The belief that wild animals and the wilderness itself are there for population's pleasure and are not of value for themselves, still exists-a holdover from the days when most of this country was uncharted wilderness and land, and when animals were ours for the taking. The degree to which this attitude continues is in part political, but not necessarily pervasive in the government-run parks and forests. As national administrations change, the protectionist-versus-exploitation controversy swings with it. As this is written, preservation of wildlife is at a crossroads. On one hand, continuing pressure exerted by conservation groups may once more be advancing environmental causes, which would help improve the job market in this field. On the other hand, the 1992 battle between environmentalists' efforts to protect the spotted owl against logging in Northwestern public lands and the Federal Government's wishes to permit logging resulted in a controversial compromise: more than one-fourth of the questioned acreage was given over to logging, thus protecting loggers' jobs. The remaining lands-for the present, at least have been left alone.
Most animal wildlife careers are government-funded, either by the federal government or by the individual states. While that funding may fluctuate-and job possibilities with it-the basic course is still in the direction established by landmark groups such as the Sierra Club (founded in 1892) and by later arrivals on the conservation scene: that the need to maintain America's open lands and preserve our native wildlife is essential to the country's ecological future. With the slow but steady acceptance of this perspective, career opportunities will continue to expand, as will work with conservation organizations. But be warned- this expansion is neither strong nor immediate.
The new zoo habitats discussed in Chapter 10 are not designed simply to replicate nature at its most awesome. They are also planned to encourage the reproduction of rare species in nearly authentic surroundings. In many cases, zoos exchange animals bred in captivity with other zoos; in other instances, they release these animals into the wild. Rare monkeys with the unlikely name of golden-lion tamarins have been released by Washington's National Zoo, and are surviving in a Brazilian forest, their only native habitat. Some 135 such projects are taking place world-wide. Among some of the American projects are the return to their native habitats of peregrine falcons and red foxes. The Middle Eastern country of Oman is the site of a project to return the Arabian oryx, a rare type of antelope, to its natural state. The costs of all such projects are high, but the alternative is foreseen as extinction of these species. The reward, conservationists say, is well worth the expense.
These zoo creatures belong in this chapter because it is the conservationist and zoo biologist who will follow and keep track of their adventures in their homelands. Although we are concentrating on conservation work in the United States, a conservation technician stationed in Oregon to monitor the spotted owl might find himself or herself accepting an assignment to re-orient the Arabian Oryx to its Middle Eastern home.
Not all species are adversely affected by today's conditions. In one case, rural Chester County, Pennsylvania, has reported greater numbers of endangered bluebirds than have been seen in several years. More bald eagles have been sighted in adjoining Montgomery County than in recent memory. And there are other encouraging signs among the rarer creatures in the avian world.
A new species of parakeet, the first new member of the parrot family to be found in over 70 years, was discovered by Robert Ridgely, an Ornithologist with Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences. Ridgely's expedition to the jungles of Ecuador was to monitor the spotted rail, a rare bird. Finding the as-yet unnamed parakeet was an unusual stroke of luck. Whatever name will be chosen, it will be Pyrrhura something (pyrrhura is the Latin name for parrot family members). The last name may well honor a benefactor of the Academy of Natural Sciences!
BASIC CAREER REQUIREMENTS
Wildlife and conservation work calls for strong mathematical and communications skills. Endurance and a duck's ability to shed water are handy, too, because much of the work is done outdoors often under difficult conditions. Self-reliance is another good trait to have, since counting the tracks of animals that appear in response to attractive scent-one method of surveying their numbers-may call for many days of observation alone in deep woods.
Workers in national and state parks may be involved in both, animal and people management, one place where communications enters the picture. Also, animal technicians who manage wildlife and land resources must be skilled statistical analysts and reporters, able to chart and interpret changes in migration and feeding patterns and animal populations.
Your duties might include the banding of wild animals and birds, conducting wildlife and ecological surveys, animal population regulation, the preservation or development of natural habitats to help in animal propagation, experimentation with bird and animal food sources, and the protection and rescue of animals from natural or manmade disasters.
Other duties include the enforcement of fishing, hunting and camping laws, park direction, communication, and public relations.
