Fish and Wildlife Management is about how people care for animals and the places they live. You'll learn about the challenges facing wildlife in your state, help improve habitat, and spend time observing animals in the wild.
Why it's worth it
The deer, ducks, trout, and songbirds you see didn't just happen to be there. Many populations were brought back from serious decline by wildlife managers, hunters, anglers, and volunteers. This badge shows you how that work is done: counting animals, restoring habitat, setting seasons, and fighting threats like habitat loss and invasive species. You'll improve a real piece of habitat yourself and learn the species around you by sight.
Start this week
- Start a species list today: every bird, fish, mammal, reptile, or amphibian you see, with the date and place.
- Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of a Fish and Wildlife Management counselor, and contact them with a parent copied.
- Visit your state wildlife agency's website and find its list of species of concern or biggest threats.
- Look for a habitat project you could do, like a native plant bed, a nest box, or a stream cleanup, and ask a parent to help plan it.
Stay safe
- Watch wildlife from a distance and never touch or feed wild animals. Do stream and wetland work with an adult and a buddy, and follow Safe Swim Defense rules near water.
Requirements · 8
Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab).
Note: Follow Leave No Trace and the Outdoor Code on field trips, get the land manager's permission before collecting samples, and check whether your state requires a collecting license.
- Requirement 1
Describe what fish and wildlife conservation and management mean and what they're for
Tip: Think about why we protect fish and wildlife, for nature, for food, for recreation, and for future generations.
- Requirement 2
List and discuss at least three big ongoing problems threatening fish and wildlife in your state
Tip: Visit your state wildlife agency's website or call an office to learn the biggest threats where you live.
For example: Three threats might be habitat loss from new development, invasive species like carp or cheatgrass, and polluted runoff in rivers. For each one, explain which animals are hurt and what your state is doing about it.
- Requirement 3
Describe some ways anyone can help conserve fish and wildlife
Tip: List simple things anyone can do, like picking up litter, planting native plants, or following fishing and hunting rules.
- Requirement 4
List five key practices your state's fish and wildlife managers use, and describe each one
Tip: Ask a game warden or wildlife biologist which management practices your state uses and why.
For example: Five practices: controlled burns to renew grasslands, hunting and fishing seasons and limits, fish stocking from hatcheries, wetland restoration, and banding or tagging animals to track populations. Explain why each helps.
- Requirement 5
Habitat or wildlife project. Choose 1 of 4
Tips for this section: Pick a project like building nest boxes, putting up bird feeders, or planting native plants, with an adult's help.
Example for this section: Build and mount two wood duck or bluebird boxes with an adult, following plans from your state agency, and check them and keep written notes through one nesting season. Or plant native shrubs along a creek to shade the water and hold the bank.
- Requirement 5a
Build, put up, and regularly check at least two nest boxes (for example wood duck, bluebird, or squirrel), keeping written records for one nesting season
- Requirement 5b
Build, put up, and regularly check bird feeders, writing down each day for two weeks which kinds of birds visit
- Requirement 5c
Plan and carry out a project to improve a fishery or a backyard wildlife habitat, and share the results with your counselor
- Requirement 5d
Design and build a wildlife blind by a bird feeder, birdbath, water hole, salt lick, or game trail. From it, photograph or sketch 10 wild animals in any mix of birds, mammals, amphibians, or reptiles
- Requirement 6
Wildlife survey or study. Choose 1 of 3
Tips for this section: Bring binoculars and a field guide on hikes and keep a running list of species you see.
Example for this section: If you observe 25 species, keep a field notebook with the species name, date, place, and what it was doing. Include birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, and note which ones are game species.
- Requirement 6a
Observe and record 25 wildlife species (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish count), writing down when and where you saw each
- Requirement 6b
List your state's endangered, threatened, exotic, non-native, game, furbearer, or migratory game bird species. Discuss with your counselor the management practices used or planned for at least three of them
- Requirement 6c
Make a fish and wildlife scrapbook for North America with sections for mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Add at least five articles per section (life history, habitat, behavior, feeding) from newspapers, science, nature, or outdoor magazines, or the internet with a parent or guardian's OK. One animal per page in A–Z order, with pictures when you can
- Requirement 7
Fish or aquatic study. Choose 1 of 4
Tips for this section: Choose the fish study or aquarium project that interests you most, and keep notes as you go.
