Educational Needs of Fisheries and Wildlife Professionals: Results of a Survey

Fisheries and wildlife employees of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Texas Parks and Wildlife responded to a survey that gathered information about their educational background and perception of the importance of 65 subjects typically taught in university fisheries and wildlife curricula. Respondents believed that subjects in their university education that dealt with fisheries and wildlife and ecology/natural resources were among the most important to job performance-as might be expected-but subjects regarding interpersonal interactions were equally important. Some of these latter subjects appeared to be underemphasized in college educations of the respondents, although the more recent graduates took more courses covering interpersonal interactions. Some differences in education and perception of importance existed among certain demographic groups. A strong correlation between education and perception of subject importance suggests that universities are able to exert considerable influence on the direction of fisheries and wildlife professions.