DATE: 8/7/06

CONTACT: Rick Willey, 864-656-3090; rwlly@clemson.edu

WRITER: Diane Palmer, 864-656-4741; spalmer@clemson.edu

CharlestonCounty 4-H’ers participate in national WHEP contest

CLEMSON -- Charleston County 4-H’ers represented South Carolina at the 2006 National 4-H Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program (WHEP) last month in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.

Sarah Stadnik, Madeline Tavelle, Melissa Lowder, Charity Wright participated in the event. The two coaches that attended were Betty Osgood and Jason Goins.

WHEP is a 4-H youth natural resource program dedicated to teaching wildlife and fisheries habitat management to junior and senior level (ages 8-19) youths.

The team won eighth place overall. Lowder took fifth place in aerial photos and Stadnik placed sixth in foods.

The youths participated in the following areas:

Wildlife Management Practices: Participants are introduced to a tract of land and are asked to determine which wildlife management practices they would use to manage the tract in the best possible way for a selected set of wildlife species.

Wildlife Foods: Participants must be able to recognize wildlife food items and match them with the appropriate species or species group.

Aerial Photographs: Participants are given a set of four aerial photographs and are asked to rank them for a selected set of eight to ten wildlife species. Additionally they must give oral reasons justifying their ranking for two predetermined species.

Wildlife Management Plan: As a team of four, participants must write a wildlife management plan taking into account the defined objectives of the landowner, making compromises and concessions in trying to develop the best plan possible for a set of two or three wildlife species.

Urban Wildlife Plan: This is similar to the Management Plan, except that the plan is for an urban setting such as around a house, school yard, golf course, city park, etc. 
 

For more information on the WHEP program, go to: http://www.whep.org/. For more information on 4-H, go to: http://www.clemson.edu/4H/.

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