Summer 2004

Conservation News

ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE BEGINS BACK FROM THE BRINK CAMPAIGN – Thirty years after the Endangered Species Act (ESA) made protecting America's wildlife a national concern, we can take heart in some dramatic recoveries. The bald eagle and peregrine falcon are soaring through today's skies and the gray wolf has returned to areas like Yellowstone National Park. But despite this progress, many other species have yet to find the road to recovery. The vast majority of endangered wildlife in the United States is found on privately owned lands, where the landmark ESA prevents direct harm to species and ensures their habitats are protected but does little to encourage – and sometimes inadvertently discourages – the actions needed to recover them. In short, the law's defensive strategy has proved insufficient to bring species back from the brink. Thus, survival for most at-risk plants and animals rests in the hands of private landowners. The goal of Environmental Defense's new Back from the Brink campaign is to restore habitat for 15 endangered species and put them on the clear path toward recovery in the next 10 years. This multi year effort requires on the ground restoration projects, significant funding, the willing participation of private landowners and the support of conservation-minded Americans. It will hinge on the cooperative approach to conservation that Environmental Defense's experts have made famous across the country. According to Robert Bonnie, Environmental Defense's Deputy Director of the Ecosystems Restoration Program, “It’s important to understand the difference between protecting and restoring endangered species habitat. Some species, like the bald eagle recovered thanks to effective protection – the destruction of their habitat was halted or practices that harmed the species were banned. But for the vast majority of endangered wildlife, the damage has been done. Their habitat is shrinking or has been degraded to dangerous levels. The recovery of the wildlife relying on these habitats hinges on thorough and effective restoration.” The red-cockaded woodpecker and the gopher tortoise are two species in Mississippi that Environmental Defense has targeted to recover and remove from the endangered list. Both gopher tortoises and red cockaded woodpeckers need open park-like forests, preferably longleaf pine. Historically, natural wildfires shaped their habitat by burning the understory and leaving the fire-resistant pine canopy intact. Without these fires that periodically cleared habitat before Europeans settled in the area, habitat must be managed in a way that mimics the historic clearing in order for these species to thrive.

MISSISSIPPI LANDOWNER WINS 2004 NATIONAL WETLANDS AWARD – Jack Branning of Vicksburg, a member of Wildlife Mississippi, has won the 2004 National Wetlands Award for Landowner Stewardship. He was honored at a ceremony on May 20 at the Senate Caucus Room in Washington, DC in recognition of his efforts to restore wetlands on a 3,498-acre farm. Branning enrolled his entire farm in the permanent protection of the Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) Wetlands Reserve Program. With help from NRCS and Wildlife Mississippi, Branning developed an intensive restoration plan that maximizes habitat for migratory birds and other wetland dependent species by providing a diversity of wetland types, including seasonally flooded bottomland hardwoods, moist soil wetlands, emergent marshes, shrub/scrub wetlands and deepwater habitat. “Mr. Branning's dedication and enthusiasm for his restoration project and his continuing management efforts have made it a wetland showplace,” said Kevin Nelms, a wildlife biologist for the NRCS. “He genuinely wants his land to be the best wetland habitat it can be and is continually working to achieve that goal. Mr. Branning is always willing and ready to share his project with others and has become a great advocate and spokesperson for wetland restoration.” Although the restoration construction was completed in 2003, Branning, with part-time help, devotes more than 900 hours annually to wetland management. The property now boasts 2,675 acres of naturally flooded bottomland hardwoods and 757 acres of manageable wetlands. He has forested habitat for at least 43 different species of waterfowl, shorebirds and wading birds, including threatened wood storks and bald eagles. His efforts have also significantly increased the habitat of the adjacent Delta National Forest and the soon to be Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge. Since 1989, the National Wetlands Award program has honored exceptional individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary effort, innovation and excellence in wetland conservation, research, or education through programs or projects at the regional, state or local level. The program is co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the USDA Forest Service, the NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

NEW MISSISSIPPI LAWSTICK – Thousands of Florida Sportsman Lawsticks are in use today. Now Lawsticks for the state of Mississippi are available. The best way to keep up with the ever-changing fishing regulations, the Mississippi Lawstick helps anglers from running afoul of the law. Made of plastic, the Mississippi Lawstick is lightweight, portable and it floats. Popular inshore, offshore and fresh water species regulations are covered. Slot limits, bag limits and seasonal closures are here. Know your limits from Amberjack to Walleye with the new Mississippi Lawstick. The Mississippi Lawstick retails for $4.95. It is available from tackle retailers in Mississippi or by calling (800) 538-7347.

CHILDREN GET CHANCE AT BIG FISH – Kids from the Baptist Children’s Village recently got a chance to catch some big catfish. The children were invited to a fishing rodeo sponsored by Bayou Pierre Outfitters in Copiah County. “We had some 65 kids to show up,” Conservation Officer Jimmy Strong said. “They finished the day by catching more than 65 big catfish. Needless to say, they all enjoyed themselves.” Strong, a conservation officer in Copiah County, said the purpose of the rodeo was to have the children out to fish and show them just how much fun fishing can be. Strong said there were enough adults on hand to make sure each child had sufficient supervision and help in baiting hooks and taking fish off their lines. “You should have seen all the smiles on the faces of those children,” Strong said. “They all had a great time, and that made everyone happy.”

