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TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE'S STUDENT WILDLIFE

SOCIETY CHAPTER RECEIVES HIGHEST HONOR

KINGSVILLE (Sept. 22, 1998) -- Members of Texas A&M University-Kingsville's student chapter of The Wildlife Society are walking taller these days after learning last month they received the 1998 Student Chapter of the Year award. Kingsville students traveled to Buffalo, New York in September for the fifth annual conference to accept the award.

"This is the highest honor a student chapter can receive," said Dr. Scott Henke, chapter advisor and associate professor of animal and wildlife science. "They were chosen over student chapters from throughout North America, Central America and Europe."

The student chapter had already won the Teaming With Wildlife award. "There are only two awards for student chapters given by The Wildlife Society and both are coming here this year. That says a lot for the caliber of our students and this university," Henke said.

"This accomplishment is significant to me especially since wildlife is my field," said Dr. Charles De Young, dean of the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences. "This is a tremendous accomplishment for our students and their advisor, Dr. Henke.

"There are a number of very well-known universities who have student chapter of The Wildlife Society, which makes this award even more significant for our university."

"I am extremely proud that our students have accomplished this," said Dr. Tim Fulbright, professor and chair of the animal and wildlife sciences department. "This speaks well of the quality of the students we have at this university. We beat out every other student wildlife chapter in the country and that includes a lot of prestigious universities."

Wildlife Society president Garrett Young, a junior from Arlington, came to Texas A&M-Kingsville because of the extraordinary wildlife in South Texas.

"South Texas is the king of wildlife management," Young said. "There are a lot of opportunities here on our large ranches and with Texas Parks and Wildlife. Nowhere in this country is there so much privately owned land. There are large areas with wildlife in other parts of the country, but it is all public land.

"This area has wild game, water fowl, song birds. Many ranches are not only opening up their land for hunters, but they offer birding tours also. The opportunities here are great."

Young said he hopes the award will encourage prospective wildlife students to give Texas A&M-Kingsville a second look before choosing another school. "This shows we are the best," he said.

The club's vice president said he likes the interaction with the younger students that The Wildlife Society provides. "I can talk to them and encourage them to work harder and stick with it," said Sonny Perez, a senior from Falfurrias. "I enjoy helping others. This award will give the club something to work with when we meet with our younger students and those looking at the university as high school students."

Perez said Henke's guidance and leadership allowed the group to excel and win this award. Both Perez and Young said they want to go in to wildlife consulting working for ranchers when they graduate. Henke said The Wildlife Society has been giving the award for nine years, and a few schools have won the award repeatedly during that time.

What makes the award even more exceptional is that the society has only been officially chartered since October 1996. "When I came to Texas A&M-Kingsville, The Wildlife Society existed as mostly a social group," Henke said. "The group has not even been chartered two years and they have already won the only two awards the association gives to student chapters. They have come a long way in a short time."

The chapter has around 25 active members, about one-quarter of all the wildlife majors. The membership roster is made up of nearly all undergraduate students.

Members of the student chapter worked hard to earn their award, Henke said, conducting wildlife surveys, noxious brush control, spotlight, transect and aerial surveys and relocation of endangered species including the Texas horned lizard, the Texas tortoise and the Indigo snake.

"South Texas ranches hire the students to do all kinds of surveys for white-tailed deer, dove and quail," he said. "Last year the student chapter made around $7,000 from their work. That money is used to give its members scholarships."

Henke said the students have guest speakers at nearly all their chapter meetings that provide the students information about careers in wildlife and range management. "They also volunteer to assist graduate students with their research projects from which papers are written and published in the annual report of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute."

During the Teaming With Wildlife contest, members encouraged friends, relatives and fellow students to write 879 letters to United States legislators from this area, more than any other chapter in the country.

Club members volunteer at booths at the Wildlife Expo, competed in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo range and pasture plant identification contest, attend professional conferences and sell t-shirts.

It is not all work and no play for the wildlife society students. The group dines on barbecue at almost every meeting and sponsors a quiz bowl for members. The chapter sponsors a spring semester photo contest and a fall semester skeet shoot.

-TAMUK-