Wildlife Society

Wildlife Society
Name	Wildlife Society
Type	Professional association
Founded	1937
Headquarters	Bethesda, Maryland
Region served	United States, international
Membership	Professionals, students

Wildlife Society.

Overview

The organization serves wildlife professionals, biologists, and managers by advancing science-based wildlife stewardship and conservation through collaboration with institutions like Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, World Wildlife Fund, and IUCN. It supports applied research, policy engagement, and education in partnership with universities such as University of California, Berkeley, Texas A&M University, University of Minnesota, Colorado State University, and University of Florida. The society connects practitioners across agencies including U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

History and Development

Founded during the late 1930s amid conservation efforts influenced by events like the Dust Bowl, the association emerged as professionals from organizations such as the New York Zoological Society, American Museum of Natural History, National Audubon Society, Sierra Club, and Rockefeller Foundation sought standardized practices. Early leaders had ties to institutions including Rutgers University, Cornell University, Ithaca College, Duke University, and University of Michigan and collaborated on publications and training with the American Fisheries Society, Ecological Society of America, Society for Conservation Biology, American Society of Mammalogists, and The Wildlife Society Bulletin predecessors. Over decades the group adapted policy positions reacting to legislation such as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and responses to crises like Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Mission, Goals, and Programs

The mission emphasizes science-based wildlife stewardship articulated alongside goals adopted by peer organizations including Convention on Biological Diversity, Ramsar Convention, North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, World Conservation Union (IUCN), and United Nations Environment Programme. Core programs foster professional certification, standards of practice, and specialty groups linked to entities such as Society for Range Management, Forestry Research Institute, National Wildlife Federation, Pew Charitable Trusts, and The Nature Conservancy. Major initiatives address topics represented by partnerships with Partners in Flight, Nongame Wildlife Program, Wildlife Damage Management, Avian Migration Monitoring, and Large Carnivore Conservation projects.

Conservation Science and Research

Research priorities cover habitat ecology, population dynamics, and applied management using methods developed in collaboration with laboratories at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USGS Fort Collins Science Center, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and university research centers like Yale School of the Environment. The society sponsors peer-reviewed journals and conferences that bring together authors from Journal of Wildlife Management, Conservation Biology, Ecology, Journal of Applied Ecology, and Wildlife Monographs to address issues such as invasive species response modeled after case studies like Zebra mussel invasion, Chytridiomycosis crisis, White-nose syndrome, Chronic wasting disease, and Avian influenza. It also supports monitoring frameworks used in projects by BirdLife International, NatureServe, The Wildlife Conservation Society, Global Biodiversity Information Facility, and eBird.

Education, Outreach, and Publications

Educational offerings include certification programs aligned with curricula at Oregon State University, University of Georgia, Penn State University, Michigan State University, and Montana State University and workshops co-sponsored with Society for Range Management, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Society for Conservation GIS, and Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies. Publications and outreach disseminate findings via journals, technical reviews, and media collaborations with outlets such as Science, Nature, National Geographic, BBC Earth, and Scientific American. Annual conferences draw exhibitors and presenters from U.S. Geological Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency, and international delegations from Environment and Climate Change Canada and European Commission agencies.

Organizational Structure and Membership

Governance includes a board and committees interacting with partner bodies like Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Society for Conservation Biology, Ecological Society of America, and International Wildlife Management Congress. Membership comprises practitioners, academics, and students with affiliations to institutions such as Smithsonian Institution, University of British Columbia, University of Pretoria, CSIRO, and Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Specialized sections and working groups coordinate with regional chapters linked to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and provincial counterparts like Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

Policy, Advocacy, and Partnerships

Policy positions engage law and regulatory frameworks such as the Endangered Species Act, Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and international agreements like the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora while partnering with advocacy and research organizations including World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Defenders of Wildlife. Collaborative efforts on landscape-scale conservation and species recovery involve projects with Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, Spotlight Initiative, North American Waterfowl Management Plan, Partners in Flight, and multinational programs coordinated with agencies such as the European Commission and United Nations Environment Programme.

Category:Conservation organizations