Winter 2003

Membership Dollars at Work: Conservation Education

Mississippi provides some of the most important wildlife, fish and plant habitats in this country. As more Americans get involved in hunting, fishing and wildlife-associated recreation, the demand to further protect, restore and enhance the Magnolia State's wildlife, fish and plant resources becomes even more important to meet the need. This will depend, in part, on the public's ability to assess the impacts of human behavior on the resource and plan for the future.

But many times the public is bombarded with coverage of environmental issues that tend to focus on scare tactics and on perceived negative impacts on the environment. The tone and content of such coverage has been overwhelmingly negative, and at times, based on emotional feelings rather than scientific facts. The public, increasingly urbanized and divorced from the land, many times has little personal experience with which to judge the credibility of all the bad environmental news it is hearing. The linkage among quality of life, a quality environment and a strong economy is not understood by many people.

One result of the increased attention on the environment is that many people have a perception that our environment is deteriorating in quality, when quite the contrary is occurring. The fact is that Mississippi's environment has improved substantially in recent decades. Conservative, "get things done" conservation organizations and incentive-based conservation programs, like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners For Wildlife Program or the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program have been major positive influences on conservation in the United States.

In fact, Mississippi has some of the lowest wetland loss rates in the Mississippi Flyway, consistently leads the country in the amount of acres restored through the Wetland Reserve Program and is leading the nation in the amount of acres for wintering waterfowl through the Mississippi Partners Project. These accomplishments make Mississippi one of the largest contributors to the goals of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. And as Dizzy Dean used to say, "It ain't bragging when you can back it up."

So, as one can see, wildlife and fisheries management, and education pertaining to those techniques, has taken place in Mississippi for a long time, in fact, since the early 1900s. The Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation focuses on managing wildlife, fish and plant habitats in cooperation with state and federal agencies, such as the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who manage wildlife and fish populations. The Foundation works with agencies, such as the Natural Resource Conservation Service, who provides technical expertise to manage the basis for these, and that's our precious soil and water resources, in addition to wildlife habitat. The Foundation is currently implementing many programs geared toward improving our wildlife, fish and plant resources.

According to Leila Wynn, President of the Foundation, "Conservation education is an integral component of all of the Foundation's programs. As resource managers and professionals, we face the responsibility of educating the public about conservation. Society will certainly play a key role in shaping the future of our environment. By providing people with credible information about environmental causes and effects and practical resource management, we give them the ability and knowledge to make intelligent and constructive decisions. Much has been accomplished, but education is a continuous process."

Addressing issues such as wetlands, air and water quality and endangered species, or sharing in success stories such as wetland restoration projects, restocking efforts and new techniques for species specific habitat management, can be successful only if the public is aware and knowledgeable about these issues. According to Peyton Self, the immediate Past-President of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation, "The public must become involved in developing solutions to problems and also be able to experience in the satisfaction of a job well done."

Conservation education must be available to the entire public. The best case scenario would be if conservation education reached it's audience at an early age, as a part of the formal education in school systems. Many schools are currently utilizing excellent conservation oriented learning tools such as Project Learning Tree, Project Wild and Aquatic Wild. But until every school incorporates conservation into their curriculum, we must depend on other means to reach our young people.

The Foundation's approach to reaching young people is simple, but effective. Wildlife Mississippi goes into the classrooms of area schools and takes part in educating students on conservation. "We assist classes with development and management of urban habitat areas located on school campuses. We assist state and federal agencies with conservation field days where participants learn about proper habitat and various plant and animal species which are native to Mississippi," stated Wynn.

"In the past six years, the Foundation's staff have participated in over 1,530 hours of on the ground, conservation education reaching over 13,900 people, approximately 60% of this being young adults," continued Leila Wynn.

