# Project for Mammal Numbers

Part of the Mammal Study Merit Badge Digital Resource Guide: [Introduction & Overview](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/mammal-study/guide/index.md)

*5. Conservation in Action*

> **5.** Working with your counselor, select and carry out one project that will influence the numbers of one or more mammals.

This requirement is where Mammal Study becomes action. You are not just learning about mammals anymore. You are doing something that can help or influence how many mammals use an area.

## What Kind of Project Works?

A strong project changes food, water, shelter, travel safety, or disturbance. Examples might include:

- building a brush pile for cover
- improving native plant habitat
- removing invasive plants that reduce food or shelter
- helping protect a travel corridor
- restoring a streamside area
- improving nesting or denning cover where appropriate

The exact project should fit local needs and your counselor's guidance.

## Think in Terms of Habitat Needs

Mammal numbers are influenced by the same basic survival needs you have been studying all along:

- **food**
- **water**
- **cover**
- **space**
- **safe travel routes**

A project does not have to guarantee more mammals immediately. It has to reasonably influence the conditions that affect their numbers.

## Official Resources

These official resources show projects that improve habitat conditions for wildlife.

Video: [Brushpiles With Game Commission Biologist Dan Mummert (video)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXTGUBPYwPo)

Video: [Create a Wildlife Habitat Garden (video)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOYDnuz0hA8)

Video: [How to Make a WILDLIFE GARDEN! The FOUR Things You MUST INCLUDE! (video)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl0W8navRIg)

**Project Planning Questions** — Answer these with your counselor before you begin

- [ ] Which mammal or group of mammals could this project help?
- [ ] Which habitat need does the project improve?
- [ ] Is the location legal and appropriate for the work?
- [ ] How will you know the project was completed well?
- [ ] What evidence will you bring back to your counselor?

> **Be Prepared! How to Show Your Project Made Sense**
>
> Your counselor may ask why your project should influence mammal numbers.
>
> - **Connect the project to habitat**: Explain what need it improves.
> - **Name likely species**: Identify which mammals may benefit.
> - **Be realistic**: Say “improve conditions for” rather than promising an instant population boom.
> - **Document your work**: Before-and-after photos, notes, sketches, and dates all help.

> **Tip**
>
> The strongest projects are often simple, local, and well-finished. A small habitat improvement done correctly is better than a huge plan that never gets completed.

Once you start influencing habitat, ethics matter even more. The next requirement focuses on Leave No Trace and the Outdoor Code in real mammal-study situations.

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- Previous: [Food Chains to a Carnivore](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/mammal-study/guide/req4g/index.md)
- Next: [Outdoor Ethics in Mammal Study](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/mammal-study/guide/req6/index.md)