Here’s a little known fact—your chapter president is taking Intro to Wildlife Management.  Okay.  Wait . . . what?  Why would I be taking Intro to Wildlife Management if I’m already a wildlife biologist?

Well, after attending the TWS 2012 Conference and meeting people who are passionate about the Certified Wildlife Biologist (CWB) program, I decided to look into it.  I know controversy surrounds TWS certification, most of that related to the requirement of being a TWS member in order to hold a certificate.  Many people point out that their education and experience can stand on its own without the need for initials after their name.  I’ll admit that I leaned toward that same opinion for a long time. 

Those of you who know me also know that I am intimately involved in the world of horses.  In this world, anyone can call himself or herself a trainer.  Usually those who lack skills, education, and credentials will yield stupid mistakes that result in minor accidents, but sometimes it’s much worse, like at the Devon Horse Show last summer.  A show pony dropped dead after receiving 15 different drugs (think “performance enhancing”) administered by a “trainer.”  If I feel so strongly about standards and regulations about my hobby, why not have the same fervor and respect for my own profession?  So I pulled out my transcripts and found the wildlife biologist certification information on the TWS website.

TWS offers 4 distinct certificates and “holding one of these certificates places you in a category distinct from other wildlife professionals due to the integrity of the organization and the high standards of the certification process.”  A CWB is a “person with the educational background and demonstrated expertise in the art and science of applying the principles of ecology to the conservation and management of wildlife and its habitats.”  After attaining 2 degrees and being employed as a wildlife biologist, I felt I had the educational background and had demonstrated my expertise at least to my employer.  However, when I downloaded the application, my confidence waned.   

Many wildlife biologists who graduated from traditional wildlife programs are finding it hard to meet the botany requirement of 9 credits.  But for a nontraditional wildlifer, like me, the wildlife management category was missing!  Experience can make up some of the short fall, but you have to have at least one actual course per category.  And so I find myself in Intro to WM, online at American Public University.  I chose an online course because it was the most economical and efficient way to get the credits I need, although I’ll admit that I would rather learn in a real classroom.  The text is disheartening—nothing about it would inspire me to be a wildlife biologist if I wasn’t already, and it certainly doesn’t cover much of what most of us actually do.  (Mental note: get a PhD and write a better text!) 

It costs $155 to apply to be a CWB.  My three credit online course cost just under $1000 and continuing education is required to maintain your certification.  However, it is an investment in myself and my career potentially making me more marketable in the future.

No matter your feelings on the CWB program, I encourage you to at least check it out.