UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Two teams of youths from Pennsylvania recently competed in national 4-H wildlife habitat and forest knowledge competitions in Virginia and West Virginia respectively.

The Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program Invitational was held July 28-Aug. 1 at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va. The Pennsylvania team of Rick Hecker, Christina Hecker and Brennan Stone from Clinton County and Michael Dunkerton from McKean County placed fifth in the nation, earning a medal for their achievement. Ann Dunkerton of McKean County and Pam Snook of Clinton County were coaches for this year's team.

The contest drew teams from 22 states across the nation. The teams were judged on their knowledge of wildlife foods and management practices and interpretation of aerial photos, and in the writing of urban and rural plans for habitat management.

Virginia placed first, Tennessee was second and North Carolina was third. Out of 83 competitors, Christina Hecker received individual recognition for placing eighth in management practices, and Michael Dunkerton was recognized for earning 10th place in wildlife foods. The 4-H Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program contest offers an opportunity for youth to learn leadership, teamwork and environmental management.

The state contest is held in April during the 4-H Wildlife Field Day, with an exploratory option for ages 8-11 and the contest open to ages 12-19. Competition in the national contest is open to the top winners in the age groups 14-19 at the state event.

Pennsylvania was among 17 states that participated in the 25th annual National 4-H Forestry Invitational, July 25-29. The state was represented by Noah Conoway of Clinton County and April Ganong and Ryan Giles of Tioga County. John Hecker of Clinton County and Carissa Ganong of Tioga County were the coaches. The team placed 11th in the competition.

The event was held at West Virginia University's Jackson's Mill State 4-H Camp and Conference Center near Weston, W.Va. The International Paper Company Foundation and West Virginia Cooperative Extension Service were sponsors. At the invitational, students competed for overall team and individual awards in several categories. Events included a forestry written exam, tree identification, tree measurement, compass orienteering, insect and disease identification, topographic map use, the Forestry Bowl and forest evaluation.

Pennsylvania's team was selected from the top contestants at this year's Pennsylvania 4-H Forestry Field Day, held in May at Laurel Haven Conservation Education Center in Julian. Penn State Cooperative Extension foresters Robert Hansen of Bradford County co-chaired the invitational and David Jackson of Centre County served on the national planning committee for the event.

For more news from Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, visit http://aginfo.psu.edu.

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Writer/Editor: Jeff Mulhollem Office 814-863-2719 FAX 814-863-9877