Winter/Spring 2002

Membership Dollars at Work: Partnering to Retore Fish and Wildlife Habitat

At a recent meeting of the Center For Private Conservation, Gale Norton, the Secretary of the Department of Interior, in applauding the work of private conservationists, stated that protecting our nation's wild places, endangered species and precious resources depends on our abilities to develop partnerships with private landowners and groups. "We must involve them in our decision-making process. We should take advantage of their ability to test innovative alternative approaches to conservation," stated Norton.

Not long after Secretary Norton made these remarks, on August 23, 2001, an agreement between the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation (Foundation) was entered into in order to facilitate fish, wildlife and plant habitat protection, restoration and enhancement on private lands in the State of Mississippi. The Foundation is well-known throughout the United States for its innovative approaches and forward-thinking regarding incentive-based fish, wildlife and plant conservation.

The purpose of this agreement is to facilitate fish, wildlife and plant habitat protection, restoration and enhancement, primarily for Federal trust resources including migratory birds, endangered and threatened species, uplands, prairies/grasslands, wetlands, aquatic resources, floodplains, longleaf pine/pine savannas and riparian areas, through cooperation between the Service and the Foundation. Such cooperation focuses on the planning and implementation of specific projects and practices on private lands in Mississippi. This agreement provides for cooperative funding and personnel for carrying out projects and activities.

The Service and the Foundation have a mutual interest in protecting, restoring and enhancing natural fish, wildlife and plant resources. The Service has primary responsibilities related to Federal trust species and their habitats, such as migratory birds, anadromous fish, endangered and threatened species, uplands, bottomlands, prairies, longleaf pine/pine savannas, wetlands and floodplains. The Foundation is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, restoring and enhancing fish, wildlife and plant habitat in the 82 counties of Mississippi. Both parties share mutual interest and concern for the protection, restoration and enhancement of fish, wildlife and plant resources.

The Service has implemented a nation wide Partners for Fish and Wildlife (Partners Program) Program. The Partners Program directs the Service to develop partnerships and work cooperatively with those entities interested in helping to carry out the objectives of the Partners Program. Specifically, the Service may enter into agreements and provide funding assistance through the Partners Program for the primary purpose of carrying out habitat protection, restoration and enhancement activities on private lands, with primary benefits directed towards Federal trust resources. The Service and the Foundation, as well as other private and state agencies and organizations have had a partnership in the Delta of Mississippi to develop projects that improve waterfowl habitat, wetlands and water quality, but this is the first time a partnership has been developed to improve conservation efforts on private lands in Northeast and south Mississippi.

The Service and the Foundation have a joint full time position for South Mississippi that began October 1, 2001 to facilitate partnerships to implement specific habitat projects on private lands mutually approved by the Service, the Foundation and the landowner. This position is housed in Hattiesburg. The territory for this person includes the Gulf Coastal Meadow, Piney Woods, Jackson Prairie and the southern portion of the Loess Bluff. The primary habitat focus of this field biologist is longleaf pine/pine savannas, river/stream ecosystem protection, restoration and enhancement and invasive species control and management. The secondary habitat focus is upland hardwoods, bottomland hardwoods and fisheries habitat protection, restoration and enhancement.

Although only a few months old, the partnership in South Mississippi has already reforested over 25 acres of longleaf pine, reforested over 56 acres of hardwoods, controlled over 100 acres of cogon grass and conducted prescribed burning on 100 acres of longleaf pine. Contacts have been made that should result in the reforestation of over 465 acres of longleaf pine, the reforestation of over 80 acres of hardwoods, controlling over 100 acres of cogon grass, installing two Clemson Beaver Pond Levelers and placing a conservation easement on 40 acres of upland hardwoods. The partnership is also promoting the Mississippi's Scenic Rivers and Streams Program.

The partnership has conducted numerous presentations to Soil and Water Conservation District Field Days, Wildlife Suppers and Commission Meetings, the Internal Revenue Service, High Schools and landowners on fish and wildlife conservation, careers in wildlife management, the activities of the Service and the Foundation, food plot management, deer management and control of invasive plant species, such as cogon grass.

