2018 Wildlife Conservationist of the Year Award

Photo By Sgt. DeUndra Brown | Bryan Fedrick, wildlife biologist with the Mississippi Army National Guard, of Clinton, Mississippi, receives the 2018 Wildlife Conservationist of the Year Award February 21, 2019. This award recognizes the work that he does as one of the MSNG natural resources conservation team members. (U.S. National Guard photo by Chelsy Ables)  

HATTIESBURG, MS, UNITED STATES

03.19.2019

Story by Sgt. DeUndra Brown 

102d Public Affairs Detachment

Bryan Fedrick, wildlife biologist with the Mississippi Army National Guard, has developed new directions in wildlife research and proactively responded to threats among wildlife populations while spearheading initiatives in the Natural Resources Conservation (NRC) program over the past seven years. His conservative vision was rewarded in February when he received the 2018 Wildlife Conservationist of the Year award.
One of the most critical projects Fedrick introduced on land managed by the MSNG is an aggressive, preventive response to the threat of chronic wasting disease (CWD). The disease is 100 percent fatal to afflicted deer and spreads most rapidly in large deer populations.
The first reported case of CWD was in Arkansas in 2015. Mississippi identified its first case in January 2018 in Issaquena County.
“With the threat of chronic wasting disease moving steadily towards our state. I knew we had to do something,” said the Clinton, Mississippi native. “We had to drastically lower the numbers of deer inside cantonment, and so what I did was figure out the best way to go about doing it.”
To get the most out of a harvesting program designed to bring the deer populations at Camp Shelby to a safe level, Fedrick partnered with the Mississippi Wildlife Federation to provide meat to feed the homeless and monitored harvested deer for CWD.
“My day never looks the same two days in a row. I may be working on whitetail deer today and I may be working on gopher tortoise stuff tomorrow,” he said.
Fedrick’s conservation effort is more expansive than creating ideal habitats for wildlife and endangered species, he also assists in realigning forestry goals and increasing use of prescribed fires.
“Our prescribed fire program has many reasons,” he said. “Down at Camp Shelby, longleaf pine is an ecosystem that evolved with fires, so it has to have fire in order for it to thrive. The longleaf pine habitat is one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, so we have to use fires in trying to promote our restoration of that habitat.”
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks award also acknowledges Fedrick’s educational accomplishments. He teaches herpetology courses to Mississippi State University students for the Mississippi State Extension Service and assists in hosting hundreds of area school children that visit Camp Shelby each year.
Fedrick said the award recognizes his many years of experience of conservation work and is also a testament to the quality of partnerships he has benefited from.
“It really is a pleasure to work with some of the people that I’m fortunate enough to work with. Before coming to work for the military department, I had no idea that wildlife conservation was as important to the military as it is,” he said. “It’s always a lot of fun to share the work and share the accolades when you accomplish the mission.”
He is currently revising an integrated natural resource management plan for Camps McCain and Shelby, among other innovative projects. This plan is the driving document for natural resource management for the military department on both installations.

• Date Taken: 03.19.2019
• Date Posted: 04.24.2019 08:46
• Story ID: 318790
• Location: HATTIESBURG, MS, US
• Hometown: CAMP SHELBY, MS, US
• Hometown: CLINTON, MS, US
• Hometown: HATTIESBURG, MS, US
• Hometown: JACKSON, MS, US