What is a Certified Wildlife Biologist (CWB)?

A Certified Wildlife Biologist (CWB®) or Associate Wildlife Biologist (AWB®) is not a self-acclaimed individual. If you are seeking the services of a wildlife manger or biologist in the private sector, the badge of CWB is a respected achievement and it is encouraged that your prospective candidate is certified.

To become certified as a CWB, an individual must apply through The Wildlife Society (TWS), an international, non-profit association. TWS’ mission statement is to promote excellence in wildlife stewardship through science and education. Requirements to qualify as a CWB include a formal education with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. Certain courses in ecology, botany, zoology, quantitative studies, and communication must be taken to meet the preliminary prerequisites of the certification. Once courses are taken and grades meet the standard, the applicant for a CWB must then complete 5 years of acceptable, professional experience. Whether experience is deemed acceptable or not is determined by a Certification Review Board (CRB) that consists of a panel of highly qualified wildlife biologists. Submitting your application as a CWB candidate has a fee of $155 for members and $525 for non-members of TWS.

Those who are interested in the certification program and fulfill the education requirement, but do not meet the minimum experience prerequisite, can apply within 6 months after graduation for a discounted price of $95 as an Associate Wildlife Biologist [Reg. Price= Member $115, Non-member $325]. Having an AWB typically assists in review of your CWB application once experience is gained.

The link for applying for your AWB or CWB can be found here along with much more information regarding the certification program: 
Certification Program

Aldo Leopold's Conservation Esthetic

Photo Credit to The Aldo Leopold Foundation

Aldo Leopold, also known as the Father of Wildlife Management, was born on January 11, 1887 in Burlington, Iowa. His intellect and passion for the outdoors led him to Yale’s Forest School where he graduated in 1909 and immediately found a job with the US Forest Service.

In 1928, Leopold left the Forest Service and headed north to Wisconsin where he would develop the formal education for the profession of wildlife sciences. Leopold was the first professor of wildlife management in the nation at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He used the book he published in 1933 entitled Game Management as the official course text. In 1934, the course name was Survey of Game Management. As we will come to define, wildlife management is much more than the management of game animals, but systems as a whole. Realizing his initial aberration, Leopold redesigned and named the course Wildlife Ecology in 1938.  

Along with being deemed as a notable ecologist, Leopold was a philosopher of sorts. Among his academic works, Leopold enjoyed to journal. A series of essays and sketches he would compile over many years now serves as a highly esteemed book nearly all wildlife enthusiasts have read (or should read!). A Sand County Almanac, and Sketches Here and There (ASCA) was published in 1949, one year after having his manuscript for the book accepted for publication. On April 21, 1948, Leopold died of a heart attack while fighting a grass fire adjacent to his family farm.

Among the essays in ASCA, we all have a favorite. Alhough not my personal favorite, Conservation Esthetic is a great essay for an area of discussion. The essay, though written over half a century ago, still has much ethical and contextual merit to the challenges we currently face with wildlife management. Some of the issues Leopold addresses in the article, which I might add are quite controversial, are the value of a trophy, perception of isolation in nature and natural processes.

The following link, made available through the University of Iowa, allows you to read this essay in its entirety. A great read and supplement to healthy cogitation, I hope this essay inspires a good discussion.

Conservation Esthetic

North American Model of Wildlife Conservation- Do you know it?

Perhaps the most appropriate fashion to begin our odyssey of discussing wildlife conservation is to start at the beginning. What is the foundation for what we have come to develop as a tradition, passion, or career? I would surmise that the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is the quintessential explanation to our beginning (see links below). The model is known for its "7 pillars" that were derived as the result of necessity in the field of conservation in the late 1800s. Market hunting and over-exploitation posed a great threat to the sustainability of wildlife and natural resources; necessity was indeed the mother of inspiration for the conservation movement.

Theodore Roosevelt is often regarded as The Father

of Conservation among many other conservationists 

of the 19^th and 20^th century.

As time has progressed, we as society have accomplished much in the field of conservation. However, concomitantly, our development has come with complexity and challenged by inevitable facets of the new world. Global population expansion and public perception are among these challenges (Mahoney and Cobb 2010). (See Future Challenges to the Model)

Given the dynamic present, innovation in the realm of wildlife professionals is of utmost importance. Does the model need revisions or do we need to conform to the model?

 

Links:

North American Model of Wildlife Conservation

Organ, J. F., S. P. Mahoney, and V. Geist. 2010. Born in the hands of hunters: the North American model of wildlife conservation. The Wildlife Professional Fall:22-27.

History and 7 Pillars 

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation [RMEF]. 2015. The North American Wildlife Conservation Model. <http://www.rmef.org/Conservation/HuntingIsConservation/NorthAmericanWildlifeConservationModel.aspx>. Accessed 29 Jan 2015.

Future Challenges to the Model

Mahoney, S. P., and D. Cobb. 2010. Future challenges to the model: why collapse is possible and alteration inevitable. The Wildlife Professional Fall:83-85.