Posted: September 2, 2025
Penn State Extension sent four 4-H members as delegates to participate in the National Wildlife Habitat Education Program competition, held recently in Crossville, Tennessee.
The program is designed to teach youths the fundamentals of wildlife and fishery sciences through interactive and hands-on experiences. Participants travel to the national competition to test their wildlife expertise. The initiative, organized by 4-H and FFA, is aimed at teaching youth ages 14-18 about wildlife and fisheries habitat management.
Each year, the event highlights a different ecoregion. This year's focus was the Eastern deciduous forest.
"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," said Justin Heasley, 4-H youth development extension educator and the team's coach. "Even outside of 4-H, the program helps them develop their decision-making and teamwork skills that will benefit them as adults."
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.
"Preparing for and attending the Wildlife Habitat Education Program was a wonderful way for me to expand my knowledge about wildlife in the Appalachian Mountains," a delegate from Somerset County said. "It was a fantastic opportunity to meet fellow 4-H youth who are passionate about the outdoors and wildlife."
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.
