Farm Progress

A long trip to Maine pays off with a national championship.

Tom J Bechman 1, Editor, Indiana Prairie Farmer

August 18, 2018

2 Min Read
NATIONAL FFA CHAMPS: The Franklin FFA wildlife team captured first place in the FFA division at the national WHEP competition. The team from Indiana includes coach Levi Coons (left), Brody Wade, Cameron Carmack, Sam Bordenkecher and Taylor Drake.

If you want to study wildlife, you go to where wildlife is an important part of a state’s economy. That’s one reason the 2018 national contest for the Wildlife Habitat Education Program was held in Maine. It was the first time Maine had hosted the national contest for both FFA and 4-H state winning teams.

Franklin FFA won the FFA division of the Indiana WHEP competition in May, qualifying for the trip to Maine. Team members include 2018 Franklin Community High School graduates Brody Wade, Cameron Carmack and Sam Bordenkecher, and Taylor Drake, an FCHS senior this fall. The team is coached by Levi Coons, an FCHS graduate, and Tom J. Bechman, assistant FFA advisor (the author). FFA Advisor Kaitlyn Pearce and Carla Bechman accompanied the team on the trip to Maine.

At the national contest, Bordenkecher placed second individually in the FFA division, and Carmack was third high individual. Franklin’s winning team was followed by a team from Utah in second place and a team from West Virginia placing third.

Indiana was the only state to be represented by two teams at the national competition. The Gibson County 4-H team qualified by winning the 4-H division in the state competition in May. The team did not place in the top three in the national contest. Only the top three teams in each division are recognized.

Team members must learn to identify numerous species of birds, mammals and amphibians, including wildlife common to the region where the contest is held. At the national level, they were also asked to identify various animal and bird calls, and identify animals from partial specimens such as a wing, and from skulls and even fecal samples. The competition also involved a quiz about various wildlife management practices.

“A big part of the competition is determining how to manage various species of wildlife in a real setting,” Coons says. “They’re asked to develop a management plan as a team for various species within a given area. There are professionals who do this type of planning for a living. Our students concentrated on developing simple but effective plans which would meet the goals of the landowner established for the mock example in the contest.”

Nearly 30 teams from around Indiana compete at three regional sites each spring, vying for the right to enter the state contest at Purdue University in May. The goal is to represent Indiana at the national WHEP competition, which moves around the country. The 2019 competition will be held in California.  

About the Author(s)

Tom J Bechman 1

Editor, Indiana Prairie Farmer

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