*          ~THE WIt~IDFE SOCIETrY. 
 
Committee on Professional Standards 
 
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY:- 
 
     At the Baltimore meeting of the Soplety in February, 1938, 
there was established a Committee on Professional Standards, charged 
with several responsibilities.   One of them was the preparation of 
a statement of professional qualifications that might serve as a 
guide to persons intending to enter this field of work, and that 
might also be of interest to institutions training these men. 
 
     Discussion of this and other matters by the newly-appointed 
Committee began on May 7,' Mr, Leopold, as chairman of a subcommit- 
tee to whom this task was assigned, completed the first draft of a 
statement of qualifications on May 24; it was sent to the other 
members of the full Committee on June l     Since then there has teen 
extensive correspondence among the members of the Committee with 
reference to this and subsequent drafts,    The attached statement, 
which the Committee is presenting for the approval of the Society, 
is the fifth draft examined by the Committee,.   While primarily the 
work of Mr* Leopold, it represents also the views submitted by the 
other members of the Committee; also valuable suggestions have 
been received from President A. A. Allen, Secretary Vi H, Cahalane, 
and Mr,. Charles Elton. 
 
     Your Committee very early agreed: (1) that the standards of 
neither the Society nor the profession were sufficiently well estab- 
lished to warrant "ranking" or "accrediting" institutions
at which 
wildlife training is conducted;   (2) that even if this were not sox, 
a purely objective evaluation of institutions., based upon courses, 
equipment, salaries, and the like, would be confronted by so many 
unknown and variable conditions as to make the result of little val- 
ue;  (3) that the necessities in preparation for wildlife work are 
best presented primarily to those who are undergoing this training 
or who expect to do so;   (4) that this approach should benefit both 
the student and the institution. 
 
     it is the belief of your Committee that the profession should 
be most concerned with what a man is, what he knows, what he can do, 
and how he thinks,   The means by which he attains competence in 
these respects are for him and his institution to determine; there 
is no formula.   For this reason no mention is made of specific 
courses or curricula; these are listed in the BS-Leaflet published 
by the Bureau of Biological Survey (cf. end of statement). 
 
     The Committee recommends the adoption of this statement by the 
Society and its publication in the Journal of Wildlife Management. 
 
For the Committee:-                     Rudolf Bennitt, Chairman 
                                 Committee on Professional.Standards 
Rudolf Bennitt 
Frank C. Edminster   Aldo Leopold 
Paul L. Errington    H. D. Ruhl 
Carl L. Hubbs        Herbert L. Stoddard 
Ralph T. King        Walter P. Taylor