The Collegiate Rookie Series: Linking Academics and Hunting
Wildlife ecology and management programs exist at Universities all across the United States, but, on the first day of classes this August when I outlined the Collegiate New Hunter Program, our students realized that their fall semester at Louisiana State University is going to be special.
This year, we are pleased to welcome you to the Collegiate Rookie Series. Envisioned by the Hunting Wire, the Collegiate Rookie Series will be sponsored by Benelli USA and hosted by the School of Renewable Natural Resources at Louisiana State University. LSU is taking the unique opportunity to collaborate with the Hunting Wire and Benelli USA to build upon our Collegiate New Hunter Program so that we can expand our reach and further our ability to train and educate undergraduate students across the University in the science, management, ethics and conservation that underlies our hunting community.
University wildlife ecology and management programs exist to develop the next generation of wildlife conservation specialists who will continue to sustain and conserve natural resources long after their collegiate careers have ended. Wildlife ecology programs have a dual focus, the education of students in wildlife conservation, policy, and management, as well as scientific research to better understand how management affects wildlife. My job as a professor is to teach our undergraduates how we leave link research and education in the development wildlife conservation policy and management strategies. I am a firm believer that wildlife conservations decisions are best made by those that understand not only what the best decision is, but why. Wildlife management in the United State has long been a supported, user pays system, wherein the hunting community, via license fees and excise taxes bestows upon themselves a vested interest the decisions that are being made regarding wildlife management and conservation.
So, the question becomes, why should we link hunting with academics? Education on hunting and its role in wildlife conservation is regularly integrated into the coursework of our wildlife ecology and management students, but, providing opportunity to become an active practitioner of hunting is missing from the collegiate wildlife conservation educational system. Knowledge hinges on education, and the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge is what Universities pride themselves in. Our objective with the Rookie Series is to ensure that the students we are training have the appropriate knowledge to enter the conservation field and make management and policy decisions that our constituency, in this case the hunting recreationist, know are defined and supported by science.
LSU has been a national leader in developing collegiate opportunities to transition new hunters into our hunting fraternity. I don’t know what the appropriate term for what we do is, collegiate hunting recruitment perhaps, but I tend to think of our program as the training grounds for the next generation of wildlife stewards, and we think that to be a good steward of the wildlife resource, hunting engagement must be on the table.
Thus, the Hunting Wire, Benelli USA and the School of Renewable Natural Resources have a great fall and spring season planned where we will be providing opportunities for early stage conservation leaders become engaged in our hunting community. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to provide our students with a host of hunting and conservation education activities, all supported by the Hunting Wire and Benelli USA as well as a suite of colleague and friends from across the wildlife conservation spectrum who are acting as Rookie Series mentors.
I hope that you will follow our regular updates on the Collegiate Rookie Series on the Hunting Wire, Benelli USA and my social media accounts. Of course, anyone interested in long-standing Collegiate New Hunter Program at LSU, please feel free to reach to me directly at the below contact info.
Looking forward to a great fall season creating new hunters,
Bret Collier
Professor of Wildlife Ecology
School of Renewable Natural Resources
Louisiana State University
@drshortspur (Twitter and Instagram)
