BIG GAME MANAGEMENT IN WISCONSIN Agriculture Resources Management Big Game Management in Wisconsin (10 days) This unit deals with the management of big game in Wisconsin. Topics include species identification, population management, carrying capacity, trophy management, measuring and recording, and career opportunities in game management. Objectives To acquaint students with employment information and career opportunities in the game management industry To provide students with information on the history and management of big game animals in Wisconsin To increase student understanding of the habitats that different big game species require and the effect people have on these habitats To help students articulate a personal big game management philosophy To enable students to distinguish between renewable and nonrenewable resources and relate these concepts to big game management To introduce students to the concept of *carrying capacity: as it relates to big game animals To acquaint students with the procedures used to measure and record big game trophy animals To develop student understanding of the life cycles of various species of big game animals To acquaint students with the role of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in big game management To develop student appreciation for the importance of the various records used to manage big game animals To acquaint students with the parasites of big game animals in Wisconsin Competencies At the conclusion of this unit, students will be able to explain current employment information such as job descriptions, job availability, personal and educational requirements, working conditions, opportunity for advancement, and other factors relative to potential employment in the big game management industry and relate it to their personal needs and aspirations; identify three important time periods and explain what happened during each period regarding Wisconsin big game management; collect and identify six types of deer browse; list four renewable natural resources and four nonrenewable natural resources in Wisconsin; collect color pictures of the species, sexes, and age classifications of Wisconsin big game animals; differentiate between a white-tailed buck's antlers and a mule deer's antlers; demonstrate how to locate information in a Wisconsin hunting regulations pamphlet; describe the proper big game species habitat; identify four pieces of equipment used to measure big game trophies; complete a big game scoring form; explain the concept of carrying capacity; identify species of big game found in North America; identify external and internal parasites common to bear and deer; describe the reproductive cycle of deer and bear; and define the following terms: cub, boar, sow, doe, buck, antler, spike, fawn, rub, scrape, marker tree, den, rut, and yearling. Subject Matter (Basic skills integration areas are shown in brackets following title.) Careers - Current and future employment needs - Job descriptions - Training requirements - Working conditions - Opportunities for advancement - Other factors Species identification [Science] - White-tailed deer - Black bear - Coyote - Wolf Wisconsin big game management history - Indian hunting - White men hunting - Use of the entire deer carcass - Indian treaties - Hunting laws - Antlerless hunts - Bow hunting - Gun versus bow rivalry - Antihunters philosophy Carrying capacity [Science] - Proper habitat - Preferred diet - Nutritional requirements - Herd composition and populations Population management [Science] - Natural control Starvation Diseases Parasites Predators - Artificial control Department of Natural Resources management Road kills Gun and bow hunting Trophy management, measuring, and recording [Mathematics] - Herd composition - Philosophies of trophy management Boone and Crockett Club Pope and Young Club Wisconsin Buck and Bear Club - Measuring forms - Measuring tools - Record books Boone and Crockett Pope and Young Wisconsin Buck and Bear The future of big game animals in Wisconsin Motivational Activities Take field trips to: - a zoo to observe white-tailed deer and black bears; - local alfalfa fields and dumps at dusk to view big game species; - the Sandhill Wildlife Refuge at Babcock, Wisconsin, to learn about the DNR's deer management studies; - the Wisconsin Deer Classic, held in Madison in April; - and a scoring seminar sponsored by the Wisconsin Buck and Bear Club. Invite resource people to give class presentations on big game management issues. View films, videotapes, and slides on unit-related topics. Learning Activities Participate in a Supervised Agricultural Experience program. Develop bulletin board displays featuring how big game species, such as white-tailed deer and black bears, look at different stages of their lives and at different times of the year. Create displays of deer racks, shed antlers, tanned hides, mounts, skulls of big game species, and gear used to hunt big game. Review the three types of big game scoring forms used in Wisconsin. Score a rack of horns or a bear skull. Demonstrate how to examine deer teeth to determine the animal's age. Review the Wisconsin Deer and Bear Record Book. Participate in Project Wild or Project Learning Tree programs. Instructional Materials Textbooks and References Audubon Field Guide to North American Mammals by Audubon Society and John D. Whitaker, Jr. