Wildlife Management, definitions, scope, scale – Program at Hedmark University Norway

What is this thing called WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT?

Tomas Willebrand Professor in Applied Ecology Swedish Hunters Association Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Hedmark University College Campus Evenstad Norway

Wildlife species – not a precise definition § Game – wildlife that is hunted for sport (English) § More than species that are harvested § All wild birds and mammal § All wild mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians § Norway: But not marine mammals

Wildlife Management

§ Wildlife laws and management in Mongolia by Ginghis Kahn (1250 AD) § Hunting season § Winter feeding

Who is responsible?

North-America § State is responsible, also for practical management § Wildlife is owned by everybody § Professional wildlife biologists § Top-Down system § NGO’s?

Norway/Sweden § State set principles § Landowner have hunting rights (no one owns wildlife) § Fewer professional wildlife biologists § Bottom-up system § Many NGO’s

Aldo Leopold, 1933 §  Game management and forestry grow natural species in an environment not greatly altered for the purpose in hand, relaying on partial control of a few factors to enhance the yield above what unguided nature would produce.

Aldo Leopold, 1933 §  Game management and forestry grow

natural species in an environment not greatly altered for the purpose in hand, relaying on partial control of a few factors to enhance the yield above what unguided nature would produce.

Aldo Leopold, 1933 §  Game management and forestry grow natural species in an environment not greatly altered for the purpose in hand, relaying on partial control of a few factors to enhance the yield above what unguided nature would produce.

Aldo Leopold, 1933 §  Game management and forestry grow natural species in an environment not greatly altered for the purpose in hand, relaying on partial control of a few factors to enhance the yield above what unguided nature would produce.

Aldo Leopold, 1933 § Their controls are barley visible; an observer, unless he was an expert, could see no difference between managed and unmanaged terrain.

Definitions § Game Management is the art of making land produce sustained annual crops of wild game for recreational use (A. Leopold) § Wildlife management is the human actions to reach a specified goal to either conserve, increase, harvest or limit wild populations. (DN, Norway) § Wildlife management attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best available science. (Wikipedia)

Population Management: the options

§ Increase § Decrease § Sustainable harvest § Monitoring – stewardship

Level of control. Resource use

Full control.

Regulate species

Mitigation.

Counteract human impact

Protection.

Support natural balance

Conservation Ecology – same wine in a new bottle?

§ Living things in the environment § How human activities augment or impair § Maintaining or restoring habitats § Population concept not always useful § Support natural patterns in biodiversity

Controllability & Understanding

In theory – Different roles

§ Monitoring is the common denominator § Population trends are central § Index

§ Cost-efficient ?

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§ Bag statistics § Pellet counts

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Mosaic of values awareness is needed

Hunters Other Users

Ornithologists

Where are you? bu P re lai au n cr ac y

Desired Goal

Increasing agreement

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Cause and effect Increasing certainty

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