Natural Resources
Streams, ponds, and rivers. Forestlands, farmlands, and wetlands. Wildlife and fisheries. Mississippi has abundant and diverse natural resources, and many people in the state leverage these resources for business and pleasure. The MSU Extension Service works with stakeholders, state agency partners, and citizens of all ages to explore, study, manage, and conserve these natural resources while finding ways to put them to use in positive ways.
Publications
News
RAYMOND, Miss. -- The consequences of last year’s significant drought continue to appear in trees all over Mississippi. Landowners in Central Mississippi have recently reported damage from variable oakleaf caterpillars and hypoxylon canker, according to the Mississippi Forestry Commission.
The combination of the caterpillars and hypoxylon canker has been observed affecting trees in towns including Raymond, Flora and Pocahantas.For drought-stressed trees, the double whammy can be a serious threat, but healthy trees will be able to withstand both pests, said Brady Self, a forestry specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service.
RAYMOND, Miss. -- Forest landowners who incurred damage from last year’s drought now have more information about the federal cost shares for restoration assistance approved in April. The Emergency Forest Restoration Program, or EFRP, is open to landowners in all 82 counties with private, nonindustrial property in rural areas who have lost pine trees related to pine bark beetle infestations that stemmed from last year’s drought.
RAYMOND, Miss. -- An urban wildlife specialist and a group of trained volunteers with the Mississippi State University Extension Service have been tracking wildlife in the Jackson metro area for three years to better understand how gentrification impacts urban wildlife populations.
Their work is part of an unprecedented nationwide study led by Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute and recently published in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,” or PNAS.
Success Stories
Billy Mitchell spent his childhood summers in the water and has lived at Pelahatchie Bay for more than three decades, so his dedication to protecting water resources now almost makes too much sense.
In late February, Mississippi State University hosted the 2024 National Floriculture Forum, an annual conference held at different locations around the country.
In Rolling Fork, the Mississippi town in Sharkey County devastated by a twister on March 24, 2023, despair was not an option.
