Department D –Wildlife
Conservation, Wildlife and Shooting Sports gives 4-H members an opportunity to share their knowledge and field experience about conservation, wildlife, and shooting sports. All exhibits must follow all respective state and national laws relating to conservation, wildlife and shooting sports.
NO FIREARMS, ITEMS WITH A BLADE (broad heads, knives, saws, etc.) or related items of any other kind, may be exhibited. This applies to actual items, replicated items and item parts. Photos are a suitable substitution for actual items.
Show What You Did & Learned: All 4-H members must show evidence of their personal field experiences, study or observations related to their exhibit. This helps judges understand what they did and learned about conservation and wildlife through the process that led to the exhibit.
Proper Credit: Show proper credit by listing the sources of plans or other supporting information used in exhibits.
Whose Exhibit?: The 4-H member’s name, address, must be on the back or bottom of all displays.
Wildlife & Wildlife Laws: “Animal" or "wildlife" in the following classes includes wild fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, or mammals. Domestic animal (i.e. domestic livestock or house pets) and insect exhibits are not appropriate for this area. 4-H members must comply with current state and federal laws. It is illegal to possess threatened, endangered, or protected wildlife, or the feathers, nests, or eggs of non-game birds. These items cannot be part of an exhibit. Game birds and game animals taken legally during an open season may be used.
Project Materials: Related project booklets include Exploring Your Environment Series, 4-H Shooting Sports, Amphibians, Bird Behavior (EC 59381), Fishing for Adventure Project Manuals, Wildlife Conservation (4‑H 125), Geology, and Outdoor Adventure. Other resources include: Outdoor Skills: Learning Science in the Outdoors series (Science Signature Outcome Program) www.outdoornebraska.gov/afterschool/ and www.whep.ord.
Exhibit Size Guidelines:
Board & Poster exhibits: Mount all board exhibits on ¼ inch plywood, Masonite, or similar panel no larger than 24 inches high x 24 inches wide. Poster exhibits should be on regular poster sheets, no larger than standard size (22 inches x 28 inches) but half size, 22 inches x 14 inches is recommended.
All Other Exhibits: Exhibits other than poster/display board should not exceed 48 inches x 48 inches and be able to be moved by two people. Large exhibits (larger than listed above) must be suited and prepared for outdoor exhibition at the Nebraska State Fair. If large exhibits are not suited for outdoor exhibition, youth have the option to create a poster or another suitable substitute for the exhibit, instead of exhibiting the project itself.
Scoresheets, forms, contest study materials, and additional resources can be found at https://go.unl.edu/ne4hconservation-wildlife-shooting.