WHEP BasicsWildlife Habitat Education Program

Gerry SnappUniversity of Missouri 4H

Regions

• Ecological regions: Areas of the country that have similar climate, vegetation and wildlife.

• WHEP has identified 14 different regions within the continental United States…plus 2 special micro- environments that can be found within any region -Urban and Wetlands.

Missouri Regions

• Look at the US map in the manual.

• How many regions does it show for Missouri?

• Look at how Missouri experts divide the state into regions.

Glaciated Prairie Tallgrass/Mixed Prairie

Un-glaciated Prairie Tallgrass/Mixed Prairie

Ozark Eastern Deciduous Forest

Southeastern Lowland Southeast Mixed Forest

Eastern Deciduous Forest

Eastern Deciduous Forest• Most of the terrain is rolling except for the

Appalachian Mountains (& Ozarks) which are steep. • Average annual precipitation 35-90 inches• Summers - hot and dry; Winters –cold• Final stage of succession is tall broadleaf trees• Prior to fire-suppression, oak savannahs &

woodlands.• Large areas of the region have been cleared of

native vegetation for the production of crops and livestock.

Species – Eastern Deciduous Forest

• American woodcock • brown thrasher• eastern meadowlark• golden-winged

warbler• great horned owl• mourning dove• northern bobwhite• ovenbird• wild turkey• wood duck

• bobcat• eastern cottontail• eastern gray

squirrel• gray fox• Indiana bat• white-tailed deer

• eastern box turtle• timber rattlesnake

• largemouth bass/ bluegill

Tallgrass/MixedPrairie

Great Plains GrasslandTallgrass/Mixed Prairie• Terrain is flat to rolling plains• Average annual precipitation: 20-40 inches• Winters cold – summers hot• Climax vegetation typically tall grasses,

i.e. bluestems, Indian grass, switchgrass• Variety of forbs – sunflowers, broomweed,

ragweed• Shrubs and trees in drainages and other

moist areas.• Potholes (wetlands) caused by glaciation

Species – Tallgrass/mixed prairie• blue-winged teal• dickcissel• grasshopper

sparrow• greater prairie

chicken • mourning dove• northern bobwhite• northern harrier• ring-necked

pheasant• wild turkey

• coyote• eastern cottontail• red fox• White-tailed deer

• plains hog-nosed snake

• bluegill/largemouth bass

Southeast Mixed Forest

• Nothing yet

URBAN

Urban – • Dense human population, with residential

and/or commercial development, connected and cris-crossed infrastructure (roads, train tracks, utilities).

• Great variety of vegetation; annual plantings, (garden & flowers) perennial grasses & forbs, shrubs, young and mature trees.

• Landscapes typically manipulated vs. “natural”

• Relatively small and fragmented • Often dominated by non-native, invasive

vegetation • Wildlife areas include parks, trails, backyards.

Species - Urban

• American robin• common nighthawk• bluebird*• European starling• house finch• house sparrow• house wren• northern flicker• peregrine falcon

• rock pigeon• ruby-throated

hummingbird• song sparrow

• big brown bat• cottontail*• coyote• eastern gray squirrel• raccoon• white-tailed deer

Wetlands -

• Next on the to-do list

• Wildlife management concepts • Wildlife management terms

What you need to know to competeGeneral – not region specific

• Species & applicable Wildlife Management Practices (WMPs) for the specific region – see Regions section (pgs. 27-85)

• Wildlife species & habitat requirements –– foods, preferred successional stage, use of

space/edge, etc. (pgs. 86-253)

• Identify the species -hides, tracks, feathers, photos, eggs, scat, etc.

• Understand the WMPs (pgs. 254-304)

What you need to know to competeRegion Specific

Wildlife Management Practices

• Practices vary from region to region

• Practices that work for a species in one region may not be practical for same species in another region

Species &WMPs (chart)

How to use the manual

• Determine which ecoregion• Determine the featured species• Locate and mark the selected

species in the Wildlife Species section.• Locate and mark the appropriate WMPs for the

region/species• Study!

Tip: No need to duplicate every page of manual for students – just the featured species

Points to remember

• Wildlife ID – may be male/female; adult/juvenile

• Full credit – complete common name; spelled correctly, including correct use of capitalization.

National Contest eventsI. Wildlife Management Practices – checklist/chart

II. Wildlife management plan– Written plan (team)

– Oral defense of written plan (individual)

III. Wildlife ChallengeDemonstrate skill at wildlife identification and general wildlife knowledge including ecoregions, wildlife management concepts & terms, biology and ecology of the species, identification of common wildlife foods and which species utilize those foods.

Missouri State Contest2014

I. Wildlife Mgt. Practices 35 pts.II. General Wildlife Knowledge 30 pts.III. Wildlife ID 20 pts.IV. Written Management Plan 15 pts. (simplified for JR)

Written Management Plan(pages 307 – 312)

• Three pieces of paper provided• Use one side only of each• 2 pages for narrative – paragraph form• 1 page for sketch

– Map of property showing where practices should be implemented.

• This is a team event

Seniorscoresheet

Junior Score Sheet (M0)