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1980. Available from National Farm Book Company. Black Bears - A Technical and Hunting Guidebook by Bob McGuire. Blountville, TN: Bow Hunting Productions, 1983. Bowhunting Big Game Records of North America. Edited by Lee Kline. Placerville, CA: Pope and Young Club, 1987. Deer in Their World by Erwin A. Bauer. New York: Outdoor Life Books, 1983. The Deer of North America by Leonard L. Rue. New York: Crown Publishers, 1982. A Field Guide to Animal Tracks by Murie J. Olaus. 2nd ed. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1975. Field Guide to Mammals by William H. Burt. 3rd ed. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1976. Available from National Farm Book Company. Getting the Most From Your Game and Fish by Robert Candy. Putney, VT: Alan C. Hood, 1984. Available from National Farm Book Company. Investigations in Conservation of Natural Resources by Richard A. Lytle and Harry B. Kircher. Danville, IL: Interstate, 1979. Our National Resources by Harry B. Kircher and P.E. McNall. Danville, IL: Interstate, 1970. Producing Quality Whitetails by Al Brothers and Murphy E. Ray Jr. 2nd ed. Kingsville, TX: Caesar Kleber Wildlife Research Institute, 1982. White-tailed Deer by Lowell K. Halls. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1984. Wildlife Feeding and Nutrition by Charles T. Robbins. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1986. Wisconsin Deer and Bear Record Book by Mark LaBarbera. Minneapolis, MN: ML Creations, 1984. Bulletins and Pamphlets The following are available from the Cooperative Extension Service. Bear Damage and Nuisance Problems in Wisconsin. G3300. Controlling Deer Damage in Wisconsin. G3083. Now It's Venison. B2095. So You Got a Deer. G1598. The following is available from the Minnesota Department of Education, Division of Vocational-Technical Education. Wildlife Conservation Programs of FFA The following is available from the Soil Conservation Service. Going Wild with Soil and Water Conservation. PA1363. Periodicals Audubon Magazine Conservation Conservationist Defenders International Wildlife National Geographic National Wildlife Sierra Wisconsin Natural Resources Computer Software The following are available from Mid States Agri-Technology Associates, Ltd. Micro-Tutor: Biology I. Apple, IBM. Micro-Tutor: Conservation. Apple, IBM. The following are available from Yaker Environmental Systems, Inc. Biomes and Foodwebs. Apple. 1983. Biomes II: Wilderness Webs. Apple. 1986. Endangered Species. Apple. 1985. Limiting Factors and Carrying Capacity. Apple. 1983. Laboratory Resources The following is available from Ohio Agricultural Education Curriculum Materials Service. Basic Field Techniques in Wildlife Management. 9601M. Films, Videotapes, and Slides The following are available from the Bureau of Audio Visual Instruction. The Responsible Hunter. 11671 (16mm film, color, 23 minutes) or 11695 (VHS videotape, color, 23 minutes). Film Communicators, 1984. White-tailed Deer. 01807 (16mm film, color, 39 minutes). Calvin Communicators, 1969. Wilderness World of Sigurd F. Olson. 11618 (VHS videotape, color, 28 minutes). Film Media, 1980. The following is available from the Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corporation. Problems of Conservation: Wildlife. 2600 (16mm film or VHS videotape, 13 minutes). The following are available from the Media Resources Center. Before You Hunt. S58242F (16mm film, 27 minutes). Kansas State University, 1973. Coyote Caught Between Two Worlds. S48446F (16mm film, 20 minutes). Forty Mile Productions, 1981. In Celebration of America's Wildlife. S68702H (VHS videotape, 57 minutes). Commonwealth Films, 1986. The following are available from Leisure Time Products. Successful Hunting the Whitetail Deer. (VHS videotape.) Way of the Whitetail. (VHS videotape.) The following are available from Nasco. Managing Wildlife. C10425N (Color filmstrip with cassette tape and script). Sharing Our Land with Wildlife. C10193N (58-frame color filmstrip). The following are available from Remington Arms Company, Inc. Wildlife and the Farm. (16mm film, 28 minutes.) Wildlife on the Main Stem. (VHS videotape with cassette, 27 minutes.) The following are available from Vocational Education Productions. Agricultural Resources. 1-901-136H (Sound filmstrip).