Wildlife technicians work for a variety of agencies including industry, state fish and game commissions, privately funded wildlife preserves, and conservation organizations. The largest single employer, however, is the federal government. Federal jobs-all acquired through Civil Service-are in the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Salaries are listed in "GS" categories, the standard applied to all federal careers.
Beginning jobs tend to be the ones most directly associated with animals. Advancement in wildlife and conservation careers more often than not involves increasing amounts of laboratory and research work and administration. It is strange indeed that advancement often means forsaking close contact with animals. At this point, where up means out, some workers in the animal field will go into a new area just to remain near animal life.
EDUCATION
For all but the most basic work, a bachelor's degree in wildlife biology, ecology, or zoology is essential. Advancement in this field calls for advanced degrees, too. In high school you would concentrate on biology and the natural sciences. College will offer opportunities to specialize further-in wildlife and range management, ecology, forestry (because of its interaction with animals), and other areas. Research methodology is also extremely helpful, tying in with the other study areas.
Seasonal employment and volunteering, discussed later in this chapter, provide on-site education as well as the opportunity to work in the field of your choice before you start college and during summer vacations.
Growing numbers of states require a bachelor's degree for work as forest or park rangers, fish and game control officers, and assistant biologists. As mentioned before, higher degrees are almost essential, particularly if you wish to be a wildlife manager. The student with a B.S. has less than a 50 percent chance of landing a job; master's degree holders may have a near-100 percent hiring record, and Ph.D's can almost write their own job tickets. Also, since wildlife management and conservation deal with many state and federal regulations, an understanding of basic criminal justice and of animal laws and their enforcement is part of many jobs. This knowledge can be learned on the job as well as being part of your formal education.
Although veterinary schools often concentrate on domestic animals, a fascinating exception is the Wildlife Service of the University of Pennsylvania's veterinary school. Here, pigeons, gerbils, geese, finches, and other injured or ill animals have been treated by the students. A five-year-old Bengal lizard named Big Red has been a patient. Anyone finding an injured wild bird or animal may bring it in 24 hours a day for treatment. There is no charge, but donations are appreciated. In a recent year, the clinic treated 160 wild creatures. This Wildlife Service is run by the first and second year veterinary students. Course credit is given. A term paper is required for full credit and encompasses such topics as how an owl tracks its prey. (Answer: through the auditory system)
Do the captive, injured creatures take to their helpers? "They're not very appreciative of our efforts," said Jim Reed, one of the participating students. He feels the results are worth the effort, even though the creatures do not show affection or appreciation like domestic pets.
Legally owned exotic animals are also treated at the clinic, for a fee. One visitor, a five-year-old parrot named Tillie, had plucked away her chest feathers from boredom. Her prescription? A change of diet, play toys-and repositioning Tillie's cage by a window and near a turned-on television! Other animals have been treated by every veterinary method from nail-clipping to antibiotics and major surgery.
WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST
The wildlife biologist is the one careerist who is most directly involved with the ongoing safety and well-being of wild animals. A wildlife biologist may spend days in winter camp, as Brad Allen, Randy Cross, and others did northwest of Ashland, Maine during the winter of 1982. Allen and his teammates were on the trail of 50 hibernating black bears that they had fitted with radio-signaling collars the summer before. The biologists, working for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, tracked the bears to see how many had given birth to cubs, how many cubs they had apiece, and how healthy they appeared. They will use their data to estimate what the future black bear population will be.
In addition to learning about the habits and characteristics of black bears, their studies will help the state of Maine determine how many bears can-or should-legally be hunted without endangering the species. Since hunting is a multi-million-dollar business in the state, the team's research is important to the economy as well as to the animals.
In answer to an ever-louder "beep" signal, the team moved in on snowshoes to a bear's hibernation spot, usually a ground-hollow or a brush-concealed hole. One team member covers the opening with nylon net while another tranquilizes the bear with a gun on a pole. Then, they all carefully remove the bear-no easy job at 130 dead-weight pounds-and the cubs. These are kept warm in the biologists' jackets while they are weighed and their ears are tagged for later study. After weighing and recording, all the bears are replaced and the hole re-covered with underbrush to keep the cubs inside. The whole job has to be done in 45 minutes, the effective tranquilizer time.
