Posted: August 12, 2026
Recently, Penn State Extension sent four 4-H members as delegates to participate in the National Wildlife Habitat Education Program competition, held in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The PA Wildlife Habitat Education Program team
The initiative, organized by 4-H and FFA, is designed to teach youth the fundamentals of wildlife through interactive, hands-on experiences. Participants travel to the national competition to test their wildlife expertise.
Participants included Tyler Depman, of Montgomery County; Seth Brehm, of Huntingdon County; Ross Hixon, of Fulton County; and Chance Kirby, of Butler County.
Each year, the event highlights a different ecoregion. This year's focus was the Southeastern mixed.
"I really enjoyed learning more about wildlife species and a new ecoregion," Brehm said. "This contest gives you a chance to learn about different ecoregions and the animals that live in those regions."
Participants learn about many concepts related to wildlife, such as identification, characteristics, how to judge the quality of wildlife habitat, and on-site recommendations, culminating in a written wildlife management plan followed by oral reasoning to justify the plan.
The 4-H delegates qualified to represent Pennsylvania at the national event through their participation in the wildlife and forestry field day in May, which gave 4-H members from across Pennsylvania an opportunity to explore their interest in wildlife and forestry.
"Studying for and competing in this contest increased my knowledge of wildlife," Hixon said. "I appreciate the opportunity to compete and to shadow a Pennsylvania Game Commission forester to learn more about the role."
Justin Heasley, a 4-H youth development extension educator and the team's coach, explained the benefits of the 4-H program for youth members.
"A lot of the youths move into natural resource management and wildlife programs after they age out of 4-H, and this program gives them skills for that," he said. "Even outside of 4-H, the program helps them develop their decision-making and teamwork skills that will benefit them as adults."
Administered in Pennsylvania by Penn State Extension, 4-H is a nonformal educational youth-development program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that helps young people develop knowledge and skills to become capable, caring, and contributing citizens. To find your local program, visit the Pennsylvania 4-H website.
