The WHEP (Wildlife Habitat Evaluation
Program) is a 4-H youth natural resource program dedicated
to teaching wildlife and fisheries habitat management to
junior and senior level (ages 8-19) youth in the United
States. Studying a scientifically-based manual,
participants:
Learn wildlife terms and concepts
* Learn about different wildlife habitats
* Learn how to identify common wildlife foods
* Learn how to judge the quality of wildlife habitat
* Learn about wildlife habitat management practices
* Learn about wildlife damage management
The WHEP is a hands-on environmental education
program. But the WHEP also provides participants an
opportunity to test their wildlife knowledge in a friendly
competition, as each state supporting WHEP conducts an annual
contest where teams of 3-4 similarly-aged individuals gather.
The winning senior (14-19 years of age) WHEP team from each
state earns the right to attend the annual National WHEP
Contest, typically held the last full week of July. The
national contest moves to a different state (and thus
different habitat type) each year.
In honor of the WHEP, the program won the 1996
Wildlife Society Conservation Education Award. The Wildlife
Society is the professional organization that certifies
wildlife biologists nationwide.
The Contest
The WHEP contest is conducted over 1 full day
and entails 3 individual events and 2 team events.
Wildlife Identification – participants
compete as individuals and are tested on their ability to
identify pre-determined wildlife species. Twenty photographs
of wildlife species, which clearly show either a juvenile,
adult, male or female of the species is presented to the
participants.
General Wildlife Knowledge –
participants compete as individuals and are tested on their
knowledge of topics ranging from wildlife habitats to habitat
requirements for select species to management practices that
benefit wildlife.
Wildlife Management Practices –
participants compete as individuals and are taken to an
outdoor site with defined boundaries and are asked to evaluate
the quality of habitat for select wildlife species. Based on
each participant’s site evaluation, he/she is asked to
recommend wildlife management practices that will benefit each
select wildlife species.
Written wildlife management plan –
participants compete as a team to write a 2-page management
plan for an outdoor site with defined boundaries that meets
objectives established in a field conditions sheet provided to
each team.
Oral Defense of Written Plan – although
each team member completes this activity individually, their
individual score counts toward the final team score for the
written plan. Each individual team member appears before a
panel of 2-3 judges and answers questions over a 5-minute
period about their written plan, as well as general wildlife
questions. |
