Conservation Agent Training Class for the Missouri Department of Conservation

The Missouri Department of Conservation is accepting applications to fill up to a 20 member class for Conservation Agent trainees. The class is scheduled to begin March 1, 2009.

The online announcement is available on the Department of Conservation Web site.

I've had the opportunity to speak to the last two training classes of Conservation Agents and they have asked some thought-provoking questions. It's also the only group I speak to, outside of college classes, that are verbally tested over the information immediately after it is presented.

I've always thought the job description is much like that of a super hero. The job announcement lists education and physical fitness requirements, then, a long list of competencies and abilities.

Some of the abilities include:

"keep focused on understanding, anticipating and responding to the needs of customers;"

"take a long-term view of the Department’s or Unit’s direction and articulate a vision which integrates key program goals, priorities, values and other factors;"

"analyze data and apply relevant wildlife, fisheries and forest management principles to the solution of problems;"

"express oneself clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing;"

"establish and maintain an effective working relationship with elected officials, members of the press, educators, community leaders, courts, representatives from related agencies and the general public;"

"make independent decisions and act quickly and decisively on the determined course of action;"

and "create public awareness of and involvement in fish, forest and wildlife programs and to provide leadership to the public in this activity."

There are more items in the list. Conservation Agents are important members of the conservation "team" in Missouri.

A short video is on YouTube about the job of a Conservation Agent:

Conservation Biology Certificate Program at the University of Missouri

I spoke on Thursday at the Conservation Biology Seminar at the University of Missouri. My topic was about the human dimensions of fish, forest, and wildlife conservation.

The seminar is a part of the conservation biology graduate program. Graduate students in a variety of fields can earn a certificate through the program. During the day, I met with many graduate students that are in the School of Natural Resources and the Biology programs. I was challenged by many of their questions about fish, forest, wildlife, and resource management. I was also pleased to see their passion about the outdoors and the wide range of topics that they are studying.

I'd be pleased to have any of the students I visited with on a conservation team.

The seminar is coordinated and implemented by the graduate students. I believe that's a wonderful way for them to interact with individuals already working in various fields, to interact and build working relationships with each other as professionals, and to practice conservation leadership.

I applaud their efforts and success.

Improving Leadership Skills of Conservation Professionals or Be a Better Conservation Leader on Your Own

The Wildlife Society (TWS) is accepting applications for its Leadership Institute. Applications are due by March 7, 2008. More information is available on The Wildlife Society Web pages.

From the Web page about the Institute:

"From May through September, the ten members participate in a variety of distance learning and hands-on projects, which include reading and interpreting leadership materials, presenting to peer groups, working collaboratively with each other, leading discussions, and developing summary documents regarding professional leadership."

Another opportunity is the National Conservation Leadership Institute. Applications are due by May 31, 2008. A promotional video is available about the program. Their Web page describes the purpose of the National Institute as:

"We are facing a crisis in conservation! The significant loss of baby boomers who provide leadership in the organizations which manage the conservation of our nation’s natural Resources requires immediate and careful attention. Research studies confirm this reality: Between 2004 and 2015, more than 77% of state fish and wildlife senior leadership will retire! More than one-half of Senior Executive Service employees of federal natural resource agencies will retire by 2007! And this alarming trend mirrors that of NGOs and corporate sectors."

Don't think you can't improve your skills if you can't participate in these opportunities. Leadership skills can be learned and require effort and practice. You can improve your leadership skills or do great works for nature even if you are not focused on a conservation career. One way to start is by learning more about leadership by reading the articles in the Leader to Leader Journal, many of which are available online. You can browse through the catalog of authors to find leadership articles that interest you.

Or, simply practice leadership by doing something for fish, forests, and wildlife. You can learn about how to help nature through the opportunities on the Web pages of the Missouri Department of Conservation. There is also information about how you can provide education to young people about conservation.