The "bear study," as it was informally called, began in 1980 and continued for some years. Three teams of biologists worked for three to four weeks in winter and for five months every spring and summer. Winter quarters were primitive, wood-heated cabins 25 miles from civilization in the Aroostook County woods. The only access to the outside world was by snowmobile.
If you become a wildlife biologist, you may concentrate in one animal area, or you could work more generally in animal management. In any case, the biologist's work tends to be mission-oriented: basic observation and research aimed at solving or preventing problems related to wild animals and their habitats.
Habitat study is a key. One of the goals is to control the forest habitat to maintain the proper ecological balance of and for different creatures. If forest cutting is to be done, for instance, the wildlife biologist would work with foresters to decide what types of timber to be cut, where, and how much. Cutting large stands of mature timber would benefit species seeking new growth for cover or food, but at the expense of hawks, owls, woodpeckers, and other creatures in need of older growth.
In a national forest where your work is coordinated with foresters and range managers, you may be the only wildlife biologist working with animals in a many-square-mile area of millions of acres. Census-taking, another frequent assignment is often done by airplane, the best way to check changes in the population of ospreys, eagles, and deer. In addition to coordinated efforts with foresters and others, a great deal of the wildlife biologist's work in national forests involves interrelationships with industry, lumbering, and mining in permitted areas, to assure environmental protection.
The same basic tasks of animal management are performed by wildlife biologists in state forests, national parks, and state parks. In parklands, however, the public is a factor, and the interaction of animals and people-visitors, campers, and hunters-is an important part of maintaining animal well-being through successful management of habitats and control of hunting volume.
Some biologists say half their time is spent in animal observation, banding, and other direct involvement. The other half-and often a higher proportion of time-is taken up with recording, analyzing, and reporting their findings and in related administrative detail.
One biologist whose time was largely taken up with travel was Dr. George Schaller of the New York Zoological Society. Dr. Schaller was a field worker-the ultimate wildlife biologist-and he was also a conservationist and zoologist. He has spent months, even years at a time, in such countries as Brazil, India, and Zaire. His job: researching wild animals and planning wildlife preserves for them.
Much of Dr. Schaller's work was funded by research grants from the National Geographic Society and similar organizations.
A detailed field study-of snow leopards in the Himalayas, for instance-takes two to three years. Although Dr. Schaller worked from a home base as close to the animals as possible and takes his family along to work with him, much time was spent in isolated field work. In Tanzania, his home base was 200 miles from the area he was observing, so a lot of tent camping was involved.
Dr. Schaller's work was more than pure research into animal habitats and conditions. Part of his goal was to work with local governments to design and establish preserves for protecting the wildlife he has studied. He has also written extensively and worked with wildlife-dedicated assistants in the host countries, teaching them how to conserve their own valuable wildlife.
Some 65 percent of wildlife biologists work for states, 20 percent for the federal government, and the rest for universities, zoos, environmental groups, and foundations. The available jobs usually go to those with advanced degrees. This is true in every area of conservation work, as it is with zoo work. If you want to be competitive, pile on those degrees! Experience helps, too.
Here is a sampling of jobs advertised in 1992 in "The Wildlifer," the National Wildlife Society Newsletter. Some but not all reflect the need for advanced degrees.