Example for this section: For a fish study, help an experienced angler or biologist read the growth rings on scales from five kinds of fish to estimate their ages. Or set up an aquarium with four native plants and four native animals and keep notes on it for 60 days.
- Requirement 7a
Use scale samples to find the age of five fish species, or identify the different age classes of a single species living in a lake, and report what you find
- Requirement 7b
Run a creel census at a small lake to estimate the catch per unit of effort, then share what you found with your counselor
- Requirement 7c
Examine and record what's in the stomachs of three fish (you don't have to catch them yourself)
- Requirement 7d
Set up a freshwater aquarium with at least four native plant species and four animal species. After watching it 60 days, discuss life cycles, food chains, and management needs with your counselor. Check release laws and follow your counselor on humane disposal
- Requirement 8
Name three careers that use fish and wildlife skills. Research one: training, education, certification, experience, cost to get started, job outlook, starting pay, and advancement. Discuss it with your counselor and whether it interests you
Tip: Ask a wildlife officer, biologist, or hatchery worker about their job and training.
Places to visit
Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.
A fish hatchery
See fish raised from eggs to stocking size and learn how hatcheries support wild populations.
How: Most state and federal hatcheries welcome visitors. Have an adult check visiting hours and ask about a guided tour for your patrol.
A national wildlife refuge or state wildlife area
Watch managers restore wetlands, run prescribed burns, and band birds, and spot species for your list.
How: Check the refuge's website for events, or have an adult call the visitor center and ask whether a biologist could talk with your group.
Where it can lead
- Wildlife biologistStudies animal populations and plans how to protect them.
- Game warden or conservation officerEnforces hunting, fishing, and boating laws and teaches the public.
- Fish hatchery technicianRaises fish for stocking; often a two-year degree or on-the-job training.
- Fisheries biologistSurveys fish in lakes and rivers and sets management plans.
- Habitat restoration specialistRebuilds wetlands, streams, and grasslands for wildlife.
Ask yourself
- Which animal or fish in your area did you know least about before this badge?
- What did your habitat project change, and how will you know if it's working?
- How do you feel about hunting and fishing as conservation tools now that you've learned how they're managed?
- What's one threat to wildlife you could help reduce in your everyday life?
- Which wildlife job would you most like to try for a day?
Good questions to ask a wildlife biologist or game warden
- What species in our state are you most worried about right now?
- How do you count animals that are hard to see?
- How are hunting and fishing seasons and limits decided?
- What's a conservation success story you were part of?
- What should I study if I want a job like yours?
Helpful reads
- Earning a merit badge, step by step, From picking a badge to getting the final signature: how to find a counselor, set up meetings safely, work the requirements, and keep your progress., Youth · Families · 6 min read
- Contacting counselors, experts, and organizations, Email and phone scripts, who to ask for, how to follow up, and how to say thanks, with a parent copied every time., Youth · Families · 7 min read
- Choosing your next merit badge, How to pick a badge you'll actually finish: start with what you care about, balance Eagle-required and just-for-fun badges, and make the most of camp., Youth · Families · 6 min read
For leaders & parents
- Contact your state wildlife agency or a local conservation group about habitat projects Scouts can join.
- Plan a troop outing to a wildlife refuge or fish hatchery.
People & places that can help
- Merit badge counselor — Talk with them early; they can explain what's expected.
- Your state fish and wildlife agency — Learn local threats, regulations, and management practices.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (opens in a new tab) — National wildlife refuges, hatcheries, and conservation programs.
- National Wildlife Federation (opens in a new tab) — Ideas for creating wildlife habitat at home.
- Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (opens in a new tab) — Find your state wildlife agency and learn how states manage wildlife.
- The Wildlife Society (opens in a new tab) — Careers and student programs for future wildlife biologists.
- NOAA Fisheries (opens in a new tab) — How ocean fish, whales, and sea turtles are studied and protected.
- National Audubon Society (opens in a new tab) — Bird guides, conservation news, and local chapters.
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Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.