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Okay, so there's several great ways to enjoy and share the wildlife and conservation education in this show.

First, you can kick back with family or friends to watch this entire half-hour television episode to get the full content in one sitting. Kinda like enjoying a full course meal. Yum-yum.

Then there's the shorter, custom segments on the noted links below. These are the custom "classroom" or learning videos with some bonus content designed to share with your entire classroom. On these links below you'll also find lots of other educational content, including custom lesson activities for your teacher to take your entire classroom on a three to four day journey of peer-driven learning blended with fun and hands-on pathways to try outdoor pursuits yourself.

Whichever way you decide to enjoy the fun and educational content, it's a win-win way for you to get engaged with pathways to discovering more about yourself and the great outdoors.

Official Hunter Safety Courses for Today’s Hunter

Approved by IHEA-USA and your state hunting agency

https://www.hunter-ed.com

Okay, so there's several great ways to enjoy and share the fishing fun and education in this show.

First, you can kick back with family or friends to watch this entire half-hour television episode to get the full content in one sitting. Kinda like enjoying a full course meal. Yum-yum.

Whichever way you decide to enjoy the fun and educational content, it's a win-win way for you to get engaged with pathways to discovering more about yourself and the great outdoors.

For all kinds of other helpful information and resources on how kids can learn where-to and how-to go fishing, explore our companion KidsFishing.US website. To discover more about becoming a future angler, visit our educational partners that helped make this video, webpage and lesson possible.

One of the most popular panfish that anglers can catch in their freshwaters is the crappie. These panfish provide a lot of fast and fun action to anglers and yet, they are often overlooked in many fishable waters. You can actually find them in all 48 contiguous states and can fish for them all-year-long in rivers and open waters.

Although crappies are overlooked, they do play an important role in their ecosystems. They feed on many zooplankton, insects, minnows, and shad, and are great sources of food for predators such as walleye, bass, and northern pike. If these fish were completely removed from their ecosystems, their disappearance would challenge the survival of larger game fish and birds that depend on crappies for food, and could potentially alter ecosystems greatly.

Okay, okay … if that’s so, how does crappie fishing actually help the environment? Aren’t we taking crappie away?

That’s why we have fishing regulations, which are basically laws that limit what anglers can take from the environment. And by following these laws, anglers can actually help conserve and improve the environment for future generations! How can that be? Well every state’s fishing laws are based on the research that fisheries biologists do on our water sources. They check on the health of the fish populations and their ecosystems. When something is wrong with a fishery, the laws can be altered to improve conditions.

Size limits - These restrict the length of fish you can keep. Size limits protect the harvest of young fish and give them a chance to grow strong and reproduce! To see if your fish is for keeps, use a measuring board to estimate the length of your fish.

Creel limits – This law controls the number of a species each person can take in a day. It ensures you do not overfish and sustains a natural balance in the ecosystem. For example, crappie can reproduce quickly and can overcrowd small water bodies if not controlled by anglers. So creel limits for crappie may be higher or smaller in different water bodies.

Seasonal limits – Although you can catch crappie all year long, some states may prohibit anglers from legally fishing for crappie during certain seasons. For example, many fish spawn during the springtime, and laws will limit the time anglers can fish during the spring. Seasonal limits may also limit give narrower time periods to fish on waterbodies that are heavily fished.

Limits are definitely the way to go! But remember … every state has different regulations. To make sure you are following your state’s laws, check your Department of Natural Resources’s fishing regulations.

So now that you know the laws, are there more ways you can give back to Mother Earth when fishing? And what are some tips to fishing for crappie all-year-round? Unriddle those critical questions by watching the video or clicking on the "Learn More" tab below. Oh! And don't forget to download the lesson activity for your class. You will produce your own public announcement videos for fishery conservation!

And if you decide to fish, you really need to get serious about being a safe angler. So take the complete online boating and water safety course using the link below.

Did you know 18% of the American population goes fishing. So what has got people so hooked on this recreation? When anglers were asked why they tried out fishing, they said it helps you spend time with your family, experience excitement and adventure, and there’s an easy access to fishing. These are all great pluses, especially if you need to get away from the grind of homework, chores, and stress!

