A unit of Lasting Forests Sustained forests; sustained profits evolving since March 30, 1999

We deal in this course with a review for many students, a rapid (probably superficial) coverage of some topics for many. It is designed for the advanced student.

Letter to Students - It helps understand the reasons for and orientation of the course.

Orientation - More orientation and what's expected.

Disclaimer - Everyone needs a disclaimer and at least a passing effort to be politically correct. Reluctance of professors "to profess" is a major problem, one for the universities, the professoriate, and society. Perhaps students can ask questions that allow and encourage them to do so.

Tests and Exams - "Will it be on the exam?", the dread death-question for professors may be the life of students. Brief comments are made. Email the instructor if there are questions. Do not waste psychological energy on test/exam anxiety. Direct your energy at the course content.

Detailed Objectives for an Introductory Course - The course on which you are currently working is not an introductory or classical course, but an advanced one. The list presented here may be used by students who may teach someday. The list shows the complexity of wildlife resource management and may suggest alternative educational strategies, since all objectives are unlikely to be achieved in a classical (year 2000 ad) 3-semester-hour course.

Now for the real outline ...

Introduction and Definition

1. Introduction - Brief introduction to the course and basic connections within the website (e.g., to the Contents a list of the main course files but a list not including over 1000 other files used within the course)
2. Your future in wildlife management
3. Vocabulary used in wildlife management expected for all students early in the course

4. Recent General Textbooks in Wildlife Management

5. Fundamentals of Wildlife (for critique within the course)

6. The Wildlife Resource and General Systems - Review of definitions as used in the course: resource, wildlife, conservation, wildlife management, systems theory - subsystems, systems theory - Feedback and controland rasking. The systems diagram and its practical components. Cross currents and the relevance of Gamma Theory.

7. Wildlife Management as Decision Making - Definition of wildlife management; contrast to wildlife biology; emphasis on output or objectives; emphasis on faunal system management and wildland systems; economics (definition); objective weighting over time and maximization.

8. Optimization - Deciding on the "best"; constraints; criteria and objectives; the factors of objectives; 7 types of objectives; emphasis on "best action to take"; problem-analysis vs a systems approach; efficiency vs effectiveness; sources of objectives; risk and risk analysis; least-squares approaches; the definition of "benefits" as B and B* and the multi-dimensional nature of B* and Cost, C*. The satisfactory situation as an alternative to classical decision making.

9. Statistics as a Decision Tool - Simultaneous change to gain control of a faunal system; non linear systems; equifinality of systems; the limits of statistics; sampling to gain knowledge - basic sampling strategies; estimates; non-linear systems; is some knowledge better than none ? The problem of inadequate sample sizes; handling outliers; the use of ranges.

10. Building a Knowledge Base - Wildlife information system; GIS; the expert system; Beta estimates; incrementalism and bounded counts; Landsat; the n-dimensional hypervolume; Alpha units vs watershed management;Modeling and related topics

11. Research Techniques and Procedures - The Rationally Robust; Field experiences and recommendations; Research as part of an Input system

12. Manipulating People: The Committee - Influencing demand, value, perceived risk, and substitutability.Managing Resource Users

13. Law Enforcement - Overview; the nature of such "research"; the needs in the law enforcement system; objectives; poaching

14. The Managerial Attitude - Changing Populations or Demand? Winning in the Kappa Game (computer game relating to a wildlife management area). Its dimensions; relevance of research; experience; rational sloppiness; the appropriate alpha level; sampling strategies; incremental strategies (see unit 5); strategies; ecosystem management and adaptive management

15. Guidance and The Trevey, replacements for the "planning concept."

16. Costs (C*) of Management - Sources of funds; budgets; and rational spending.Sampling and the cost of management

17. Population Estimation - 1 - Philosophy, need, and limitations of populations estimation.

18. Population Estimation - 2 - Home-range-based estimates; bounded count; dynamics; doubling time; rate of change estimates; the sigmoid growth alternative; a lesson from island biography.

19. Population Space - N-dimensional temporal biomass; season setting

20. Population Structure and Dynamics- Elements of Population Management; Structure vs. dynamics; faunal life group management; the individual vs the population;review of relevance of sex ratio; age ratio; density; genetic unit. Hunting concepts; the effects of harvests;

21. Biodiversity Estimates - the "variety" alternative; species-area relationships

22. Faunal Space - The "habitat" replacement; faunal spacethe dynamic land volume (vs. "area"); the significance of area over quality; "carrying capacity" revisited; unique faunal land volumes (the GIS); GAP analysis review; abiotic factors.

23. The Energy Unit as Food and Cover Equivalents - Review of Moen's studies and the energy-budgeting creature in a land volume or faunal space.

24. "Habitat" Studies: Faunal Space 1; Faunal Space 2;Analysis and Evaluation - The cost of studies; the number needed; the long-term study; the model-based study; value for what; seasonal needs; types of cover; toward a theory of "cover"; the need for theory.

25. Total Faunal Resource Systems: Antler Points - Example of a total, species-specific, profit-oriented resource system. Ecosystem management; adaptive management

26. Employment Potentials: the Role of the Future Effective Wildlifer - example of a total, integrated, private, for profit, natural resource company; the farm vs. the enterprise perspective; the firm vs. the agency perspective; professionals and vocations; success criteria; field work; professional notes; sequential knowledge gains and protecting "experience" gains

27. Agroforestry and Wildlife Management - Overview; opportunities; international experiences China, India, Nigeria, Senegal.

28. Powerline Corridors and the Wildlifer - A fair place at the decision table; the EIS process; wildlife value; optimum corridor location; two-phase decisions; parametric solutions; simulation vs. optimization.

29. Ecosystem Management and the 5 E's - The alternatives to growing policy literature: the esthetics, energetics, economics, ecology, enforcement hyperspace.

30. Managing the Other Fauna - Salamanders, prey systems, songbirds, butterflies.

31. Interspersion - Faunal space elementsThe snarled nature of landscape ecology; the new unified index; edge volume; juxtaposition; contiguity; boundaries; relevant area; controlled space.

32. Managing Ecological Succession - 13 F action rule for succession; adding apples and oranges; the multi-resource solution; joint production functions and coactive management. The first days on the management area; control of populations, faunal space, and people.

33. Subversion

34. The Action List - Things to do

35. Single species resource systems
    1. The Raccoon and Turkey "Guilds"
    2. Grouse Management
    3. Quail System Management and notes 1 and notes 2
    4. A Deer System
    5. A Fur-related System

36. Bright Star Sanctuary - The Avi sport; management for the birds; pest control?; disease vectors; micromanagement vs. macromanagement.

37. Integrated Vertebrate Pest Damage Management - The concept, need, opportunities and "Pest Force" plan.

38. Failures and Future Developments

39. Review - Return to fundamentals; the cross currents of the systems (objectives; context; inputs; processes; feedback; and feedforward) and the management triad (populations, faunal space, and people.)

40. Sample questions for final exam.

Ancillary resources:

Glossary

Assignments for students

Cross Currents - Alternatives and optional premises within faunal system management.

Antler Points A collection of articles about the management of the white-tailed deer.

The Trevey A developing set of materials for managing forested lands as total resource systems.

Ideas for Development A set of ideas of potential interest for the future.

Last revision January 17, 2000.