About Us

Welcome to The Canadian Section of The Wildlife Society!

The Canadian Section of The Wildlife Society (CSTWS) is a professional organization that was founded in 2007, which aims to foster excellence in wildlife stewardship through science and education in Canada. The CSTWS is legally incorporated under the Incorporations Act of Canada and received charitable (not-for-profit) status in 2020. For more details, please view our incorporation bylaws.

Read our 2025 Strategic Plan here

The role of the CSTWS is to inspire, empower, and enable wildlife professionals to have a positive impact on wildlife sustainability, through recognition as a trusted organization that promotes science-based management by an open and inclusive community of members.

Photo: Mark Bradley

| OUR VALUES

Sustainability:
CSTWS practices are founded on principles of sustainability for wildlife conservation and organizational management

Science-based:

CSTWS believes in ensuring a science-based approach to the management of wildlife and their habitats. Linking science to management is critically important to CSTWS.

Progressive:

CSTWS prides itself on being at the cutting edge of emerging science and management, thereby enabling CSTWS to play a leadership role in the evolution of public policy.

Committed:

CSTWS is persistent in pursuing proven concepts, policies and practices. CSTWS partners and collaborators have an implicit trust in CSTWS’s performance.

Collaborative:

CSTWS recognizes that a single interested party is rarely strong enough on its own to achieve all its objectives and that partnership and collaboration with others who share CSTWS interests are the keys to having an optimal impact.

Respectful:

CSTWS is respectful of historical and traditional knowledge and of a diversity of perspectives. It is respectful in its relationships believing that only by being respectful does an organization earn respect and trust.

Ethical:

CSTWS is ethically motivated in the manner in which it manages its own internal affairs and the way in which it manages its external relationships. CSTWS seeks to be a model of integrity both internally and externally.

Open and Transparent:

CSTWS is open and transparent about its intentions and its methods both internally and externally. CSTWS seeks and values the involvement of others with shared interests.

Optimistic:

CSTWS is an organization that believes that the best creative thought is generated from a place of optimism.

Non-partisan:

Irrespective of the political preferences or the vocations of its individual members, CSTWS exhibits a non-partisan approach in the conduct of its business and its relationships.

| Affiliation with The Wildlife Society

The Canadian Section of The Wildlife Society is affiliated with The Wildlife Society (TWS), which was founded in 1937, with a mission to "inspire, empower, and enable wildlife professionals to sustain wildlife populations and habitats through science-based management and conservation.” The Wildlife Society enhances members’ opportunities through networking and learning, professional and career development, and provides numerous ways for members to get more involved in creating a better future for wildlife and their habitats.

TWS has nearly 10,000 members, which includes:

Scientists, managers, educators, technicians, planners, consultants and others who manage, conserve, and study wildlife populations and habitats.
Students who are pursuing degrees and experience that will enable them to become the next generation of wildlife professionals.
Supporters who help spread the word and take action on important wildlife and habitat issues.
TWS members are active across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as internationally.

The Society is comprised of four main levels

The International Wildlife Society
Sections (e.g. Canadian Section)
Chapters (e.g. Manitoba Chapter)
Student Chapters (e.g. the University of Winnipeg Student Chapter)

For more information, please visit https://wildlife.org/history-and-mission/

TWS Logo

| History of the Canadian Section

The Canadian Section of The Wildlife Society (CSTWS) was founded in 2007. In March 2019, the CSTWS became incorporated under the Incorporations Act of Canada. Our membership is comprised of approximately 350 professionals, academics, students, and other individuals with an interest in wildlife biology, research, conservation, and management. Currently, we have 5 Provincial chapters and 11 Student chapters in Canada. To learn more about the history of The Canadian Section and it's ties to The Wildlife Society, please consult the following link.

Canada's Ties to The Wildlife Society by Merlin Shoesmith