WHEP State Competition
May 21,2022 | 8:30AM-4:30PM
Held at the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge
Junior Division 8-13 Years Old
Senior Division 14-19 Years Old
One WHEP Manual will be provided for each youth team to use for the field component of the State Competition. The 2022 WHEP competition will focus on the Tallgrass Prairie and Urban ecoregions and species.
Register through 4HOnline. Registration closes May 1st.
What is WHEP?
The WHEP (National Wildlife Habitat Education Program) is a hands-on environmental education program. WHEP also provides participants an opportunity to test their wildlife knowledge in a friendly competition, as each state supporting WHEP conducts an annual contest where teams of 3-4 similarly aged individuals gather. The winning senior (14-19 years of age) WHEP team from each state earns the right to attend the annual National WHEP Contest, typically held the last full week of July. The national contest moves to a different state each year.
What do Participants Study?
- Learn about wildlife
- Learn about wildlife habitat
- Learn how to judge the quality of wildlife habitat
- Learn about wildlife habitat management practices
Interested in becoming a WHEP Coach?
Coaches Workshop Information
- You can review the recorded workshop here
- WHEP Volunteer Coach Position Description
Preparing for the WHEP State Competition
- WHEP Manual
- Download Portions of the Manual
- Ecoregions (no-species) BLANK
- Judges’ Scoring Sheet – Activity III-A Written Wildlife Management Plan
- Iowa Ecosystems Species List
- Urban Ecoregion Species
WHEP Coach Resources
- Developing a Wildlife Habitat Management Plan
- Wildlife ID and Equipment Flash Cards
- Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program: Preparing for the Wildlife Challenge
- Wildlife Habitat Education Program: Wildlife Identification Guide
- Outdoor Classroom Development
- Teaching and Learning Wildlife Management Practices
- Innovative Science Teaching Methods
- Activities and Games for Reviewing Content
- Resource Links
- WHEP Lessons
- Tallgrass Prairie Wildlife Flashcards
- Tallgrass Prairie Jeopardy
- Urban Jeopardy
- Merlin, by The Cornell Lab: Free Bird ID APP
- SEEK, by iNaturalist: Free APP to ID Wildlife, Plants, and Fungi
Recruitment and Marketing Materials
- WHEP Promo Graphic - Call for Volunteers
- WHEP Promo Graphic – Deer
- WHEP Promo Graphic – Turkey
- WHEP “Find-Out” PowerPoint