A Career as a Wildlife Biologist or Photographer for the Missouri Department of Conservation

Here is a YouTube video on being a Wildlife Biologist:






and another on being a photographer for the Missouri Department of Conservation:

A Career as a Conservation Agent for the Missouri Department of Conservation

Department of Conservation staff have been adding videos to YouTube. Here is one on being a Conservation Agent:

Recruiting People With Fire in Their Eye for Conservation

At a meeting this week, I heard the statement "how do we find people with fire in their eye for conservation?" The discussion was about finding and selecting the next generation of conservation employees.

When I was an undergraduate student, it seemed like there were few jobs for the many folks who wanted a career in fish, forest, or wildlife management. I worked in a gas station near campus and I put gas into the cars of my fellow students as they also worked at other jobs, teaching, selling cars, other career fields. I was persistent, stayed in school, and found opportunities. Some of the other folks also found jobs in conservation.

On the way to Columbia to another meeting this week I saw a billboard for, I believe the Marines, that said something like "We don't take applications, we take commitment." The Fish and Wildlife Service Web page about careers also has the word commitment in the first sentence of their information, where it says "Working for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is more than a career. It is also a commitment..." A common theme in the personal descriptions of what several Forest Service employees do each day is their opportunity to make a difference and they often comment they enjoy their jobs.

Jim Keefe, in the video "The Spirit of Conservation" comments that Department employees did not feel they were working just a job, "it was a crusade."

I think as we keep telling people, including young people still in school, about our job opportunities, our future vision of what conservation is about, and the values we believe in, that we'll continue to find the right folks with fire in their eyes for conservation.

Here is another helpful hint: future leaders in conservation will need to be excellent managers as well as biologists, and learning about the criteria for performance excellence used in the Missouri Quality Award and the National Malcolm Baldrige Award is a good start.

Conservation Professionals, Careers, and Human Dimensions

I've given many talks to young people and asked them what they'd like to do for a career.

Regardless of their answer, I tell them there is a place for them in conservation and resource management. Want to be a pilot? Forestry and wildlife management tasks need good pilots. Like to produce films and design interactive computer games? Conservation education needs outstanding videographers and computer experts. Like to work with money, figures, and design a budget? Conservation success depends upon accountable and accurate business practices.

There is a place in conservation for almost every area of expertise that I can think about. Experts in the traditional fields of fish, forest, and wildlife management have long recognized that the success of biologists and managers requires a wide variety of skills. This view continues to expand. I have what would be considered two traditional degrees in wildlife management and one in food animal production. While in school I became very interested in the people and policy aspects of resource management and gained some experience working in that area. I have used both the traditional education and my policy research experiences for almost 20 years in the area of human dimensions of resource management to help other more "traditional" resource managers make decisions.

Michael Hutchins, the Executive Director/CEO of The Wildlife Society, writes in the Spring, 2007, issue of The Wildlifer newsletter (available here):

"So, who are these wildlife professionals? A more traditional view would have us include only those individuals who have a degree in wildlife biology, ecology or management and who are working in a job in which they: (1) conduct scientific studies of wildlife biology or ecology; or (2) actively monitor and manage wildlife populations and/or their habitats."

and

"There are many professionals who play significant roles in wildlife management and conservation today that do not fit into this traditional mold. Among the most significant of these non-traditionalists are those who work on the human dimensions of wildlife management and conservation. Such individuals may have training in psychology, sociology, anthropology or economics. They may study human attitudes toward wildlife or wildlife management and utilization, cultural traditions that impact wildlife, or economic factors that influence our ability to sustain wildlife populations over the long-term. Since most of the challenges facing wildlife managers and conservationists today are anthropogenic in origin, it is critical that we understand the many complex issues that lie at the human-wildlife interface. Human dimensions will undoubtedly play a critical role in our ability to manage and conserve wildlife now and into the future."

I'm pleased to see this super-sized view of how many areas of expertise are needed to achieve conservation success. In the article there is discussion about the need for other types of expertise in addition to human dimensions.

More information about education programs in wildlife management is available here, and information about The American Fisheries Society is available here. Information for students from the Society of American Foresters is available here and information about the Soil and Water Conservation Society is available here.

Career and education information about human dimensions is in many places online. Purdue University has information here, there is a human dimensions research unit at Cornell University, available here, and information about the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri is available here.