Chapter 4: Wildlife Conservation
and Management
Wildlife Management Practices
Monitoring Wildlife Populations: Wildlife managers continuously
monitor the birth rate and death
rate of various species
and the condition of their habitat. This provides the data
needed to set hunting regulations and determine if other
wildlife management practices are needed to conserve wildlife
species.
Habitat Improvement: As succession occurs, the
change in habitat affects the type and number of wildlife
the habitat
can support. Wildlife managers may cut down or burn forested
areas to promote new growth and slow down the process of
succession. This practice enables them to increase the
production of certain wildlife species.
Hunting Regulations:
Hunting regulations protect habitats
and preserve animal populations.
Regulations include setting daily
and seasonal time limits, bag limits,
and legal methods for taking wildlife.
Hunting: Hunting
is an effective wildlife management
tool. Hunting practices help managers
keep animal populations in balance
with their habitat.
Predator Control: Sometimes predators must be reduced to enable some wildlife populations
to establish
stable populations, particularly threatened or endangered
species.
Artificial Stocking: Restocking of game
animals has been successful in many parts of the nation.
Trapping
animals
in areas where they are abundant and releasing
them in other areas of suitable habitat is an example
of restocking.
Controlling or Preventing Disease
and Its Spread: Disease can have a
very bad effect on wildlife. Avian cholera,
for example, poses a serious threat, especially
to ducks
and geese
on crowded wintering grounds. Once avian cholera occurs,
managers must work to prevent its spread by gathering
and burning
waterfowl carcasses daily.
Management Funds/Programs:
In addition to the Pittman-Robertson funds, many states
have started
programs that help
finance conservation efforts.
How You Can Help With Wildlife and Habitat Management
One rule you should follow if you want to help is don’t feed the deer. Although many people think that feeding deer will help them survive the winter, this is not the case. Supplemental feeding can:
- Help spread diseases like Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) and tuberculosis (TB).
- Cause disease in deer because they are not meant to eat corn or apples during the winter.
- Increase the deer’s energy loss by luring them long distances away from cover and their normal feeding areas.
- Cause long-term habitat destruction.
- Increase the number of deer/vehicle collisions.
- Cause deer to rely on feeding locations, making them a private, not a public, resource.
Instead of feeding deer, you can help them survive by:
- Creating and maintaining a good quality deer habitat
- Improving natural food resources that will benefit all wildlife
For more ideas and information on helpful programs, visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission website at www.pgc.state.pa.us and click on the “Wildlife” section.
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