CONSERVATION OFFICER RECEIVES SPECIAL AWARD – Officer Danny Mills of Marshall County was presented with the International Association of Chiefs of Police/DuPont Kevlar Survivors' Club Award by Chief Curtis Green at the April meeting of the Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. The award recognizes and honors officers in the criminal justice system who survives life threatening or disabling events because they were wearing personal protective body armor. Established in 1987, the club consists of more than 2,750 enforcement and correctional officers with powerful stories to tell. Officer Mills was shot during an altercation with an armed suspect in Marshall County on October 13, 2000. Mills stated that the subject had shot one individual's tire out and was walking down Potts Camp Road when he finally made eye contact with him. Mills called for backup, and once backup arrived verbal commands were made to the subject. The subject would not respond, so weapons were drawn. The subject turned and fired, hitting Mills in the left side. The bullet penetrated his vest and entered his body. He was flown to the MED in Memphis where he recovered. The jobs of Conservation Officers and Boating Safety Officers are particularly dangerous because they patrol alone, often in remote locations with minimal backup. Also, almost everyone they encounter has some sort of a weapon, whether it is a hunter with a rifle or a fisherman with a filet knife.

HENRY SANSING NAMED TO LEAD NOXUBEE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE – Henry Sansing, former manager of Sequoyah and Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuges in Eastern Oklahoma and a 15 year Fish and Wildlife Service veteran, is now the new manager of Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge. Sansing replaced Jim Tisdale who retired in January of this year. Tisdale still resides in the local community and continues to play an active role in the refuge friends group. “Henry started his U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service career at Noxubee, and we're excited to welcome him home,” said Sam D. Hamilton, Southeast Regional Director. “He has a lot of experience because he has worked at a variety of refuges in several areas of the country.” Sansing has worked in five states and on eight national wildlife refuges, ranging from the bottomlands of Arkansas to the sandhills of South Carolina and the coast of Florida to the Oklahoma highlands. A 1989 graduate of Mississippi State University, Sansing has a wife, Marion, and one son, Sidney. “I’m looking forward to working with the new friends group and taking a refuge management program that’s always been good, and looking for ways to make it better if at all possible,” said Sansing. “Also, I plan to continue the Refuge’s long standing relationship with Mississippi State University and provide additional research opportunities that will be mutually beneficial.” Sansing expressed enthusiasm about tackling many of the challenges faced with managing a refuge located near a fast growing urban center and sees a great opportunity for the Refuge to develop new public use opportunities while strengthening traditional programs such as hunting and fishing. He began his new position on February 23, 2004. The 48,000 acre Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1940, is home to more than 250 different species of birds and provides outdoor opportunities for more than 150,000 visitors annually. The refuge is comprised of bottomland and upland hardwoods, pinelands, green tree reservoirs, lakes, wetlands and impoundments that provide important habitat for the American alligator, bald eagle and wintering waterfowl. Noxubee Refuge also provides habitat for the red cockaded woodpecker and the wood stork, both endangered species.

LAW PASSED TO PROTECT TIMBER OWNERS – Problems that have plagued many Mississippi timberland owners in the past are now more likely to be prevented or resolved in the future. Measures have been passed by the 2004 Legislature, and signed into law by the Governor, that are expected to deter timber theft crimes in Mississippi. Three major revisions in the law will allow investigators to more efficiently examine timber records in criminal cases, mandate restitution of stolen timber in convicted cases and require timely payment when timber is harvested. “Steps made to pass this law will benefit landowners in Mississippi with provisions to speed up investigations and insure payment is received by landowners when timber is harvested,” said Lester Spell, Commissioner of Agriculture. “I commend the leadership in the House and Senate Forestry Committees for the priority placed on these measures. This will be a permanent fix to the type of timber theft problems we’ve experienced in the past.” A division of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, the Mississippi Agriculture and Livestock Theft Bureau is the agency in Mississippi authorized to investigate timber and other agricultural related thefts in Mississippi. It consists of nine district investigators throughout the State under the direction of Joseph Gonce. New provisions give specific authority to the Bureau to access and examine timber records for the purpose of criminal investigations that will, in turn, relieve individuals and businesses from civil liability in the dissemination of timber records for these purposes. The result of these changes will be speedier, more efficient investigations to resolve timber thefts. Other changes in the law pertain to payment and recovery of timber value. Timber buyers are now required to pay landowners in a more timely manner, addressing past and current trends of obtaining landowner permission to harvest and, subsequently, refusing to pay. Buyers are now required to make payment within 30 days of harvest unless written consent from the landowner states otherwise. In all convicted cases, landowners will now be paid fair market value of the timber at the time of loss including other costs incurred by the victim as a result of the crime. Criminals will now be required to return full value of the timber back to landowners in addition to other penalties. “Mississippi's forestry industry is valued at over $1 billion and is vital to the state's economy,” Spell said. “The new theft laws will play a critical role in protecting the interests of Mississippi timber owners.”