CONSERVATION CORNER
Longleaf Pine Handbook Available
by James L. Cummins

The Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation, or Wildlife Mississippi as it is commonly called, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Mississippi Land Trust recently released a handbook titled Restoring and Managing Longleaf Pine: A Handbook for Mississippi Landowners. With Hurricane Katrina, this booklet is even more important.

The handbook is an easy read, yet provides methods for restoring longleaf pine, the economic value of longleaf compared to loblolly pine and the various cost-share assistance programs for paying for the reforestation of longleaf.

The reforestation of this type of pine is extremely important. An estimated 60 million acres of longleaf have existed throughout the Southeast in the past; today, approximately 2 percent of that original acreage of longleaf exists. This decline is due to numerous factors that include land clearing for agriculture and development, replacement of harvested stands with loblolly and slash pine and the overall reduction in the use of fire as a management tool. Today, longleaf only occupies approximately 255,000 acres in Mississippi, with the majority of acreage occurring in Forrest, Lamar and Perry counties.

Restoring and Managing Longleaf Pine was designed with private landowners in mind who might be considering restoring a stand of longleaf. Properly established and managed longleaf pine can have economic advantages over other species of southern pine, including loblolly pine.

Restoring and Managing Longleaf Pine covers a variety of topics. There is an introduction describing longleaf, an overview of the benefits of longleaf and the different types of forest classifications of longleaf.

According to Randy Browning, a fish and wildlife biologist with the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the primary author of the handbook, "The handbook gives one an overview of planning for a longleaf pine stand, such as goals, site selection and the use of fire."

Management methods along with the pests and diseases associated with longleaf are discussed. The economic advantages of growing longleaf over other pines are discussed.

The landowner may also be interested in managing his or her land for wildlife. The different types of management styles for the species of wildlife that the landowner is interested in is discussed. There are a diversity of species of wildlife that live in this ecosystem and the management technique needs to be considered.

Restoring and Managing Longleaf Pine also gives an overview of the different financial assistance programs that are available to the landowner.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of this handbook, please call Wildlife Mississippi's main office at (662) 686 3375 or send a written request to Wildlife Mississippi, P.O. Box 10, Stoneville, MS 38776.