The Service and the Foundation have a joint full time position for Northeast Mississippi as well. This position will be housed in Amory, which is located a few miles south of Tupelo. The territory for this person covers Northeast Mississippi with a particular emphasis on the Tennessee River Hills, Black Prairie, Pontotoc Ridge, Interior Flatwoods, Red Clay Hills and the northern portion of the Loess Bluff. The primary habitat focus is on prairie and upland hardwood protection, restoration, and enhancement and the secondary habitat focus is on bottomland hardwoods, invasive species control and management, riparian areas and fisheries habitat protection, restoration and enhancement.

Although the full time position has not yet been filled in Northeast Mississippi, the partnership has already reforested over 740 acres of bottomland hardwoods, developed a demonstration area for establishing mixed stands of pine and hardwoods, established a conservation easement on 175 acres called the Wrenwoode Natural Area in cooperation with the Presbyterian Church and the Catholic Church, worked with the Dalrymple Family Foundation to renovate McAlpine's Lake, a public, community lake in Amory, installed two Clemson Beaver Pond Levelers and worked with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians to develop a 285 acre lake.

Contacts have been made that should result in the reforestation of over 950 acres of mixed pine/hardwoods on uplands, the reforestation of over 400 acres of bottomland hardwoods, installing two Clemson Beaver Pond Levelers and placing conservation easements on 1,650 acres of upland and bottomland hardwoods.

The partnership has conducted numerous presentations to civic clubs, Soil and Water Conservation District Wildlife Suppers and landowners on fish and wildlife conservation, the activities of the Foundation and financial assistance conservation programs. The partnership has sponsored a workshop in cooperation with Mississippi State University on conservation easements. The partnership also helped conduct a workshop on conservation programs in the Farm Bill.

As part of the partnership, the Foundation has provided a full time position for West Mississippi, that is housed in Stoneville, which is located a few miles east of Greenville. The territory for this person includes West Mississippi with a primary habitat focus on bottomland hardwoods and wetlands protection, restoration and enhancement and the secondary habitat focus would be on upland hardwoods, riparian areas and fisheries habitat protection, restoration and enhancement.

The partnership has already reforested over 500 acres of bottomland hardwoods. The partnership sponsored two workshops at Tara Wildlife on conservation easements and worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to conduct a workshop on conservation programs for limited resource farmers. In cooperation with the Mississippi Land Trust, it has established three perpetual conservation easements on 1,193 acres and 400 acres on the Mississippi River and 2,114 acres on the Big Black River and 189 acres near Leroy Percy State Park. It has provided 188 water control structures to 44 landowners to restore 3,843 acres of wetlands. In cooperation with USDA Wildlife Services, it has provided 3 Clemson Beaver Pond Levelers to 2 landowners to restore 43 acres of wetlands.

The partnership has conducted numerous presentations to civic clubs, hunting clubs and landowners on fish and wildlife conservation, the activities of the Foundation, food plot management, deer and turkey management and financial assistance conservation programs.

The partnership is promoting to private landowners the conservation provisions of the 1996 Farm Bill, and the soon to be 2002 Farm Bill, and is helping with the implementation of the provisions. These programs include the Wetland Reserve Program, Conservation Reserve Program, Grasslands Reserve Program, Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, Forestry Incentives Program, Environmental Quality Program, Flood Risk Reduction Program and the Emergency Watershed Protection Program/Floodplain Easements and other federal programs such as the U.S.D.A Forest Service's Forest Legacy Program and the U.S.D.A Wildlife Services' conservation programs.

The partnership is promoting to private landowners the implementation of state programs, to include the Scenic Rivers and Streams Program of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, the Forest Stewardship Program and the Stewardship Incentives Program of the Mississippi Forestry Commission.

The partnership is promoting to private landowners the implementation of carbon sequestration programs and tax-based, incentive conservation programs that include, but are not limited to the Mississippi Reforestation Tax Credit and conservation easements (income and estate tax based). Furthermore, when needed, the partnership is working with private landowners on the development of Habitat Conservation Plans and Safe Harbor Agreements.