WETLAND SCIENTIST/BOTANIST: Knowledge of wetland delineation procedures and northwest plant communities. Wet-land permitting and delineation experience desirable. $25,000-$35,000, excellent benefits. (Oregon)
WATERFOWL BIOLOGIST: M.S. with experience or Ph.D. Good quantitative skills desired. Oversees management and research on waterfowl population and habitat. Supervises biologist and half-time secretary. $25,449-$42,561. (Florida)
WILDLIFE MANAGER I: ($18,555-$27,393), B.S. in Wildlife Science
WILDLIFE MANAGER II: ($21,481-$32,505), B.S. in Wildlife Science + 2 years professional experience in wildlife management. Biologist/wildlife law enforcement responsible for implementing fish and wildlife population and habitat management
WILDLIFE SPECIALISTS: ($23,238-$35,168), B.S. in Wildlife Science + 2 years experience in wildlife management. Future vacancies anticipated. (Arizona)
DEER PROGRAM LEADER: M.S. in wildlife. Responsible for statewide management and research programs $25,193- $38,463. (Virginia)
SEASONAL RAPTOR SURVEYORS: 2 years wildlife experience, preferably with raptors. To survey and monitor goshawks and spotted owls April-August. (Arizona)
BIOLOGICAL TECHNICIANS: (4) 13 April-25 September. To assist refuge personnel in implementation of biological and management programs including capture and banding of American woodcock using trained bird dogs, modified shore-bird traps, mist nets, and night lighting; waterfowl capture and banding; pellet counts, etc. $8.48/hour + housing. (Maine)
WILDLIFE REHABILITATOR
As a career, working as a wildlife rehabilitator is as rare as some animal species, but it represents an opportunity for a few very skilled animal conservationists and their volunteer helpers.
One of the best-known rehabilitators is Mary Jane Stretch, founder and director of The Aark Foundation of Newtown, Pennsylvania. In her own words, Stretch and her associates "fix animals," doing whatever is necessary to allow sick, injured, or orphaned creatures to return to the wild. In a recent year, Ms. Stretch, her three paid assistants, and 27 volunteers attended to some 3,600 animal and bird patients.
Ms. Stretch avoids what she calls the "bunny hugger" approach. Animals being tended by The Aark Foundation are not given pet names, nor are they held except to be treated or cleaned. The sole function of the Foundation is to return creatures to their rightful places in the food chain.
The workday may run from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., with even more bizarre hours if there are newborn animals to be fed. It is largely a labor of love; the Foundation, which survives entirely on donations, brings in about $ 120,000 a year, most of which goes directly for medical supplies and animal feeds.
Although some biologists and naturalists feel that wildlife rehabilitation has little or no effect on wild populations, this controversy means nothing to Mary Jane Stretch. She has had years of experience in her unique calling and is licensed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Hers is one of the most successful rehab clinics in the Eastern United States.
There are many do's and don'ts on rehabilitating wildlife, according to Stretch. Doing it right requires years of training; it is not for the willing but inexperienced amateur. Wild creatures by their nature can be dangerous.
For those interested in wildlife rehabilitation, a nonprofit organization offers information on skills seminars and licensing. Send a self-addressed stamped envelope and $1.50 to International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, 4437 Central Place, Suite B-4, Suisan, CA 94585.
Students who wish to volunteer in this area may approach local nature centers with their requests. For volunteer work with people like Mary Jane Stretch, call your State Department of Environmental Protection and ask for a listing of licensed wildlife rehabilitators. If they do not have such a list, they will be able to direct you elsewhere. Volunteers are greatly needed in this field.
RANGERS
Rangers are employed by national and state parks. Their duties are similar in both facilities, and there is some overlap with tasks performed by wildlife biologists and wildlife conservation officers. As of mid-1992, there were 27,000 forestry jobs, with some openings.
Park rangers and their supervisors have the most direct control over park lands, the animals who live there, and the visitors who come there. The ranger welcomes visitors, assigns campsites, collects fees, reports on weather, conducts nature walks and campfire lectures-and answers every question from "Will the bears bother me?" to "Where can I get ice?"
The ranger is also a police officer of sorts whose duties include making the public aware of park rules and seeing to it they are obeyed. Where hunting and fishing are permitted, this job is more often done by the wildlife conservation officer.
Another element of ranger life is overseeing the general condition of the park. Are fences mended? Trails neat and well-marked? Parking areas clean? Campsites ready for occupancy? Rangers patrol all areas of the park, noting what work must be done and assigning it to conservation crews, often young seasonal workers or volunteers. Ranger duties may take you far away from the public and may involve long periods out-of-doors, patrolling by 4WD vehicle or on horseback.
Along with the people- and park-care elements of the job, rangers are front-line animal care workers, too. A ranger must have an intimate knowledge of the park's wildlife mixture and the visitors' impact on it, of weather conditions and their potential effects on the animals, and of what steps to take toward successful animal management. Along with the wildlife biologist, the ranger surveys wildlife and reports on its conditions, provides animals with water and food in times of severe weather, rescues animals found in difficulties, and traps animals to move them to distant locations where food supplies are better or where visitors will not go.