But can you really access this sport with ease … just like the anglers said? Yes, you can! Often, there is a big misconception that you have to travel by boat into wild, remote areas to get to where the fish are. Yet in reality, almost anyone can go fishing. That’s because the majority of people live near rivers. Rivers are great sources to find your freshwater fish species because they provide many eddies, gravel beds, and shallow waters that fish depend upon for reproduction and growth. They also supply fish with yummy invertebrates as well as pathways that connect migrating fish to our lakes. Rivers are also our lifelines. They irrigate our crops, give us electricity by moving water through dams, and transport materials by boat. So when you think about it … most cities today are positioned near or along a river! And because rivers are a public resource, they belong to everyone, which offers us TONS of opportunities in outdoor recreation. This makes your access to fishing pretty easy … especially if you are only a few blocks away.

So where can you find access to your rivers? Most cities have biking paths, public parking lots, or city parks that run along the edge of the river, which makes it pretty simple to find your way to a river bank and get fishing! Some cities also have boat launches where you can cast your fishing line off the dock, or launch your boat, canoe, or kayak into the river.

Okay … so we found your river. But where will the fish be? Ah … well to figure that out, you have to think about where the fish will seek refuge. Rivers have strong currents and also lots of predators. So what kind of cover can fish find in a river system?

Alright. You are almost ready … Your fishing maps should have a lot of X’s marking where you can begin your river adventure. But how do you fish a river? And what other kinds of fish species can you catch? Let’s test the waters and watch the video! You will discover what methods two teens used while fishing in the city for walleye … and lots of other unique river species too! Or visit the “Learn More” section or lesson activity below to boost your urban fishing and outdoor recreation skills.

And remember … you should always wear a life jacket when fishing in or near a river. Even a strong swimmer may need help if swept up by a strong undercurrent. So always make sure you are wearing a life jacket on your river adventure!

And if you decide to fish, you really need to get serious about being a safe angler. So take the complete online boating and water safety course using the link below.

Walleye are one of the most coveted fish for anglers. They not only hook your family on wild meat that is loaded with essential nutrients and proteins, they are also a way to get your family outside and celebrate your ancestral history. Walleye are some of the oldest fish that humans harvested in North America … for 3,000 years in fact!, Yet, catching them can be quite a challenge. You have to understand their seasons, habitats, behaviors, diets, water temperature and depth selection, and more! That’s a lot of patterns to keep track off. So how can you increase your walleye smarts and share in the tradition of wrangling in a few walleye for dinner? Have you ever thought about visiting a fisheries biologist?

What’s a fisheries biologist you say? They are a special kind of wildlife biologist that specialize in studying aquatic ecosystems. These scientists focus their studies on fish populations (like the walleye!) and discover their relationships with their biological community. And have you seen the special tools they use to study these fish populations? They are pretty neat. Some look like they came right out of a ghostbuster movie!

But these scientists don’t just study for the biology. By evaluating and monitoring walleye and other fish populations, they can suggest and improve their aquatic habitat and populations. Their research also determines the legal number of a fish species that anglers are allowed take from the environment. This all supports the wise use of natural resources … and promotes a healthy and balanced ecosystem that keeps us healthy too! Pretty cool career, huh?

And doesn’t chatting with a wildlife biologist sound like a great opportunity to better your walleye fishing skills? Consulting your walleye biologist can help educate you in the anatomy, habitats, seasons, behaviors, diet, and environmental factors that walleye depend on as well as their environmental importance. Now that is a caboodle of useful information for any angler!

And if you decide to fish, you really need to get serious about being a safe angler. So take the complete online boating and water safety course using the link below.

Okay, so if one of the key principles of the North American Wildlife Conservation Model is to manage wildlife using sound science, who are those scientists and what do they do? The answer is... they're wildlife biologists and they do all kinds of interesting and exciting stuff.

To get a sense for some of what they do and what it takes to become one, watch the video here of a real-life wildlife biologist in New Mexico. As you'll see, wildlife biologists are professional scientists who study the behaviors of animals. They observe the lifestyles and life cycles of various wildlife to help determine the animal's role in specific ecosystems and how they interact with or how their populations are impacted by human beings. Plus, they will often perform various experiments (such as capturing and radio-collaring elk) to either increase our knowledge about a certain species or see how an individual animal influences their range and the overall ecosystem in an area.

