Forest History Calendar Available

The history of Forestry in Mississippi cannot be fully examined in a short article of this type. However, we do intend to introduce you to the subject and to announce the availability of the Historical Forestry Calendar. Calendars are available at your local county extension office while the supply lasts. While most photographs in the calendar depict scenes of the forest industry in the early twentieth century, we must go back much further to fully understand the history of Mississippi's forests.

A common myth is that Mississippi was a "forest primeval" with the Native Americans living only as hunters and gatherers. All the forests were "virgin" forests stocked with huge and ancient trees and the Indians had little to no effect upon them. The myth also held that the Native Americans had a holistic view of their surroundings and a spiritual connection with the land. In fact, Indians used the land to exist and would not have survived without doing so. If one holds that "virgin forests" were those unaltered by the influence of humans, then there is no such thing. The Native Americans in fact did alter and impact the land on which they lived through fire and agriculture. Southern forests grew old and died and were in a constant state of change when viewed in periods longer than 200 years. Even rivers change their courses and new forests occupy the new lands created. Therefore it is inaccurate to state that all our forests were "virgin" or that all of them were "old growth" with trees thousands of years old, when the Europeans arrived on the scene.

A close look at historical documents reveals that Mississippi was not unlike other regions of the southeastern portion of North America. When the first wave of European explorers set out across the continent in the 16th Century, they encountered huge populations of Indians farming in small and large agricultural fields, and a sophisticated civilization with commercial trade between tribes was evident. The landscape was heavily influenced by their agricultural practices that included the use of fire for hunting. Early European explorer accounts indicated numerous forests of varying descriptions, meadows, fields and savannahs (open areas) that were obviously maintained by fire. These expeditions of European explorers traveled with large numbers of people and livestock and seldom mentioned any travel difficulty due to thick undergrowth. In fact, numerous roads and trails were everywhere and travel was convenient except as impeded by streams and swamps. Frequent fires set by lightning and by the Native Americans were responsible for the park-like landscape of huge trees with little undergrowth. They were keenly aware that fire produced new and lush plant communities that favored certain animals upon which they depended for food and clothing. In addition to the white-tailed deer, the explorers mentioned sizeable populations of elk and buffalo in the Mississippi territory.

When the second wave of European explorers and settlers arrived in the late 17th and early 18th Century, they encountered an entirely different landscape. The population of Native Americans was greatly diminished. Some scholars estimate that 90 percent of the Native Americans had died when epidemics of European, African and South American diseases swept through the population. The North American natives had been isolated for centuries and had little to no immunity to the many diseases introduced by the explorers.

As you can imagine, the now abandoned agricultural fields had become forests as the years progressed. History also indicates that the Indians were constantly moving to better ground and clearing new fields as fertility in the old ones declined. While there were indeed many large expanses of old growth timber, there were also forests of many age classes interspersed throughout the landscape. Diversity in forests and savannahs was due to Indian activity and natural forces such as hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and insects such as pine bark beetles and others.

During the early 19th Century, settlers moved across the region in search of quality farmland. Their agricultural practices were similar to those of the Indians as they cleared land primarily by girdling tress and burning the area off over a period of several years. They found the central and northern portions of the state extremely inviting due to its mix of forests and open prairies and old Indian fields. Much of this region was settled quickly when the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians were removed circa 1832. The Natchez area was also favored as a place to settle and farm due to the fertile lands and tremendous forests.

Lumber was needed for development during this period and the supply was considered "inexhaustible". Small mills sprang up in localized areas. Timber harvest was relatively light due to the primitive logging and milling methods that depended on animals and water for transportation and water flow for running primitive sawmills. Historical documents also indicate that timber theft was widespread. One particular account was in the Mississippi River bottomlands near the mouth of the Homochitto River. A letter to the Governor written in 1811 by a government surveyor from his office in Washington (Adams County), Mississippi reported that marauders from across the Mississippi River had several large rafts of cypress cut and ready to float downstream. Timber harvest for fuel wood for the boats on the Mississippi River was quite extensive. This wood was furnished to the steamboats by farmers and also by "wood hawks" that made a living from the trade.

In the middle 1800's, the piney woods of southeast Mississippi were considered to be infertile lands for farming and were inhabited primarily by cattlemen and hunters. In those days, any land occupied by pines was considered to be unfit for the growth of cotton and corn. In 1860, Mississippi's 16 most southeastern counties were the most sparsely populated region in the state, except for the Mississippi--Yazoo River Delta. However, one writer correctly predicted that the tremendous pine forests would one day be the center of the lumber trade for the nation.