The answer to "Will the bears bother me?" might just be "Yes" if conditions are wrong. When bears and other predators cannot find food in the wild, they may raid campsites-not a good state of affairs. By taking positive action in advance, the rangers and their assistants can maintain the proper balance in the park between people and the natural environment.
The forest ranger and range manager are related careers, but less related to people and animals. Forest rangers monitor environmental and man-made conditions in national and state forests. While these duties include a degree of animal care, it is secondary to the over-all preservation of forest lands, the control or direction of logging where it is permitted, and general management of thousands of acres of uninhabited wilderness.
Range managers perform much the same duties, but in addition they interact with ranchers who may be permitted to use the open rangelands for grazing cattle. The range manager helps determine the amount of grazing that may be done, and works with ranchers to maintain the size of the herd and the size and location of available acreage.
Most graduates entering the government workforce as foresters, range managers, etc., with B.S. degrees will start at $15,700*, while those with Masters' degrees begin at $23,800. Ph.D.s can command $28,900 to start. If they are Ph.D.s in research, they may begin in the $34,600 range.
Federal government salaries are among the highest for ranger technology. State and local governments pay less. And although local governments offer good fringe benefits such as health insurance, the Federal Government still offers the best career opportunities overall.
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION OFFICER
Titles such as wildlife conservation officer, conservation warden or-most usually in the public mind-game warden all describe the same state government position. In federal government work for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service the title is special agent.
Originally the job was one purely of enforcement of hunting and fishing laws. Today the job still involves the regulation of game animals (mammals, birds, and fishes) including investigation and enforcement, and there is also increasing overlap with the tasks of other conservation workers.
Today, as a wildlife conservation officer, you would check licenses, regulate catches, and enforce applicable laws-but you may also help conduct animal surveys, do rescue work, operate feeding stations, relocate animals and may even be involved in fire detection and monitoring state and private game breeding farms. Like the park ranger, you may also speak before civic-minded hunting and fishing groups, providing safety information and emphasizing the need for conservation to their audiences.
Federal special agents are primarily enforcement officers, per-forming a broad range of regulatory duties from granting federal wildlife permits to flying enforcement patrols.
Wildlife, Conservation, and Communications 101
As with growing numbers of conservation workers, education past high school is becoming almost essential as a requirement for the limited number of available jobs. And several states have physical requirements that must be met. Experience in some phases of wildlife management and conservation or law enforcement is decidedly helpful. Federal special agents must have a bachelor's degree in wildlife biology or criminal justice, or at least its equivalent in job-related experience.
SEASONAL WORK, VOLUNTEERING, AND CONSERVATION TEEN CLUBS
You can be a VIP! A "VIP" (volunteer-in-park) is an individual who can offer his or her services in parks across the country. If you are interested in park work, write the National Park Services under the auspices of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Ask them to send you the booklet that represents your geographical region. The regions are: the Alaska Region, the Pacific Northwest Region, the Western Region, the Rocky Mountain Region, the Southwest Region, the Midwest Region, the Southeast Region, the Mid-Atlantic Region, the National Capital Region, and the North Atlantic Region.
In each regional booklet are all the parks, special seashores, monument areas, railroad historical sites, etc., within that geographical area. Under each site is listed the specific things that need to be done. In Maryland, for instance, the Assateague Island National Seashore needs people to work in protection and resource management areas. Other parks have other needs.
How old do you have to be? Well, the good news is that you may help out even if you are under eighteen. Students under eighteen must work at parks in their own communities and have the permission of their parents. If they wish to work elsewhere, they must work with their families or with a supervised group.
Other volunteer groups (besides individual teens) are as diverse as park neighbors, college students (who do not have the age limitations just mentioned for high schoolers), farmers, or engineers-almost anyone in any area. The only requirements these groups are required to have are outdoor talent, skills, or in some cases, simply the desire to learn.
Volunteers work alongside the National Park Service employees. Many of the assignments are not related to animals. But except for city parks or urban historical sites, you will be in woodsy areas where animals and often fish abound. Jobs working closest to animals are: serving as a campground host, maintaining trails, and assisting park managers making wildlife "head-counts."
