The FAA-Qualified Airport Wildlife Biologist certification is now under The Wildlife Society.
Eligible Certified Wildlife Biologists® may add the Qualified Airport Wildlife Biologist (QAWB) designation to their credentials. Applicants must meet the qualifications laid out in FAA’s Advisory Circular 150/5200-36B regarding education, training and an approved Wildlife Hazard Assessment.
To obtain the QAWB designation through TWS, applicants must meet the following requirements:
- Be approved by TWS as a Certified Wildlife Biologist®
- Take and pass an airport wildlife hazard management training course acceptable to the FAA Administrator
- Under the direct supervision of a QAWB mentor, provide documentation of either:
- Having conducted at least one Wildlife Hazard Assessment acceptable to the FAA Administrator
- Having conducted at least one year of continual wildlife hazard monitoring at a certificated airport using FAA-approved methodology
To maintain this designation, applicants will need to complete at least one of the following within five years of initial FAA-approved airport wildlife hazard management training course, and every five years after:
- Airport wildlife hazard management training course that is acceptable to the FAA Administrator
- Attendance, as a registered participant, at a Aviation Wildlife Management Conference (Bird Strike Committee USA or Canada) meeting
- Other training acceptable to the FAA Administrator
Note: QAWBs previously approved by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will be grandfathered into the TWS QAWB program (regardless of any other TWS certification) but must continue to complete FAA-approved training courses and maintain membership in TWS to retain the designation.
For questions about the QAWB designation or how to apply for QAWB status, contact Jennifer Murphy, Certification and Outreach Manager, at certification@wildlife.org.
