Oklahoma serves as host of National WHEP competition

Eighteen states brought their top team to compete in the National Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program Contest.

The WHEP is a 4-H youth natural resource program dedicated to teaching wildlife and fisheries habitat management. At the national contest, team members participated in wildlife management practices, rural planning, oral reasons and written communications.

The team from Tennessee took home first place, followed by Louisiana in second place and Indiana placed third overall.

“Hosting this event was a great opportunity for Oklahoma and OSU,” said Dwayne Elmore, assistant professor, department of natural resource ecology management, and one of the local coordinators for this event. “Oklahoma’s landscape is very diverse and provided the participants with the opportunity to see things they’d never seen before.”

David Drake, chair of the National WHEP Committee, said this is a wonderful evaluation and education program to teach youth about wildlife.

“Wildlife enriches peoples’ lives, and the more we understand about it, the better able we are to make educated land-use decisions,” said Drake, who also is an Extension wildlife specialist at the University of Wisconsin­-Madison. “This is a great program and helps participants build self esteem. It also gives youth a better look at the various wildlife career opportunities.”

Drake said the contest is based on the national WHEP curriculum, which has a section dedicated to each of the 16 wildlife regions in the United States. Each team then studies the particular section of the book that corresponds with the area of the country in which the contest is taking place.

Bethany Brittenham traveled with her team from Nebraska and said this was her first visit to Oklahoma. She prepared for the contest by studying the WHEP manual and taking part in practice sessions.

“I’m excited to learn more about the landscape differences from Nebraska,” she said.

“I participate in WHEP because I want to gain experience in wildlife and learn more about possible future careers,” said Cody Savage, a member of the Utah team.

Beth Ann House, coach of the Maryland team, said she hopes her team shares what they’ve learned in Oklahoma.

“I hope they picked up on the new format of the contest and will bring home new information,” she said. “Our team prepared by studying the manual and looking online for animals that are native to Oklahoma.”

Joel Glover, a member of the National WHEP Committee, said this contest is a great way to help develop well-rounded youth.

“It teaches them to work as a team. It improves their vocabulary,” he said. “This contest takes effort and they’ll develop skills that will be used for the rest of their lives. If they put the effort into it, they’ll get something out of it.”

One of the unique things about the WHEP contest as compared to other national contests is the education day, said Kevin Allen, NREM assistant professor and state Extension 4-H specialist.

“We had specialists from OSU set up three educational stations at Lake Carl Blackwell,” Allen said. “The stations dealt with fire management, grazing management and wildlife habitats.”

Each year the contest travels to different part of the country. For many of the youth, traveling to the national contest is their first visit to that particular state. To give participants a better understanding of Oklahoma’s culture they were treated to entertainment including Native American dancers, as well as a presentation on pioneer living.

Other activities included visits to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, the Myriad Garden, the Oklahoma Aquarium, Whitewater Bay and the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.

“We wanted to provide the teams and their coaches with as many opportunities to learn more about Oklahoma as possible,” Allen said.

Joe Barrett, coach of the Louisiana team, said participants are exposed to vastly different landscapes when it comes to the national competition.

“Last year the contest was in Utah and the team members saw the mountains. This year we’re in the tallgrass prairies of Oklahoma,” Barrett said. “Next year they’ll be exposed to the forested landscape of Louisiana.”

Sponsors for this year’s national contest included the National Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wild Turkey Federation and Oklahoma Gas and Electric. The 2009 National WHEP Contest will be hosted by Louisiana.

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CUTLINE: Terry Bidwell, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service rangeland ecology and management specialist, shares information with New Mexico WHEP team members Ty Goar, Kevin Parker and T.J. Wood. (Photo by Todd Johnson)

Photographs from the National WHEP Contest are available at http://www.kitchensink.okstate.edu/. Click on “4-H” on the left side of the screen, then click on “2008 WHEP National Contest” to view and download the photos.

Oklahoma State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, State and Local Governments Cooperating: The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or status as a veteran, and is an equal opportunity employer.
 
Trisha Gedon
Communications Specialist
Agricultural Communications Services
Oklahoma State University
136 Agriculture North
Stillwater, OK  74078
405-744-3625 (phone)
405-744-5739 (fax)
trisha.gedon@okstate.edu