If you are truly interested in working in a park, you will fill out a regional application with your interests and skills, (you may say, perhaps, that you want to be a veterinarian or a conservationist and that you have taken courses in areas leading to these specializations. In high school, such courses would include biology and the other sciences.) The park system will try to match their needs with your interests.
Of course, one of the best reasons for being a VIP is that you will someday be able to list this experience on a job resume in an animal-related field. In the meantime, park volunteering will simply be a wonderful, exciting way to spend your time.
The Humane Society of the United States is very interested in having teenagers (grades 7 to 12) like you join their organization. As a member of HSUS, you have the opportunity to join their teen "club" and be part of the action. As a student member of The Humane Society of the United States, you'll be part of one of the world's largest and most effective organizations fighting to protect animals and the earth. Whether you're concerned about rain forests or pet overpopulation, animal testing or endangered species, The HSUS needs your help.
When you join the HSUS, you'll receive The HSUS News, a quarterly magazine that will keep you up to date on all the important animal and environmental protection issues. And, as a member of The HSUS Action Alert Team, you'll receive timely Close-up reports on issues requiring urgent action, and The Animal Activist Alert, a newsletter to keep you informed about proposed new laws to help animals and the environment.
Best of all, as a student member of The HSUS Action Alert Team, you'll receive Student Network News, an annual newsletter that will provide you with activity ideas for you or your earth/animal protection club. You'll receive profiles of other student activists and clubs from around the country and the names and addresses of other clubs to help you exchange ideas and information.
So don't sit on the sidelines ... become a student member of The HSUS today. Send your check of $10.00 to HSUS Student Membership, 2100 L Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037.
Following are two samples that show the liveliness and dynamism of the newsletter.
EARTH AND ANIMAL PROTECTION CLUBS: MAKING A DIFFERENCE
In 1987 a group of people dedicated to protecting animals scored a major victory for the endangered African elephant. Their effort began when they learned about the crop destruction caused by elephants that lived near a small village in Kenya. The elephants had been eating almost all the crops grown by the local people. In order to protect their food source, the villagers had no choice but to shoot the huge, hungry animals. Or so it seemed. The animal protection group had a different plan. They knew that if an electric fence was put up to protect the villagers' crops, both the elephants and the crops could be saved.
But there was one problem with the group's scheme: The fence cost $2,000. How could they possibly raise that kind of money in time to save the elephants? Instead of becoming discouraged and giving up, they sprang into action. By designing, silk-screening, and selling their own wildlife T-shirts, the group was able to raise enough money to buy the fence. Then, with the help of several people who lived in Kenya, the fence was built and the elephants and the villagers' crops were saved.
Who were the people who did so much in so little time to save the beautiful African elephant? You might think they were members of a big national organization such as The Humane Society of the United States. But they weren't. They were actually stu-dents from Petaluma, California, who had formed their own animal protection group called Friends of Wildlife (FOWL). The kids in FOWL and in many similar groups around the country know that you don't have to be an adult to make a real difference in the world. They've learned that with a little heart, hard work, and determination, junior and senior high school students like you can be a major force in the battle to protect animals and the environment. And that's what this guide is all about. This story shows that you and your classmates can become a force for positive change by forming your own Earth and animal protection club. Whether you want to save the rain forests, protect endangered species, or end the pet overpopulation problem, once you decide to act together, you'll be amazed at how much you can accomplish.
Reprinted with permission from HSUS Student Action Guide,
To order, please photocopy this page then check off which sheets you want, or check "Complete Set" to order all of them. Then send photocopy along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) plus 100 for each fact sheet to HSUS, State Legislation, 2100, L Street NW, Washington, DC 20037. If you order several sheets, please send a 9 x 12 SASE. Feel free to make photocopies of the fact sheets to share at your club meetings.
The entire HSUS Student Action Guide emphasizes students joining together to form "action" clubs. The guide points out that trying to accomplish something alone can be very discouraging. In this cheerful, well-organized newspaper, HSUS has a step-by-step plan to form an effective, exciting club. Projects undertaken by these clubs are challenging (demand near-adult reasoning), and are often ecologically controversial.
