It may have been naturalist, Thomas Nuttall (for whom the Nuttall oak is named) in the early 1800s who gave us our first look at the timber resource of Mississippi's lowlands. Nuttall described Mississippi's lowlands as being “vast, trackless wilderness of trees, a dead solemnity...All is rude nature as it sprang into existence still preserving its primeval type, unclaimed exuberance.”

Shortly after Nuttall, C.S. Sargeant, in 1884, in his report on the forests of the United States, said the lowlands of Mississippi “possessed a wealth of timber of the most valuable kinds in a surprising variety.” Listen now, as he talks about this land: “Along the elevated ridges from the streams, the white oak, the willow oak, the shell-bar (sic) and mocker-hickories, the black walnut in great numbers, the yellow poplar and the sassafras large enough to furnish canoes of great size, the mulberry, the Spanish oak, the sweet and black gums are the principal forest trees, with an undergrowth in the openings of dogwoods, various haws, crabapples, wild grapes, buck thorns, etc. In the forest covering the lower lands, which sloped back everywhere in the more or less saturated soil, here the sweet gum reaches its greatest size, and here grows in great perfection the bitter-nut, the elms, hornbeans, white ash, box-elder and red maples of enormous size. The honey locust, water oaks and red and Spanish oaks are equally common. Here, among the smaller trees, the holly obtains its greatest development, with hornbeans and wahoo elms, while papaws, haws and privets from the massive and dense undergrowth which interspersed with dense cane-brakes (sic), covers the ground under the large trees.”

Beginning with Nuttall's generation, and continuing with varying intensity until the present time, the clearing of these low lying forested lands has changed the landscape. In recent years it has become apparent that some of this land can produce a successful crop only in relatively dry years. In some cases, these lands are better suited for timber production. Consequently many landowners have become interested in planting these lands with bottomland hardwoods.

The Wetland Reserve Program
There are several programs available to restore wetlands by planting bottomland hardwoods. However, a variety of reasons prevent many landowners from restoring wetlands and planting a crop of trees on their property. Reasons vary but include those such as the landowner not being able to afford the investment of personal time and money to perform the restoration on their own, or the landowner may not be aware they can receive assistance in restoration. Others include the landowners’ lack of information on quality seedlings, lack of planning skills to implement and manage the project and avoiding conflicts with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's programs.

The Wetland Reserve Program (WRP), which is administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is one of the landmark environmental aspects in the 1990, 1996 and 2002 Farm Bills. It is a voluntary program that offers technical and financial assistance to landowners who have previously converted wetlands to cropland or pastureland. Landowners who qualify are compensated for the value of their land in exchange for restoring these areas back to wildlife habitat.

Since 1992, the year Mississippi began participating in the Wetland Reserve Pilot Program, there have been approximately 350 easements enrolled in Mississippi encompassing over 140,000 acres. In addition to restoration, the WRP provides financial support to agricultural producers by purchasing wetland easements on the high risk, high cost agricultural lands that are frequently flooded.

The WRP was created as a voluntary land retirement program designed to assist eligible landowners in restoring and protecting wetlands using three options. These options include permanent easements, 30 year easements and restoration cost share agreements.

Mississippi has the second largest enrollment of land in the WRP in the nation. Because the program is so popular with landowners, applications are backlogged on more than 47,000 acres. Since 1992, reforestation of WRP bottomlands forests has been completed on approximately 140,000 acres using direct seeding techniques and planting of bare root seedlings. Additionally, the restoration of hydrology has been completed on approximately 25,000 acres. Currently, working through partnerships with the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the NRCS is restoring an estimated 10,000 acres of wildlife habitat annually.

Landowners who apply and are accepted into the WRP are compensated for the value of their land in exchange for restoring these areas. If the land offered is eligible, and the compensation requested is acceptable, cost-share assistance will be provided for restoring the land under a 30-year or permanent easement. Land will be restored to bottomland hardwoods and shallow water areas for wildlife. Certain compatible uses of the land under easement by the landowner will be permitted in exchange for continued maintenance of the land.

Under the WRP, the NRCS acquires conservation easements on marginal, high risk lands that are vulnerable both to the vagaries of floods and droughts because of the nature of hydric soils in growing row crops. These marginal lands detract from a farmer's cash flow and tend to experience repeated losses requiring disaster recovery assistance.

