University of Georgia

Research is conducted on a variety of species, ranging from game species such as deer, turkey, quail, and bear to predators, as well as non-game and/or threatened and endangered species. 

UGA’s Wildlife Program

The undergraduate and graduate programs in Wildlife Ecology and Management at the University of Georgia (UGA) are located within the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. The goal for the School is to provide the necessary knowledge and skills to students, professionals, and the public so that forests and related natural resources can be managed in a sustainable and environmentally sound manner for the benefit of human society. There are 14 wildlife faculty members at UGA; two of these hold joint appointments with the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Four cooperative research and service units are located in the School harnessing expertise from the U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services. Students earning their wildlife degrees from UGA gain a strong background in the biological, ecological, and managerial aspects of the wildlife profession.   

The undergraduate wildlife curriculum provides students with an understanding of the interrelationships of the natural resources that make up the environment; the social, political, legal, and economic forces that influence natural resource management; and the ability to analyze natural resource problems to find realistic alternative solutions.  Wildlife graduates meet the educational requirements for Certified Wildlife Biologists, as stipulated by The Wildlife Society. 

The graduate program in Wildlife Ecology and Management at UGA is open to MS and PhD students.  Wildlife Faculty members at UGA are active in graduate teaching and research areas, such as population dynamics, community ecology, physiology and nutrition, behavioral ecology, diseases and parasites, habitat management, conservation biology, human dimensions, and biometrics. They conduct research on a variety of species such as deer, turkey, quail, and bear.

UGA’s Boone and Crockett Wildlife Conservation Program 

The programmatic focus for the Boone and Crockett Club Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Conservation at UGA will feature research and graduate education on issues of sustainably managing wild, free-ranging native big game species in the privately owned and commercially managed forest landscape of the southern U.S. The Southeast has a globally competitive forest products industry and accounts for approximately 60% of the nation’s forest products. Private landowners account for 80-90% of forestland across the southeast region. Over 60% of the private forestland are family-owned, and are typically supportive of hunting due to the income from leasing hunting rights. Trends in private forestland ownership and the proliferation of commercial wildlife-based and outdoor recreational ventures make it an ideal specialty for this position. We envision that the Boone and Crockett Professor will conduct collaborative and integrative research to establish the “Boone and Crockett Wildlife Policy and Law Center” at UGA. The faculty expertise on the UGA Campus will allow our Boone and Crockett Professor to integrate financial, social, legal, and policy challenges associated with the development of management recommendations for the public and elected decision-makers.

UGA Boone and Crockett Leadership

Currently, there are three faculty members in the Warnell School that are conducting research related to the programmatic focus of UGA’s Boone and Crockett Wildlife Conservation Program—Drs. Robert J. Warren, Karl V. Miller, and Michael J. Chamberlain. They have collectively and collaboratively conducted most of the wildlife research during the past 20-30 years within the Warnell School that has focused on big game species (primarily white-tailed deer) and predators (primarily bobcats and coyotes) in both the context of traditional public hunting programs as well as managing these species in urban and suburban communities. 

Dr. Gino J. D’Angelo will join the Wildlife Faculty in November 2016 as an Assistant Professor in the Warnell School as Dr. Warren’s replacement; Dr. Warren is retiring after more than 37 years as a faculty member. Dr. D’Angelo has 9 years of experience since obtaining his Ph.D. in 2007, and in 2011 was awarded the title of Certified Wildlife Biologist®.  Dr. D’Angelo worked for 5 years as a Wildlife Biologist with USDA Wildlife Services in Pennsylvania and worked for 4 years as Deer Project Leader in the Farmland Wildlife Populations and Research Group, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. In these state and federal agency positions, Dr. D’Angelo had extensive experience in conducting research with deer in a range of regions, habitats, and management scenarios, and he provided service to diverse clientele and stakeholder groups including government agencies, non-governmental organizations, urban and rural communities, agricultural producers, and industries. His 9 years of experience directing deer research and management programs and dealing with the public, media, and courts as an agency wildlife biologist will be an excellent and unique addition to the Wildlife Faculty in the Warnell School.

Wildlife Law at UGA 

As an initial step towards the establishment of the “Boone and Crockett Wildlife Policy and Law Center” at UGA, the Warnell School has already worked collaboratively with the UGA Law School to develop and teach a new graduate-level course in Wildlife Law.  The Director of the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division, the Dean of the UGA Law School, and the Dean of the Warnell School worked collaboratively during 2016 to provide support for an attorney from Moultrie, Georgia to teach a Wildlife Law class during Spring Semester 2017 for Law School students and graduate students from the Warnell School. This course will be taught with the assistance of attorneys from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, using content for similar law courses they have helped develop at other universities in the United States. This effort exemplifies the strong working relationship that the Warnell School has with our state wildlife agency, which will be a major asset to help ensure the success of the Boone and Crockett Wildlife Policy and Law Center at UGA.