1/7/13 Defining Wildlife and
Wildlife Management
Chapter Objectives
—  Introduction
—  What Is Wildlife?
—  The Political Discipline Of Wildlife Management
—  Active Versus Inactive Management
—  The Goals Of Wildlife Management
—  The Wildlife Being Managed
—  Summary
1 1/7/13 Introduction
—  Many definitions for
wildlife and wildlife
management
—  Common definition is vital
—  Just as wildlife are part of
dynamic systems, wildlife
management is a dynamic
endeavor
—  Aldo Leopold initiated the
model for wildlife
management and others
have added to it
What Is Wildlife?
—  Initially, wildlife was
considered game; animals
that were hunted
—  Leopold said - game
management is “…the art
of making land produce
sustained annual crops of
wild game for recreational
use”
—  Today, game is a term used
by legislatures to define
hunted animals
2 1/7/13 What Is Wildlife?
—  Game first appeared in British law in 1639 to define
who could legally take game
—  Law stated that one must be a landowner to take
game
—  Game law arrived in USA via the British
—  This has led to many anomalies:
—  Mourning doves are song and game birds
—  Need a game license to collect non-game species
What Is Wildlife?
—  The law in USA has since
followed a different path
—  States and federal governments
have authority, not landowners
—  Wildlife is not universally
defined
—  In general, the wildlife
profession considers wildlife to
be free-living, wild animals of
major significance to humans
—  Habitat must be considered also
3 1/7/13 What Is Wildlife?
—  Until the 1970s,
management focused on
game and hunters
Animal Populations
—  Starting in the 1970s and
1980s, emphasis shifted to
considering interests of all
citizens
—  A holistic view of wildlife
management emerged
Habitat
Human Dimensions
What Is Wildlife?
—  Many different definitions
now exist for wildlife at
many different levels
—  The Wildlife Society: Freeranging animals of major
significance to man.
—  Often restricted to
terrestrial and aquatic
vertebrates other than fish
4 1/7/13 The Political Discipline Of
Wildlife Management
—  Most wildlife departments at universities are in
schools of agriculture.
—  Long history with agricultural species expanded to
wildlife
—  Early management at state and federal levels in
agricultural agencies
—  In 1800s, started with US Dept. of Agriculture’s
Division of Entomology
The Political Discipline Of
Wildlife Management
— 
In 1885, wildlife management
transferred to the Division of Economic
Ornithology and Mammalogy
— 
Followed by the Bureau of Biological
Survey in 1896
— 
By 1940, the Bureau of Sport Fish and
Wildlife was created
— 
Later became the US Fish and Wildlife
Service
— 
In late-1900s, the National Biological
Survey was created
— 
Since has been renamed the Biological
Resource Division within the US
Geological Survey
5 1/7/13 The Political Discipline Of
Wildlife Management
—  What about wild animals kept by private
landowners, such as an elk farm?
—  Not considered wildlife as they are not free-ranging,
they are provided supplemental food, genetically
manipulated, provided veterinary care. In short,
they are farmed.
—  This is a different discipline more closely related to
animal husbandry of livestock
The Political Discipline Of
Wildlife Management
—  Must always consider the human dimensions
—  Often means that biologists will make sound
recommendations based upon wildlife science to
those who develop public policy
—  Historically, the client model was used in USA
—  Focused on hunters who paid for licenses that
funded management
—  Today, the stakeholder model incorporates hunters,
but also includes anyone with interests in wildlife
6 1/7/13 Active Versus Inactive
Management
—  All management is active or
inactive
—  Active – something is done to a
population to manipulate
numbers in a direct manner
— 
Hunting, reintroductions, habitat
alteration, predator control
—  Inactive – no direct
manipulation of populations
— 
National Parks
— 
Species that are poorly
understood
Doing nothing is still a
management decision
— 
The Goals Of Wildlife
Management
—  Most management goals categorized into 4 options:
— 
— 
— 
— 
Increase population numbers
Reduce population numbers
Manage population for a sustained yield
Do nothing
—  Implementation is a result of wildlife science and
public input
—  Goal establishment is a value judgment
7 1/7/13 The Wildlife Being
Managed
—  Managed actively or inactively
—  Often determined by the way that a wildlife species
is classified
—  Classification ranges from taxonomic to political
—  Must be careful when using classification schemes
as some species may not fit into a classification
criterion
The Wildlife Being
Managed
—  Type of Wildlife Species
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
Farm species
Forest and Range Species
Wilderness Species
Migratory Species
Furbearers
Predators
Threatened Species
Urban Wildlife
Parks Wildlife
8 1/7/13 Farm Species
Forest and Range Species
9 1/7/13 Wilderness Species
Migratory Species
10 1/7/13 Furbearers
Predators
11 1/7/13 Threatened Species
Urban Wildlife
12 1/7/13 Parks Wildlife
Summary
—  Wildlife includes free-ranging, undomesticated
animals in natural environments
—  Includes interrelationships with habitat and humans
—  Fish considered separately
—  Goals are to increase, decrease, harvest, or monitor
populations
—  Management can be active or inactive
—  Wildlife is generally categorized
13