Wildlife Ecostation

Welcome to the wild side of the Envirothon! Below you will find information about Massachusetts wildlife, the wildlife ecostation learning objectives, and resources designed to get teams and students familiar with and excited about animals, habitats, and conservation. Note: Teams should rely on the wildlife manual to prepare for the competition; resources on this page are supplemental. 

Download Wildlife Ecostation Manual Here

What is wildlife? 

The term wildlife refers to living things that are not human and not domesticated and includes birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. Wildlife is all around us even if we don’t see or hear it. People and wildlife share similar environments, needs, and problems. 

All types of wildlife need a home to survive and thrive. This home—or habitat—must include food, water, shelter, and space. There’s no wildlife without wildlife habitat. This is why plants, trees, and other natural features that make up habitats are a vital part of the study of wildlife conservation. Different types of wildlife have a variety of adaptations, or traits, that allow them to survive in their surroundings.  

Who is responsible for wildlife? 

Massachusetts is home to an impressive variety of plants, fish, and wildlife, from the well-known black bear to the endangered bog turtle. Wildlife is public resource held in trust by the government for the benefit of all people. The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) is the agency responsible for the conservation of freshwater fish and wildlife in the Commonwealth, including endangered plants and animals. MassWildlife restores, protects, and manages land for wildlife to thrive and for people to enjoy. 

Wildlife professionals from the agency conserve the Commonwealth’s wildlife and habitats by collecting data and making management decisions based on the best available science. They conduct field work, restore habitats, provide recreational opportunities, and deliver information to the public to minimize conflict that may arise from human-wildlife interactions. MassWildlife works with a wide variety of partners to accomplish this important work. 

MassWildlife is responsible for protecting wildlife and plants that are listed under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act (MESA); check out the full list of MESA species. The agency is also responsible for setting regulations for hunting, trapping, and freshwater fishing. Learn about the benefits of regulated hunting.

Wildlife Learning Objectives 

1. Have knowledge of wild birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish, and invertebrates. Team members should be able to: 

• Define wildlife; 

• Use a key or field guide to identify wildlife species using mounted specimens, skins/pelts, pictures, skulls, silhouettes, decoys, wings, scat, tracks, animal sounds, or other common signs; and 

• Identify general food habits (herbivore, omnivore, carnivore), habitats (terrestrial, aquatic, fossorial), and habits (diurnal, nocturnal) using skull morphology and/or teeth. 

2. Understand wildlife ecology. Team members should be able to: 

• Know the basic survival requirements of all wildlife; 

• Know the meaning of “habitat” and be able to name the habitat requirements for wildlife and the factors that affect wildlife suitability; 

• Know and understand basic ecological concepts and terminology (limiting factors, biological carrying capacity, cultural carrying capacity, populations, ecosystem, community, home range);  

• Describe specific adaptations (anatomical, physiological, behavioral) of wildlife to their environment; 

• Describe predator/prey relationships and provide examples; 

• Describe food chains and food webs and provide examples; 

• Evaluate a habitat’s suitability for a particular species when given a description of its needs; 

• Describe ways a habitat can be improved for specific species through knowledge of its specific requirements; and 

• Understand the importance of the 3 levels of biodiversity: genetic, species, and ecosystem and the implications of biodiversity loss at each level. 

3. Conservation and management of wildlife. Team members should be able to: 

• Know the preferred habitat types and specific habitat requirements of common Massachusetts wildlife; 

• Understand the concept of carrying capacity (biological and cultural) and limiting factors; 

• Identify ways wildlife managers and the general public can help conserve wildlife; 

• Identify common wildlife management methods that can be used to manage and improve wildlife habitat; 

• Understand the role of MA Division of Fisheries and Wildlife as the agency responsible for the conservation of freshwater fish and wildlife resources; and 

• Identify MassWildlife as the agency responsible for hunting and trapping regulations and for providing mandatory hunter education courses. 

4. Issues involving wildlife and society. Team members should be able to: 

• Define biodiversity and identify major threats to biodiversity; 

• Explain the terms endangered, threatened, special concern, extinct, extirpated, listed, de-listed, and reintroduction; 

• Understand the role of the State and Federal Endangered Species Act and the agencies responsible for implementing endangered species regulations; 

• Describe major factors affecting threatened and endangered species and methods used to improve the populations of these species; 

• Describe the impact of non-native species; 

• Describe wildlife diseases and implications for humans. 