HSUS cites five steps (and their variations) to start a club in your school or neighborhood (i.e., find a knowledgeable school adviser, decide on a specific issue to target) and finally, take action.
Here is an example of an HSUS high school group tackling two of the environmentalists' most sensitive subjects (1) unusual and unnecessary cruelty to animals, and (2) the fate of the world's dolphins. Five hundred students from Lincoln, Nebraska, were shocked to learn that dolphins died unnecessarily in nets used to catch tuna. The students collected signatures from fellow club members asking that tuna caught in nets also entrapping dolphins, not be served for their cafeteria lunches. A prominent tuna company took notice of the signed petition and devised ways to catch tuna without endangering the dolphins.
Have you ever though that kids can't get anything done? This example and many other HSUS projects prove that kids can make a great difference in our environment and conservation of our species, endangered or not.
That is what this newsletter is all about-carrying out good ideas and having fun at the same time. After all, what is more fun that using shrewd yet caring tactics to take on big business when it becomes thoughtless?
Here are two tempting volunteer jobs advertised in the Wildlife Society's magazine, The Wildlifer (January-February 1992). There are many others like it. (These are generally for adults, but as the second example shows, some of the "jobs" apply to teens.)
VOLUNTEERS, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Early May through August/September. Background in wildlife botany. Prefer field experience. To work in remote area; enthusiasm, teamwork. For diverse field experience in Nevada or Oregon's Great Basin Desert. Riparian bird, waterfowl, bighorn sheep, etc. surveys. $15.00/day stipend, housing, refuge transportation and equipment provided. Send resume by March 15
VOLUNTEERS, all ages, abilities to become involved in preservation of Adirondak trail system. Between May and September. Work with native wood, rock, and dirt to maintain and reconstruct badly eroded trail. Full time seasonal positions also available
CAREERS IN CONSERVATION
The conservation movement is largely the province of a variety of private foundations and organizations. While some are conservation-minded in a general way, many are single-issue organizations dedicated to preserving such creatures as seals or whales, or to maintaining marshlands or wilderness areas against the onslaught either of commercial animal exploitation or industrial takeover.
Although their financing is a relative drop in the bucket com-pared to government spending for forests, parks, and wildlife and conservation, the 14 "club member" environmental organizations with Washington lobbies wield a surprising amount of influence and throw an increasing number of dollars into the environmental fight. This group, called the "green lobby" by Fortune magazine, boasts a combined membership of five million Americans. The Wildlife Society, too, plays a vital role in ensuring a safe and enduring place for wild creatures.
Not all groups are animal-related; their concerns range from furthering solar energy to fighting corporate pollution. And the "club" does not include the many smaller single-issue organizations, zoological societies, humane organizations, and local SPCAs.
All of these advocacy groups offer opportunities for caring people, although direct contact with animals is limited at best. Only super-activist organizations like Greenpeace send people into nature to go literally head-to-head against animal slaughterers. But they do offer career opportunities for people willing to work for their causes indirectly.
Among these specialists are professional lobbyists whose role is to influence legislators favorably toward their causes, local, regional, and national. Other advocates approach the task through the legal process, studying environmental and animal regulations and working with legislators to create more favorable legislation, to strengthen the laws that exist, and to work against their pro-industry lobbying counterparts.
A major role is fund-raising among individuals and environmentally concerned corporations. People who would ordinarily be involved in the sales and marketing of consumer products and services instead devote their abilities to "selling" the "product" of the environmental group for whom they work, marketing their group's philosophy just as they would any other commodity- with equal skill and dedication.
Within each organization just as in any industrial company are the "troops"-those who create the communications, open the mail, answer the telephones, keep the books, run the computers, and do every other kind of office job-but for a cause they believe to be more important than marketing automobiles or promoting motion pictures.
Not all work, however, is office-based or centered in Washing-ton, DC. The Nature Conservancy, for instance, although headquartered across the Potomac in Arlington, Virginia, is a vast organization that now owns many natural preserves nationwide. But land ownership and management is not its primary goal. TNC (The Nature Conservancy) has been extremely successful in buying open land and reselling it to dedicated corporations which are as intent on its preservation as the Conservancy. TNC also markets land to local environmental groups which repay its cost through private fund-raising. It has acquired land which it has turned over to many states under similar preservation arrangements. So far, the influential organization has saved several million acres.
