Game Management

1. Game Management

2. Settlers to the US • Thought that conservation was not necessary • Thought primarily of their own survival

3. Settlers to the US • Soon found that Americans would begin to initiate programs to manage wild life

4. Aldo Leopold • Early authority on game management • “art of making land produce sustained annual crops of wild game for recreational use”

5. Game Management • Science and art of changing characteristics and interactions of habitats, wild animals, and humans to achieve wildlife population goals

6. Habitat • Food • Water • Cover • Territory • Home range

7. Food • Wildlife are often classified by the type of food they eat • Herbivores – plant eaters • Carnivores – meat eaters

8. Food • Insectivores – insect eaters • Frugivores – fruit eaters • Omnivores – eat many types of foods, usually meat and plants

9. Food • Spermivores – seed eaters • Also classified by the amount of food that they eat

10. Food • Euryphagous – animal that consumes great varieties of food • Since its choice of food is varied, chance of survival is great

11. Euryphagous • Opossum eats fruits, berries, corn, worms, frogs, snakes and even mice

12. Stenophagous • Eats a specialized diet • Usually has less chance to adapt to new food sources it its traditional food supply is not available

13. Stenophagous • More likely to starve in a food scarce season

14. Cover • In order for wildlife to survive harsh weather conditions they must find cover – a place that will protect them

15. Cover • Protection from predators • Ranges from a thicket or a fencerow to water in the case of beavers and muskrats

16. Water • One of the most important requirements of wildlife • Bodies of most game animals are 60-80% water

17. Water • Important in blood composition, temperature regulation and nutrient transport

18. Water • Without an abundant supply of fresh water an area will soon become desolate of wild game

19. Home Range • Area over which the game travels is called its home range • Area may be as small as an acre or as large as a township

20. Territory • Area that an animal will defend, often to the death • Animal’s home ranges may over lap but territory never will

21. Territory • Only exception to territory overlap is during mating season

22. Management procedures • Most common methods include: • Game refuges • Habitat development and improvement

23. Common methods • Coordination with other resources • Hunting regulations • Predator control • Artificial stocking

24. Game Refuges • Set aside land for the protection of wildlife species • Refuges, reserves and wilderness areas

25. Game Refuges • Provide the basics for survival without the threat of hunters • Early refuges were for private use

26. Game Refuges • First state reserve was established in 1870 in California

27. Game Refuges • Areas for nesting birds, migratory waterfowl, pelicans, and large game animals have been established since 1870

28. Game Refuges • Not the answer to all wildlife problems • Only protect wildlife from hunters, not their natural enemies

29. Game Refuges • Do not protect the animals once they leave their boundaries • Only part of total game management plan

30. Habitat development • To increase game populations, habitat must be developed and improved • Common methods • Fencerow plantings

31. Fencerow Plantings • Provide food and shelter for wildlife • Farmers provide area at the end of rows for wildlife habitat

32. Woodland Management • Not allowing livestock to graze in woodlands increases game carrying capacity

33. Coordination w/other resources • Keep in mind that all resources work together

34. Hunting Regulations • Game was abundant to early colonists • 1646 Rhode Island became first state to establish a closed season on game

35. Hunting Regulations • Law was specific for white tailed deer, it led the way for other states to follow suit • First bag limit was initiated in 1878 by the state of Iowa

36. Hunting Regulations • American Bison were plentiful on the plains • Provided food, clothing and shelter to the plains Indians

37. Bison • When the railroad was being constructed through the west, thousands of bison were slaughtered to feed the workers

38. Bison • Many more were killed as easterners came to the west and killed bison for their tongues – a delicacy in the East or their hides

39. Bison • The entire carcass was not utilized, the remains were left to rot • Legislation by Congress tried to head off extinction……

40. Bison • The bill was vetoed by President Grant • Laws passed later, but Bison were almost extinct

41. Hunting Regulations • Hunting is controlled on both public and private lands • Game populations depend on many factors

42. Hunting Regulations • Reproduction rates, climate, disease, habitat, and predators

43. Hunting Regulations • Bag limits, hunting seasons and closed seasons for a given game species must be changed each year in accordance with the population

44. Predator Control • Medium sized and large predators can be dangerous to people • Predators can be a threat to domestic livestock and wild game

45. Predator Control • Predators help to maintain an improved game population by killing weak or diseased animals

46. Artificial Stocking • Introduction of exotics – species new to the area • Usually done to supply predators for a problem game animal

47. Artificial Stocking • The rabbit – once introduced in Australia soon became a major pest

48. Artificial Stocking • Examine the desired population density or an area • Estimate the carrying capacity

49. Population Density • Number of game animals in a defined area • Can easily become a problem of over population of a game species

50. Carrying Capacity • Amount of game for which a given area will provide the essentials for life