This includes classes taught at Mississippi State University, presentations to Camp Shelby, Resource Conservation and Development Council, fish and wildlife expos, county forestry associations and field days, Delta Ag Expo, Realtors Land Institute, Mississippi Rural Development Council, Mississippi State University Chapter of The Wildlife Society, members of the Mississippi Legislature, BASF Corporation, International Paper, Weyerhaeuser, Lower Yazoo Basin Partnership, Northeast Mississippi Partnership, Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, the Invasive Plant Council, Southeastern Quail Study Group, Mississippi Outdoors, forestry and wildlife consultants, county soil and water conservation districts, elementary and high school classes, tourism conferences, staff members of Senator Thad Cochran, Senator Trent Lott, Congressman Roger Wicker, Congressman Bennie Thompson, Congressman Chip Pickering, Congressman Gene Taylor and Governor Ronnie Musgrove.

It also includes staff of the following agencies: Environmental Protection Agency, Internal Revenue Service, International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, Mississippi Department of Transportation, Mississippi Extension Service, Mississippi Forestry Association, Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission, Mississippi State University, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Stennis Space Center, The White House, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S.D.A. Farm Service Agency, U.S.D.A. Agricultural Research Service, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S.D.A. Wildlife Services, Wildlife Management Institute and the Yazoo-Mississippi Levee Board.

Through the Foundation's weekly column, titled Conservation Corner, it is education the public about conservation. It has run in the following papers: Amory Advertiser, The Carthaginian, Coffeeville Courier, Columbian Progress, Commercial Dispatch, Copiah Courier, Daily Corinthian, Daily Leader, Deer Creek Pilot, DeSoto County Tribune, Enterprise Journal, Field and Stream, Greene County Herald, Gulf Coast Outdoors Magazine, Jasper County News, Kemper County Messenger, Lamar Times, Leland Progress, Life In The Delta, Mid-South Hunting and Fishing News, Mississippi Press, Mississippi Woods and Waters Magazine, Neshoba Democrat, News Commercial, Newton Record, Okolona Messenger, Panolian, Pontotoc Progress, Port Gibson Reveille, Prentiss County Progress, Prentiss Headlight, Record Independent, Richton Dispatch, Sea Cost Echo, Southern Reporter, Star-Herald, The Daily Sentinel-Star, Tishimingo County News, Tunica Times, Wayne County News, Winona Times and Woodville Republican.

This does not include the many hours of writing correspondence and hundreds of technical and information articles and brochures which are provided to the public through Wildlife Mississippi, the Foundation's internet site nor does it include conservation education through radio or television media. In many instances we provide information to civic clubs by providing educational talks which take place during weekly meetings.

Specialized user groups are also important. The Foundation has sponsored and participated in various short courses dealing with conservation easements, the conservation provisions of the Farm Bill, carbon sequestration, whitetail deer, longleaf pine, bobwhite quail, wild turkey and waterfowl. The Foundation conducts specialized seminars at its annual Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Expos.

"We should revitalize conservation as an accepted and relevant concept in today's society. We should explore opportunities to develop new approaches to solving environmental problems that can provide a wide variety of valued benefits to society." - Peyton Self, Past President

Wildlife Mississippi also emphasizes the importance of best management practices in the agricultural and forestry arenas. These practices are being recognized through demonstration, as leaders in the stewardship of natural resources to achieve desired environmental benefits. The Foundation is demonstrating leadership in conservation, utilization and stewardship in ways that balance local preferences and specific national needs.

Wildlife Mississippi has raised information and education of environmental issues to the level of a major part of the Foundation's mission. But, Wildlife Mississippi needs to take more pro-active and aggressive efforts to reach the national, regional and local media, as well as more environmental education activities focusing on young people.

"We should revitalize conservation as an accepted and relevant concept in today's society. We should explore opportunities to develop new approaches to solving environmental problems that can provide a wide variety of valued benefits to society," stated Self.

The future of our environment depends solely on our ability to take care of the land. The choices we make today will have a definite impact on our environment tomorrow. Through conservation education, the Foundation strives to reach the public in an attempt to change behavior and attitude towards natural resources and to provide everyone with the ability to be good stewards. Education is the key!