The average easement payment is approximately $850 per acre and the average cost of restoration is approximately $250 per acre. The WRP provides a lump sum easement payment that may be used to pay off current debts or to meet current operating fund needs.

Additionally, the WRP may provide farmers with both a temporary alternative source of income through the wetlands restoration contract and a permanent source of income from the recreational and lease hunting income generated by the valuable restored wetland wildlife habitat.

The public benefits from both the reduced financial demand for disaster assistance and crop insurance funds on lands that experience repeated losses and from significant long-term conservation benefits obtained from the protection of wildlife habitat. At the same time these restored lands create improved water quality, the increase of flood storage and the reduction of soil erosion.

Carbon Sequestration
Various entities have taken action to reduce the release of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere in hopes of creating a healthier environment. For example, numerous energy companies are working with the Department of Energy to reduce carbon emissions through the use of more efficient technology, cleaner burning fuels and the sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere through a voluntary program known as the “Climate Challenge” Program. The program has received a favorable response with more than 600 utilities participating. Some of the methods that have been utilized to reduce carbon dioxide emissions include the following: 1) Conversion to cleaner burning fuels and 2) Retrofitting electric generating plants with more effective equipment. The sequestration of carbon utilizing bottomland hardwoods will not be the dominant tool for reducing carbon dioxide, but it is the most cost effective.

Carbon sequestration can be conducted by the reforestation of agricultural lands. Healthy growing bottomland hardwood forests are highly effective at naturally sequestering carbon and converting it to forest biomass.

Land use change is one of the main causes of the carbon imbalance and represents approximately 25 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions. On an average acre of land, annual farming practices release more carbon into the atmosphere than is sequestered or held by the soil and plant growth on that acre. Disked land is considered a carbon “source.” By contrast, a healthy growing bottomland hardwood forest is a carbon “sink” that absorbs carbon. Over a 70 year period, the net difference between an acre in annual row crop production and an acre of bottomland hardwood forest is roughly 450 tons of atmospheric carbon that is sequestered by the forest.

The reforestation of bottomland hardwood forests to sequester carbon is not only cost effective, but is also preferred by some landowners. Moreover, this reforestation plan is a superb tool to maintain biodiversity and achieve resource goals. Carbon sequestration helps restore the natural environment, better air quality and provide habitat for countless species.

The Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation has partnered with Entergy to restore 950 acres of bottomland hardwoods and with Powertree Carbon Company to restore 200 acres.

Partnering For Restoration
“In an effort to address these problems, Wildlife Mississippi has strived for an alliance with the NRCS to develop a partnership to promote and implement WRP,” stated Leila C. Wynn, a Past President of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation. This cooperative partnership provides a system of administration that avoids duplication of services and provides private landowners with quality seedlings and wetland restoration, experienced technical advice, economical reforestation, quality landowner assistance and promotion of the WRP. Through the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation's partnership with NRCS, 2,152 acres of wetlands and 13,877 acres of bottomland hardwoods have been permanently restored.

The Foundation also helped sponsor a celebration in 2001 marking 100,000 acres of wetlands restored in Mississippi. Mississippi ranks #1 in the nation in “net gain” in wetlands and #2 in the nation in overall acres enrolled in the Wetland Reserve Program.

Through the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation's partnership with NRCS, 2,152 acres of wetlands and 13,877 acres of bottomland hardwoods have been permanently restored.

These restored lands will provide places for animals to feed and reproduce. In these restored wetland areas, small invertebrates occur in great numbers and become food for larger animals which, in turn, become food for even larger animals. Many wetlands are valuable as roosting sites. For example, hollow trees in a wetland may be used by many cavity-nesting birds from wood ducks to chickadees. Some mammals, like squirrels, use standing, hollow trees as den sites. Others, like otters, use hollow trees after they fall.

Landowners that are adjacent to WRP lands have noted that the program serves as a flood storage mechanism and has reduced the water flow across their land, thereby improving drainage. The wetlands restored through the WRP also trap sediment, preventing it from entering waterways and lessening the drainage capacity of the waterway. This process also improves water quality and the fisheries resources of Mississippi.