Requirements
1. Describe the meaning and purposes of fish and wildlife
conservation and management.
2. List and discuss at least three major problems that continue
to threaten your state’s fish and wildlife resources.
3. Describe some practical ways in which everyone can help
with the fish and wildlife conservation effort.
4. List and describe five major fish and wildlife management
practices used by managers in your state.
5. Do ONE of the following:
a. Construct, erect, and check regularly at least two
artificial nest boxes (wood duck, bluebird, squirrel, etc.)
and keep written records for one nesting season.
b. Construct, erect, and check regularly bird feeders and
keep written records of the kinds of birds visiting
the feeders.
c. Develop and implement a fishery improvement project
or a backyard wildlife habitat improvement project.
Share the results with your counselor.
d. Design and construct a wildlife blind near a game trail,
water hole, salt lick, bird feeder, or birdbath and take
good photographs or make sketches from the blind of
any combination of 10 wild birds, mammals, reptiles,
or amphibians.
6. Do ONE of the following:
a. Observe and record 25 species of wildlife. Your list may
include mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish.
Write down when and where each animal was seen.
List the fish and wildlife species in your state that are classified
as endangered, threatened, exotic, non-native, game
species, furbearers, or migratory game birds. Discuss with
your counselor management practices in place or being
developed for at least three of these species.
c. Start a scrapbook of North American fish and wildlife.
Insert markers to divide the book into separate parts for
mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Collect
articles on such subjects as life histories, habitat,
behavior, and feeding habits on all of the five categories
and place them in your notebook accordingly. Articles
and pictures may be taken from newspapers or science,
nature, and outdoor magazines, or from other sources
including the Internet (with your parent’s permission).
Enter at least five articles on mammals, five on birds,
five on reptiles, five on amphibians, and five on fish.
Put each animal on a separate sheet in alphabetical
order. Include pictures whenever possible.
7. Do ONE of the following:
a. Determine the age of five species of fish from scale
samples or identify various age classes of one species
in a lake and report the results.
b. Conduct a creel census on a small lake to estimate catch
per unit effort.
c. Examine the stomach contents of three fish and record
the findings. It is not necessary to catch any fish for
this option. You may visit a cleaning station set up for
fishermen or find another, similar alternative.
d. Make a freshwater aquarium. Include at least four species
of native plants and four species of animal life, such
as whirligig beetles, freshwater shrimp, tadpoles, water
snails, and golden shiners. After 60 days of observation,
discuss with your counselor the life cycles, food chains,
and management needs you have recognized. After
completing requirement 7d to your counselor’s satisfaction,
with your counselor’s assistance, check local laws
to determine what you should do with the specimens
you have collected.
8. Using resources found at the library and in periodicals,
books, and the Internet (with your parent’s permission),
learn about three different positions held by fisheries
and/or wildlife professionals. Find out the education
and training requirements for each position.
Resources:
Scouting.org Merit Badges - Requirements
boyscouttrail.com Merit Badges