Spring 1999

Conservation News

Becoming An OUTDOORS-WOMAN WORKSHOP- The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks will offer the ‘Becoming an Outdoors – Woman Workshop” on April 24 – 26, 1999. The workshop is designed specifically with women in mind. It is an opportunity to learn outdoor skills in a comfortable atmosphere. Past activities include: boating, canoeing, basic rifle, shotgun, archery, muzzleloading, backpacking, camping, outdoor cooking, fishing, photography, birding, duck/turkey calling, map and compass and wetland ecology. The cost is $25. If one would like to enroll in this program, call Kay Harvey at (601) 656-8783, extension 3.

Mississippi SENATORS INTRODUCE Environmental Restoration ACT- This past fall, Senators Thad Cochran and Trent Lott introduced the “Reinvestment And Environmental Restoration Act of 1998.” This bill will enable states along the Gulf of Mexico, such as Mississippi, to share revenues from off-shore oil and gas wells to support fish and wildlife conservation and recreational programs. Senator Cochran said, “This legislation would bring more than $85 million annually to Mississippi and enable us to better handle the pressures of off-shore oil and gas production.” According to Peyton Self, President of Wildlife Mississippi, “These funds will be used in the state for coastal assistance, land based recreation and conservation. It is one of the best pieces of legislation that I have ever seen to fund conservation programs.” The bill will redirect to state and local governments 50% of the tax revenues received annually from oil and gas development on the outer continental shelf. Approximately $70 million of the funds will be directed to the Gulf Coast. According to Chris Lagarde, an assistant to Congressman Gene Taylor, the damages from Hurricane Georges demonstrate a funding need. “If the money is there, one such way to spend it is to ensure the integrity of the barrier islands,” said Lagarde.

BASS Kill CULPRIT IDENTIFIED- Officials with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP) say a virus is what killed several hundred largemouth bass recently on Sardis Lake, a 32,100 acre reservoir near Oxford, which is operated by the U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers. Dr. Larry Hanson, a fish diagnostician at Mississippi State University, identified Largemouth Bass Virus as the culprit. In October and November area anglers reported the fish kill. An investigation by Keith Mills, a fisheries biologist with the MDWFP, and Matthew Hicks with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality determined that the kill was not due to environmental factors. The MDWFP will continue to monitor the lake.

CONTINUOUS SIGN-UP FOR CONSERVATION Programs Set- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency are continuing to accept applications for several conservation programs. The continuous sign-up began October 1, 1998. An emphasis is being placed on conservation buffers. A conservation buffer is strip or parcel of land that exist next to environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands, streams, or rivers. Filter strips, field borders, grassed waterways, field windbreaks, shelterbelts, contour grass strips and riparian (streamside) buffers are all examples of conservation buffers. Conservation buffers conserve soil, enhance fish and wildlife habitat, conserve biodiversity, beautify the landscape and improve water quality. Homer Wilkes, State Conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) stated, “NRCS and USDA’s Farm Services Agency have several programs that provide incentive payments to farmers and landowners for establishing buffers, including the ‘continuous sign-up’ option of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).” The Forestry Incentives Program (FIP), Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) and Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) also have a continuous sign-up option. To apply, contact your local USDA Service Center or conservation district office.

REED, CHIEF of NRCS, VISITS MISSISSIPPI- Pearlie S. Reed, Chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, was in Mississippi on December 7, 1998, and had the opportunity to visit with the leadership of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Warren County. According to James L. Cummins, Jr., Executive Director of the Foundation, “It was a real pleasure to see Chief Reed again. He is known for his strong leadership, clear vision and keen understanding of how to integrate and implement massive change to improve the delivery of the conservation programs of the 1996 Farm Bill to farmers and landowners.” Reed is a native of Heth, Arkansas and graduated with honors in 1970 from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff with a B.S. degree in animal husbandry and agricultural business. He received a Master of Public Administration degree, with honors, from American University in Washington, D.C., in 1980.

COCHRAN, LOTT AND PICKERING PRAISED FOR WORK ON DUCK SEASON-The Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Magnolia State’s duck hunters are grateful to U.S. Senators Thad Cochran and Trent Lott and Congressman Chip Pickering for their recent leadership that resulted in a January 31 closure of the duck season for 1998/99. According to Clarke Reed, Chairman of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation, “We are very blessed to have Senator Cochran, Senator Lott and Congressman Pickering in Washington to provide the leadership to make sure we not only have sound conservation programs, but appropriate access to the wildlife resources we enjoy. They are to be commended for their efforts.”

CHOCTAW INDIANS Develop NATURE TRAIL- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is working with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians’ Cultural Affairs, Natural Resources and the Youth Opportunity Program to educate them about conservation and culture through the development of nature trails. The Wolf Creek Nature Trail opened last year and another trail is underway. The Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, a program of NRCS, is helping with the trails. The signs along the trail will be in Choctaw and English translations. For more information, contact Tim Oakes at the Tribal Branch Office of NRCS at (601) 656-2070 or (601) 656-9679.

Regional FORESTER VISITS MISSISSIPPI- Elizabeth Estill, the Regional Forester for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, over the Service’s Region 8, which is housed in Atlanta, visited Mississippi this past fall. She met wit Dr. Callie Schweitzer of the Center For Bottomland Hardwoods Research and the leadership of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation. According to James L. Cummins, Jr., Executive Director of the Foundation, “It was good to see Elizabeth again. I worked with her when I was on the Wildlife and Fisheries staff for the Forest Service in Washington, D.C., and I am glad she is working in the South. Having Dr. Mike Dombeck as Chief and her as the Regional Director, we are in good hands.”

SIX RIVERS Proposed To Be SCENIC- The Buttahatchee River, which flows through Northeast Mississippi, the Wolf River near the Gulf Coast, Black Creek in Southeast Mississippi, the Strong River, south of Jackson, and the Pearl River, northeast of Jackson, could be designated scenic waterways according to a bill proposed for the 1999 Session of the Mississippi Legislature. Practices to improve the land adjacent will be voluntary and incentive-based.