CONSERVATION CORNER
Barbour Conducts Rural Renewal Conference
by James L. Cummins

Governor Haley Barbour recently held an agriculture and rural renewal conference, titled "Beyond the City Limits," at the Mississippi Trade Mart in Jackson. Governor Barbour, local and federal officials, and nationally recognized speakers were all a part of this event which examined agriculture, forestry and wildlife-based tourism in Mississippi - all opportunities for creating economic success in rural communities. Almost five hundred people attended the event including landowners, supervisors, agricultural organizations, local economic development officials, conservationists and small business people.

"Economic development in Mississippi is defined more than just manufacturing. It is time Mississippi looked to its rural communities as places for job creation," said Governor Barbour. "Our rural communities are poised to take advantage of economic opportunities through their high quality of life, distinctive surroundings and history and unique workforce skill sets," he added.

The day-long conference featured keynote speaker Jack Schultz, author of Boomtown USA: 7 Keys to Big Success in Small Towns; Woods Eastland, CEO, Staplcotn; Leland Speed, Executive Director, Mississippi Development Authority; Dr. Lester Spell, Commissioner, Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce; Sidney Montgomery, Executive Director of the Mississippi River Foundation, myself and many more.

It was brought out in the afternoon session that 357,000 hunters and 586,000 anglers spent $670 million in Mississippi in pursuit of their pastime which supported 12,258 jobs in the state. Sportsmen in Mississippi annually pay $55.6 million in state sales, fuel and income taxes - this could pay 1,881 teachers' salaries or fund the annual education expenses of 10,488 students. The ripple effect of Mississippi's sportsmen is $1.2 billion on our state's economy.

When sportsmen's spending is thought of in business terms and compared to other sectors of the economy, it is quite remarkable how much state and federal tax revenues are generated, how many people are employed and how many sectors of the economy are impacted. From small rural towns scattered across Mississippi's landscape to the bottom-line of Fortune 500 companies located in some of our major cities - if you take away hunting and fishing, you take away the equivalent of a multi-billion dollar corporation.

We all know that when something has value, one does more to protect it. It appears that Governor Barbour has found that magic balance of being able to have our cake and eat it to - that is to have quality fish and wildlife habitat and use it not only as a means of improving our environment, but as a means to improve Mississippi's quality of life to attract new jobs and improve our state's economy.

I like the way he thinks!

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi. Their web site is www.wildlifemiss.org.