This course is designed to
thoroughly familiarize students with the fundamental principles and concepts of
wildlife management so as to provide an understanding of wildlife populations, habitats,
and management of both. The course
emphasizes the balance between meeting the needs of wildlife populations and
the needs of people, working from a premise that wildlife management in the 21st
century often means management of all things wild.
TEXTS:
Leopold, A. A Sand County Almanac. Ballentine Books. ISBN 0-345-29531-5.
McNamee, T. 1997. The Return of the Wolf to Yellowstone. Henry Holt and Company.
ISBN 0-8050-5792-7.
Safina, C. 1997. Song for the Blue Ocean. Henry Holt and Company.
ISBN 0-8050-6122-3.
FORMAT: The course will consist of lectures, select videos, and class discussion. I will occasionally augment the text reading with outside materials. I will provide any handouts several days before we actually discuss that topic in class. This approach is designed to minimize if not eliminate note-taking time and maximize discussion and listening time.
GRADING: There will be 2 tests in the course: 2 regular exams weighted equally.
All tests will be essay format and take-home. You will have about 1 week to complete the test.
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COURSE OBJECTIVES
(1) Students must become familiar with the wildlife resource in a way that inspires life-long learning so they become strong, capable stewards of those resources wherein they constantly act in an intelligent, informed, logical, and professional manner while making decisions that affect the wildlife resource either directly or indirectly.
(2) As the stewards of the wildlife resource, students must acquire a working knowledge of the following, and be willing to stay abreast and aware of new information.
(A) the principles underlying annual and long-term fluctuations in the abundance of wildlife populations (population dynamics).
(B) the relations that exist between animal populations and their habitats, particularly as related to the health and quality of those species and the habitats upon which they depend to survive and reproduce.
(C) the role of the annual cycle as it relates to the survival and reproduction of wildlife.
(D) the extent, importance, and techniques for protecting biodiversity–wild life.
(E) the role of people in wildlife management, both in the United States and abroad.
(F) everything else.
(3) The final objective will be to familiarize students with the following:
(A) the values of the wildlife resource, and basic technical skills to manage it.
(B) the historical background of human–wildlife relationships.
(C) the characteristics, training, career opportunities, and philosophy of the professional wildlife scientist.
(D) federal, state, private, and international organizations involved with conservation of wildlife resources in North America and around the world.
(E) contemporary topics in wildlife management.
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