Developing Wildlife Professionals for the Future

The Southwest Texas College Wildlife Program in Uvalde is in its 21st year and has educated nearly 1,500 students. The program is academically oriented and designed with many activities outside the classroom to prepare students for a career in wildlife management. Students are mentored by Daniel Tidwell, Bob Zaiglin, and myself as they gather an understanding of the wildlife management field. Managing wildlife is just a small part of a lifelong journey in wildlife. Developing a skill set in other areas such as welding, carpentry, mechanical repair, plumbing and other areas allow an individual to become independent and well equipped for future employment. Internships play an important role in the wildlife program where a student has the student to be equipped with practical knowledge while being mentored by a landowner or ranch manager.

The Spring semester has students busy as sophomore students collect fuel loads in preparation for a prescribed burn. Students acquire knowledge in understanding how much fuel is required for an adequate fire and how important weather plays a role in the behavior of a fire. When the weather is satisfactory and fuel conditions are adequate all wildlife students participate in the prescribed fire. Each fire can be different depending on weather conditions and fuel loads and this hands-on experience is critical. You cannot replicate this in a classroom. Our program is one of only a few colleges that still burn in the entire state.

The Fall semester is the busiest time of the year. Within the second week of class students are cutting antlers off 250 bucks at a deer breeding facility near Uvalde. Midway through the Fall semester students are assisting landowners with deer captures. In these captures deer are entrapped in a net shot from a gun held precariously by the gunner that stands on the helicopter landing skids as they fly over the deer. Students understand the importance of proper handling of wild deer on these captures. After the completion of the Fall semester, freshman students have acquired more field or hands-on experience than wildlife students at 4-year universities. 

All of the program activities are intended to prepare and train future wildlife professionals. Acquiring a job in wildlife management can be difficult, but graduates of the Southwest Texas College Wildlife Program leave with the field experience, practical skills, academic knowledge and professional mentorship needed to outperform other candidates when applying for future employment.


Student Spotlight sponsored by Transition Ranch