The timber industry that had moved from the East Coast into the Lake States then moved to the South in the late 1800's to exploit the vast expanses of pine and hardwood forest land. In 1909, Mississippi harvested over 2.5 billion board feet of lumber that represented almost 6 percent of the national harvest. Over 2.1 billion board feet of this harvest was Southern yellow pine, and was the single most important species in the national supply. Douglas fir was a distant second. The cypress timber of the bottomlands was also much in demand with prices said to have increased as much as 20 fold in a few short years. Other hardwood species were not considered to be valuable and billions of board feet were girdled and burned to clear agricultural lands. There were firms in those days, such as the Anderson Tully Lumber Company, that specialized in hardwood products.

The steam engine and the use of railroads made it possible for lumbermen to move rapidly through the Mississippi forests. Stumpage prices for Southern pine increased from $1.12 per thousand board feet in 1899 to $3.16 in 1907. Northern lumbermen (who had already made a fortune in the lumber business in the Lake States) and a few from the South, purchased huge land holdings, erected sawmills and built railroads to get the logs into the mills. The logging practices of the day were quite destructive and often left a treeless and fire ravaged landscaped. Some landowners were very farsighted and began to practice selective and seed tree harvests and conserved timber for the future. Most of them, however, operated until their timber supplies were exhausted and then relocated. During this period, mills could operate efficiently only when adequate supplies were available next to the rail spurs.

Lumbermen of this era should not be considered as evil pillagers of the land. Technology and economic efficiency were almost "worshipped" in that era and these men were simply responding to society's demand for lumber. For a brief period, the tax code was quite adverse to long term timberland ownership, with cutover tax rates being highly exorbitant. This tax structure actually penalized anyone who wanted to continue ownership after harvest of the timber. Therefore, most of the lumbermen cut the timber and moved on. Getting rid of cutover lands was also a problem due to the same tax structure. As the timber boom was declining, timber buyers of the day were careful not to purchase the land along with the timber, as many owners were trying to get rid of the land in the timber sale. Mississippi's forests are s

Mississippi's forests are still a major force in our economy today. As early as the turn of the twentieth century, farsighted individuals were already making plans for reclaiming and conserving our forests. The training of professional foresters began in the early part of the century and progressed rapidly through the present day. Protection from fire and free ranging livestock, and reforestation of denuded and burned over lands were the main concerns of our early professional foresters. The U.S. Forest Service acquired huge parcels of land, primarily from owners who could not afford the taxes. Mississippi's National Forest System now contains over 1.1 million acres in six units. Timber companies who had migrated west would also return to purchase inexpensive lands with the fortunes they had earned since departing the South. The attitudes of the owners and the attitudes of society now dictated that forest lands be managed for sustained yield and the conservation movement gained momentum. By the 1960's healthy and vibrant forests once again covered the Mississippi landscape, providing jobs, recreation and scenic beauty for all Mississippi residents.

Mississippi presently contains 18.5 million acres of forestland that cover approximately 62 percent of the state. These forests provide one in four manufacturing jobs with a total economic impact that has often exceeded 11 billion dollars annually over the past decade. Ten percent of all jobs in Mississippi are in the forest products sector. In any year, timber will be among the top three most valuable agricultural crops in 65 to 70 counties. These statistics are proof positive that the professional foresters and forest industry leaders have done an amazing job over the past 80 years and have revitalized the economy of Mississippi by growing and maintaining healthy forests. The majority of Mississippi's beautiful forestland is owned by non-industrial private landowners, who now reap the rewards of the hard work of dedicated conservationists throughout the 21st Century. Many families who own forestland now enjoy a comfortable living as their forests continue to grow and create wealth for future generations.

Much of the information in this article was gleaned from an excellent book "Mississippi Forests and Forestry" authored by Dr. James E. Fickle and recently published by University Press of Mississippi. The book is an excellent resource for any person desiring to learn more about the history of forests and forestry in Mississippi.

Also available is the companion coffee table book, "Timber, A Photographic History of Mississippi Forestry", containing hundreds of photographs. You may purchase a copy of the books by contacting the Mississippi Forestry Association, 620 N. State St., Suite 201, Jackson, MS 39202. Phone 601/354-4936, 601/354-4937 FAX. Or e-mail at mfa@msforestry.net.