - Georgia’s human population has increased from 4.8 to 8.2 million (2 times) - Georgia’s deep population has increased from .2 to 1.6 million (6 times) - Georgia’s forested land has decreased from 39,000 to 37,000 square miles What does that mean for deer management? Group Activity: Based on what you know about ecological and social components of wildlife management, what are some major issues that must be considered as part of this wildlife management problem? Take 5 minutes to brainstorm ideas. Be prepared to share your ideas with the class. (Answers) Most important issues determined by Steering Committee that reports to Georgia DNR’s WRD:  Deer density  Ecological functions  Hunting (hunter access)  Wildlife viewing  Deer-vehicle collisions  Agricultural and property damage  Urban and nuisance deer management 6. Conclusion (5 minutes) Do you have any questions about wildlife management issues and strategies? Think about public perceptions of wildlife. Where do you fit in on the spectrum? What do you think our role should be as wildlife managers? Would you go back now and change the management plan for wildlife on your (hypothetical) land?

Extra time activity: Students form groups. Cut out a picture of a wildlife management strategy and give the picture to each group. Groups will take a few minutes to come up with a plan for acting out the scenario. Each group will perform in front of the class, and the class will try to guess which strategy they are portraying.