Wildlife Resources 

Focus on Massachusetts  

• Massachusetts Wildlife Presentation
  This PowerPoint presentation was designed based on the wildlife learning objectives and contains information, photos, and notes that can help your team prepare.  

• Team members and coaches should become familiar with these regulation guides: 

• • Guide to Hunting, Freshwater Fishing, & Trapping in Massachusetts
    This guide contains the regulations for fishing, hunting, and trapping in Massachusetts. The guide is updated each year and designates licensing requirements, hunting and fishing seasons, bag limits, and other rules. 

• • Migratory Game Bird Hunting Regulations in Massachusetts
    Regulations guiding migratory game bird hunting are published separately from the larger hunting guide. 

• Wildlife Fact Sheet Library
  Get printable fact sheets for common Massachusetts wildlife. Learn about species’ habits and habitats and get tips for how to coexist with wildlife in your back yard. 

• MassWildlife YouTube playlists 

• • Habitat management and protection playlist 

• • Wildlife conservation and research playlist 

• Snakes of Massachusetts 

• Freshwater turtles of Massachusetts 

• Species lists 

• • Mammals of Massachusetts 

• • Reptiles and Amphibians of Massachusetts 

• MassWildlife’s Habitat Programs are designed to help wildlife that rely on open habitats (grassland, shrubland, and young forests). Learn why habitat restoration is needed to support declining species of animals and plants. 

• The Massachusetts State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) identifies and assesses the health of rare, declining, and vulnerable plants and animals in Massachusetts, and outlines key actions for conserving them. Check out the over 600 Species of Greatest Conservation Need listed in the SWAP and the key habitats that support them.  

Get to know wildlife by getting outside 

Nature is all around you, no matter where you live. Can you find 15 minutes a few times a week to head outside to look and listen? Use the resources below to get closer to nature. 

• Get to know animal tracks: 

• • Printable track card 

• • Tips for track identification 

• Get started birding: 

• • Beginner tips 

• • Get started birding video 

• How to use field guides 

• Field Guide Fun-damentals
  This team activity helps increase your knowledge of wildlife ecology, conservation, and management, and your understanding of wildlife ecology and issues involving wildlife and society. 

• Go outside—wherever you live, on your own or with your team—and use the following activity prompts to deepen your observation skills and knowledge of wildlife and habitats. 

• • Observation: Learning to look, looking to see 

• • Maps: Sense of place 

• • Wildlife and trees 

• • Backyard birds 

• • Focused wildlife observation 

Using maps 

Aerial photographs can be used to evaluate wildlife habitat. The general habitat type and the specific features of a habitat determine the types of wildlife species found in an area. By understanding habitat types certain species of wildlife prefer, you can infer which areas may be suitable for which species. You can also use aerial photography maps to see how human development might impact wildlife habitat and wildlife movement. Become familiar with interpreting aerial photographs. 

Big issues 

• Overview of major threats to wildlife (National Wildlife Federation) 

• • Climate change 

• • Invasive species 

• • Wildlife disease 

• • Habitat loss 

• MassWildlife’s Climate Change Efforts. In Massachusetts, we are already experiencing the effects of climate change, and so are our wildlife, fishes, and plants. A variety of strategies are being implemented to conserve biodiversity, advance climate adaptation, and increase climate mitigation. 

• Resilient MA provides funding, localized climate change science and data, and decision support tools for the Commonwealth to facilitate action that enhances climate resilience. 

Suggested books for team’s wildlife reference library 

Field Guide to New England
National Audubon Society Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. New York, 1998 Peterson’s Guides to mammals, birds, freshwater fish, reptiles & amphibians, and insects 

Tracking and the Art of Seeing, How to Read Animal Tracks and Signs
Paul Rezendes, Camden House Publishing, Inc. 1992 

New England Wildlife: Habitat, Natural History and Distribution
Richard M. DeGraaf & Mariko Yamasaki, University Press of NE, Hanover, NH 2001 

Massachusetts Wildlife magazine
A quarterly publication of various natural resource topics within the Commonwealth.
Cost $6.00/yr or $10.00/2 years.  

For more information, contact: 

The Massachusetts Envirothon Coordination Team (massenvirothon@gmail.com)