Wildlife Management

Wildlife managers, like foresters, manage a large complex natural resource system, one complete with biology, economics, energetics, esthetics, ecology, and enforcement. In fact, wildlife management is to wildlife as forestry is to trees. A number of governmental and nongovernmental wildlife agencies are responsible for wildlife management in the region. Classical resource concepts are employed, controlling the animal community and its total environment to produce goods and services and opportunities for people. Wildlife management may also involve people management.

Wildlife management has evolved considerably in the past century, following an era of wildlife exploitation. By the early 1900s there were few big game animals in the southern Appalachian forest region. The forests had been cut, land settled, and subsistence living with hunting was widespread. The woodland buffalo, elk, cougar, red wolf, passenger pigeons, bears, wild turkey, and deer were wholly or largely eliminated. Hunting for small game was a way of life.

Once primarily devoted to game management, wildlife management was involved primarily in finding ways to increase game populations. Now, however, after evident successes at increasing the numbers and density of some game species, interests have broadened to stabilizing and even decreasing populations (especially those that become pests or harbor diseases).

Increasingly, wildlife management has also broadened to include so-called "nongame" species, especially those of particular value. Some species are managed because they may be imperiled and others because they have become pests.

A variety of wildlife management approaches may be taken:

Species-Specific

• Individual species
• Big game
• Small game
• Forest game
• Farm game
• Nongame (or nonconsumptive)
• Predators
• Pest species
• Indicator species (a species that indicates a desirable ecosystem condition or group of species)

Habitat-Specific

• Community (the species in an area)
• Guilds (groups of species that play similar roles in ecosystems)
• Upland species
• Wetland species
• Waterfowl species
• Eastern deciduous forest species
• Riparian species
• Pine forests species

Habitat-Specific

• Urban wildlife
• Wilderness

Two critical features of an effective wildlife management action are objectives and monitoring:

• Objectives that are clearly stated and have measurable results or outcomes are essential. Without an objective, even an approximate one, no management can be claimed, and all actions, including doing nothing, are equally "good." The objectives of wildlife management have often been difficult for public agencies and individual landowners to state clearly. More animals of select species, more sightings, greater density, more species, more rare species, recreational quality, more trophy animals, less crop damage, fees (from furs, hunting rights, lodging and catering), and meeting particular human values are among possible objectives for wildlife management.

• Monitoring or observing responses is required to determine effectiveness of management. Monitoring should be tailored to measure the stated objective. We often think that direct counts or estimates of the population are ideal for monitoring management actions, but valid counts may be difficult, even for professionals. Although the goal of single-species management is usually a change in animal abundance, few managers will require direct measures of animal abundance. Instead, managers often focus on some type of use such as sightings, harvests, pelts, or quality hours of recreation of the animals by people as their measure of success.