1. WHEP Basics Wildlife Habitat Education Program
University of Missouri 4H

2. 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.

4. 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.

5. Glaciated Prairie Tallgrass/Mixed Prairie
Un-glaciated Prairie Tallgrass/Mixed Prairie
Ozark Eastern Deciduous Forest
Southeastern Lowland Southeast Mixed Forest

6. Eastern
Deciduous Forest

7. Eastern Deciduous Forest
Most of the terrain is rolling except for the Appalachian Mountains (& Ozarks) which are steep.
Average annual precipitation 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.

8. Species – Eastern Deciduous Forest
bobcat
eastern cottontail
eastern gray squirrel
gray fox
Indiana bat
white-tailed deer
eastern box turtle
timber rattlesnake
largemouth bass/ bluegill
American woodcock
brown thrasher
eastern meadowlark
golden-winged warbler
great horned owl
mourning dove
northern bobwhite
ovenbird
wild turkey
wood duck

9. Tallgrass/Mixed
Prairie

10. Great Plains Grassland Tallgrass/Mixed Prairie
Terrain is flat to rolling plains
Average annual precipitation: 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

11. 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

12. Southeast Mixed Forest
Nothing yet

13. URBAN

14. 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.

15. Species - Urban rock pigeon ruby-throated hummingbird American robin
song sparrow
big brown bat
cottontail*
coyote
eastern gray squirrel
raccoon
white-tailed deer
American robin
common nighthawk
bluebird*
European starling
house finch
house sparrow
house wren
northern flicker
peregrine falcon

16. Wetlands -
Next on the to-do list

17. What you need to know to compete General – not region specific
Wildlife management concepts
Wildlife management terms

18. What you need to know to compete Region Specific
Species & applicable Wildlife Management Practices (WMPs) for the specific region
see Regions section (pgs )
Wildlife species & habitat requirements –
foods, preferred successional stage, use of space/edge, etc. (pgs )
Identify the species -hides, tracks, feathers, photos, eggs, scat, etc.
Understand the WMPs (pgs )

19. 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

20. Species & WMPs (chart)

21. 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

22. Points to remember Wildlife ID – may be male/female; adult/juvenile
Full credit – complete common name; spelled correctly, including correct use of capitalization.

23. National Contest events
I. Wildlife Management Practices – checklist/chart
II. Wildlife management plan
Written plan (team)
Oral defense of written plan (individual)
III. Wildlife Challenge
Demonstrate 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.

24. Missouri State Contest 2014
Wildlife Mgt. Practices pts.
General Wildlife Knowledge pts.
Wildlife ID pts.
Written Management Plan pts.
(simplified for JR)

25. 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

26. Senior score sheet

27. Junior Score Sheet (M0)