TNC deeply feels its responsibilities in managing the land it owns. It employs a corps of environmental and wildlife biologists, range and land managers and enforcement people. Their training and work are very similar to the jobs performed in state and national preserves: maintaining the balance of nature; preserving endangered species; controlling hunting, fishing, and camping in lands where these activities are permitted. TNC employs corporate and individual fund-raisers, land acquisition specialists, and others whose business is preserving the past to protect the future.
TNC also welcomes volunteers, as does any nonprofit corporation or environmental group. Volunteering your time and talent may well be a way to acquire experience that will eventually pay off in preservation- or animal-related employment.
Volunteering can be equally rewarding for the professional who can give of time and ability. The late Marlin Perkins was one such passionate animal protectionist. The Director Emeritus of the St. Louis Zoo and co-producer of the acclaimed TV series, Wild Kingdom, Perkins was a highly vocal and effective advocate of animal protection. He defended the modern zoo, citing numerous examples of the zoo's role in preventing the extinction of many species, and criticized shortsighted policies such as the wholesale slaughter of wolves. With the wolves largely gone, problems such as overabundance of elk in places like Yellowstone National Park have been the result. So strongly did Marlin Perkins feel on this subject that he and his wife, Carol, worked to create a natural sanctuary for wolves just a few miles from their St. Louis home.
Dr. Harold Albers, a Florida veterinarian and past President of the Pinellas County Veterinary Medical Association, has become an expert on the treatment of oil-damaged waterfowl, and contributes his time and knowledge at many conferences on this and other aspects of animal management. He has involved oil companies in the problem with excellent results, and has developed a bird rehabilitation manual now widely used by groups such as Florida's Associated Marine Institutes and International Bird Rescue. With 9,000 miles of coastland in need of preservation and protection with limited funds, the state of Florida needs the help of dedicated people like Dr. Albers.
COMMUNICATIONS
There are varied opportunities in communications for the animal care worker, although these are often combined with other duties.
In both national and state parks, the park rangers develop and conduct tours, lectures, and nature walks which usually emphasize wildlife and conservation. They may also create and produce park information leaflets, brochures, and tourist information to distribute to park visitors.
In zoos and safari parks, especially those catering to children, assistant curators or skilled animal keepers may prepare live animal exhibits and also run a children's zoo. Nearly every zoo also has a public relations person who writes brochures and prepares talks on the animals.
These same people, or other staffers, may be animal photographers who prepare the pictures for slide shows, publicity releases, and brochures.
Conservation organizations also use the services of skilled communications people who prepare fund-raising and consciousness-raising materials for direct mail solicitation and awareness programs. Some organizations have staff people to prepare communications while others either share this responsibility with outside advertising and public relations firms, or turn all such work over to them.
Although they are relatively rare, there are full-time journalists and photographers whose careers are largely or entirely concerned with animals.
Competition is keen for just about all communications assignments. Since the communications person may have to wear other organizational hats as well, your possibilities of working in animal communications are improved if you have excellent writing and verbal skills. It also helps to have a thorough art knowledge (layout and design and/or desktop publishing), plus photographic or illustrative capabilities. Finally, it is important to know the animals you'll work with and make a good impression on the public with a well-developed ability to talk on your feet.
JOB OUTLOOK
Career opportunities for rangers, conservation scientists, and others in the wildlife fields are much improved over the job picture of recent years. There were virtually no jobs in this small, competitive field. Now, says Bill DeRosa, Director of Secondary Education of the Humane Society of the United States, the field is "bursting open." This is partly due to a wave of retirements in the field and a decline in the number of people going into the wildlife area.
Jobs are still not keeping pace with some other animal areas due to limited government budgets; however, open or public range land still needs to be protected. But private industry has shown far greater interest in employing conservationists. Also, owners of range and grazing land need conservation scientists to advise them. Landowners are looking for ways to improve their land for the encouragement of wildlife procreation as well as animal herd health.