As you can imagine, wildlife biologists are extremely important to preserving the wildlife populations and our natural environments along with increasing our understanding of the creatures that share our planet. Like Nicole in this video, many wildlife biologists specialize in certain areas of study that are often defined by ecosystem or species, or the agency that they work for. Some of these fields include: mammalogy, entomology, ornithology, marine biology, or limnology. In this video you'll see the study of mammalogy that deals specifically with the study and observation of big game mammals. This could include many different aspects of mammalian life, including evolution, biological function, management, and ecosystem impacts.

So becoming a wildlife biologist might be the ideal career for someone who enjoys spending time outdoors and traveling. Many wildlife biologists spend the majority of their time working in the field, observing wild animals in their natural habitats, and actively interacting with those species. Some of their time is spent working in labs or offices, and working with others in developing overall wildlife management plans for certain areas or regions. That's why many think that becoming a wildlife biologist is the perfect career for an adventurer who likes to work in a variety of outdoor environments.

The final question is are YOU interested in a career as a Wildlife Biologist? To help answer that, watch this video, have your teacher use the free classroom lesson activities below and click on the Learn More tab below.

This wildlife education program is made possible with support of these key educational partners. You and your teachers can link to their websites for additional information and educational opportunities.

At SCI Foundation’s American Wilderness Leadership School location in Jackson, Wyoming, educators and students learn about conservation, wildlife management, and outdoor recreation through outdoor, hands-on activities. Their Hands on Wildlife (HOW) program provides educators with conservation education instructional tools they can use in hands-on instruction.

Scientists now know that early Paleo-hunters played a lethal role in the extinction of many of North America's megafauna. Using flint-tipped spears and arrows over the past 15,000 years, they over-harvested many big game species to the point of extinction. The list of these creatures is pretty astounding and includes, North American horses, glyptodons, mastodons, mammoths, short-faced bear, dire-wolf, American cheetah, ground sloth, giant beaver, camels, and more. It's hard to believe, but explore the Internet to learn more about these long-lost animals of the American landscape.

Unfortunately, the waves of European immigrants that flooded to America in the 1700 and 1800's didn't know about America's past of hunting megafauna into extinction. So they shot and ate what was left of America's wildlife as if the herds would last forever. But of course they wouldn't last forever. Especially when the population of European immigrants doubled from 17 million to 32 million between 1840 and 1860. To feed the masses of humans invading America and reduce the food sources of Native Americans, buffalo hunters descended upon the 33 million buffalo that once spread across the west. In 1870, market hunters killed an estimated 5 million buffalo that year alone. And by 1886, there were only 540 bison left in the entire United States, mostly in the Yellowstone area of Montana.

But thankfully for America's wildlife, things began to turn around in 1872, when the outcry of early conservationists prompted President Ulysses S. Grant to established our first national park, Yellowstone, that included over 3,300 square miles. Next, a politician, hunter, and conservationist named Theodore Roosevelt organized a group of hunters in New York to form the Boone & Crockett Club in 1887… with a mission of preserving the big game of North America. More and more people pushed for conservation of America’s wildlife and in 1900 Congress passed the Lacy Game and Wild Birds Preservation and Disposition Act, that made it illegal to transport wild game taken illegally across state borders.

Then in 1901, Teddy Roosevelt became President and spearheaded a new era of wildlife conservation. He strongly believed in protecting as much land as possible for wildlife and public use. During his presidency, Roosevelt helped protect wildlife and habitat by establishing 148 million acres of land in 16 national monuments, 51 wildlife refuges, and 5 national parks.

In the 1930’s, another hunter and pioneer in wildlife conservation emerged as “the father of wildlife management”. Aldo Leopold became the first professor of game management at the University of Wisconsin. He wrote the first book on Game Management where he said that a combination of ethics and science should be used in wildlife management and conservation. Leopold and his writings helped educate a nation about the importance of an environmental ethic, and the scientific principles of wildlife management that included things like the biological carrying capacity of species in a certain habitat.

To learn more about the story of America's Pioneers in Conservation, watch this video, have your teacher use the classroom lesson activities below and click on the Learn More tab below.

At SCI F oundation’s American Wilderness Leadership School location in Jackson, Wyoming, educators and students learn about conservation, wildlife management, and outdoor recreation through outdoor, hands-on activities. Their Hands on Wildlife (HOW) program provides educators with conservation education instructional tools they can use in hands-on instruction.

There's an old saying that, "Archery is the king of sports, and the sport of kings". In medieval times that was certainly true and especially for royalty... as Robin Hood defies King John in the image above. But today, despite being thousands of years old and still a way of life for some rare primitive cultures, archery remains the king of sports for many outdoor enthusiasts.

So what makes archery such a popular shooting sport? Many people will simply say it's fun. But we're science geeks here so let's try to decode the F-U-N of archery.

The "F" in the word fun could mean the "Force-draw conversion". Sorry for the diversion into physics but archery is really the conversion of your body's physical muscular energy into "stored energy" in the limbs of the bow that's suddenly turned into the kinetic energy of the arrow launching from the bow. Okay, even that's a bit too geeky for us. No matter how you define it, there's something almost mystical about actually feeling your body's muscles being converted into launching something over 200 feet-per-second through space and ker-thumping into a distant target. If you doubt that, try a simple experiment. First, try converting your body's physical energy into kinetic energy on a sport you haven't tried before. Maybe whacking a tennis or golf ball, bowling, or tossing a Frisbee. Next, try shooting an arrow from a bow. If you're like most people, you'll feel your body's energy in the arrow as you watch it soar toward the target. And unlike most sports that involve hitting or launching balls, you'll never forget the feel of your first arrow.

The "U" in archery is Understanding the five simple steps to draw, aim and shoot an arrow. Watch the video here to get some expert advice from a world-class archery coach from PSE Archery. And as you watch these two teens, remember that neither of them shot a bow before filming the video. The "U" could also mean Universal because archery can be enjoyed by anyone from 2 years old to 102 (and beyond). It also has Unlimited ways to enjoy the sport from target shooting, 3-D competition, bowfishing, bowhunting, "stump shooting", and even archery-golf in some places. And of course there's National archery tournaments and the Olympics.

Finally, there's the "N" part of it. That's because archery Naturally connects you with Nature. Though few sports actually feel "natural" when you first try them, many people admit that archery feels natural, like it's part of our DNA that been released from a primal part of our brain. Ask any archer and they'll tell you about their almost mystical connection with the sport. Plus, there's no question that either an outdoor archery range or one of the bowhunting pursuits puts you outside in nature. Plus, as you evolve as a bowhunter, you'll develop advanced outdoor skills on how to get within close range of wild animals. That in turn elevates your understanding of entire ecosystems.

So to try archery for yourself, explore the links below. You'll discover all kinds of helpful pathways to archery from NASP (National Archery in the Schools Program), Archery 360, to finding local archery clubs or ranges near you with youth programs. And to explore archery in your classroom, have your teacher download the lesson activity below. Also, check out the “Learn More” tab below… and discover a sport that can last a lifetime and possibly win you gold someday at the Olympics. Enjoy the journey of discovery in all of the content in our America’s Conservation & Hunting Heritage Series funded by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in partnership with Safari Club International Foundation, a nonprofit org dedicated to promoting wildlife conservation across the country. And even if you don’t decide to try the challenge of shooting sports, consider the fact that everyone who participates in these sports helps fund conservation programs that all American’s enjoy.

More Lessons and Classroom Videos Coming Soon!

Official Hunter Safety Courses
for Today’s Hunter

Welcome to Clovis Kids Cook-off as part of our America’s Conservation & Hunting Heritage Series.

As you’ll discover in this video, our hunting heritage offers you pathways to learning about how humankind historically and presently harvests wild game, and the rewards of sustainably preparing and consuming our renewable wild resources with your clan.

Okay, so there's several great ways to enjoy and share the "truly wild", wildlife and conservation education in this show.

First, you can kick back with family or friends to watch this entire half-hour television episode to get the full content in one sitting. Kinda like enjoying a full course meal. Yum-yum.

Whichever way you decide to enjoy the fun and educational content, it's a win-win way for you to get engaged with pathways to discovering more about yourself and the great outdoors.

Until then, enjoy the journey of discovery in all of the content in our America’s Conservation & Hunting Heritage Series.

Official Hunter Safety Courses for Today’s Hunter

Official Hunter Safety Courses for Today’s Hunter

More Lessons and Classroom Videos Coming Soon!

Official Hunter Safety Courses for Today’s Hunter

Official Hunter Safety Courses
for Today’s Hunter

Official Hunter Safety Courses
for Today’s Hunter