Wilkinson County News & Events

Pine Thinning Workshop draws large crowd

Approximately 50 landowners, loggers, and foresters met April 21 at the Wilkinson County Extension Office for a forestry workshop entitled "Are my pines ready to thin?" Trey DeLoach, Extension Forester led this course.

The morning session was held indoors at the extension office. During this session, participants were introduced to pine management by discussing their growth and ecology. Timing of the first thinning was the major topic for the morning. Additional benefits to wildlife were discussed as a result of the thinning.

The afternoon session was held at Lester Stockett's property. During the field session, participants were guided through a process of measuring trees to determine if the plantation was ready to thin. The evaluation process guides landowners through the steps to evaluate a plantation to determine when to thin for the first time. A publication "Are my Pine Trees Ready to Thin" is available from the MSU-Extension Service.

This course was funded by the Wilkinson County Board of Supervisors through Title III of Public Law 106-393, and conducted by Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Youth Conservation Camp

Tara Wildlife and the Mississippi State University Extension Forestry Department recently conducted a Youth Conservation Camp, at Tara Wildlife, near Vicksburg. Scholarships to attend the camp were funded by the Wilkinson County Board of Supervisors through Public Law 106-393.

The campers studied hunter safety, CPR and First Aid, and received "Certification" in those fields. Campers learned how to shoot with archery equipment, .22 caliber rifles, and shotguns; tree identification; predator control with live traps; and paddling a canoe. The program is expected to continue next year.

All Wilkinson County youth ages 9 through 16 are eligible to apply for the scholarships. For more information contact your MSU Extension Service County Office at 601-888-3211.

Regional Forestry Field Day

A Forestry Field Day was held near Natchez on October 16, 2003. Fifty-five people from Adams, Amite, Franklin, Jefferson, Pike, and Wilkinson Counties attended.

The program emphasized hardwood tree planting and wetland management along the Mississippi River Delta. Cost share and partnership programs were discussed since tree planting and management of these areas can be very expensive.

Gary Young, Lower MS Valley Watershed Coordinator, U.S. Forest Service, and Calvin Lunceford, Private Lands Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, discussed the Restoring the Delta and the Partners Program, which allows landowners to have trees planted or water control structures installed at very little cost to the landowner.

Representatives from the Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resource Conservation Service discussed the Conservation Reserve, Forestry Incentive, and Wetland Reserve Programs.

During lunch, Mike Oliver, Regional Biologist, Ducks Unlimited Inc., presented a slide presentation titled "History of the MS Valley to Today."

This program was sponsored by the Adams County Board of Supervisors through Title III of Public Law 106-393 "The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000.

Timtek tour

Twenty-eight Scott County landowners toured the Timtek Production Facility at the Forest Products Lab at Mississippi State University. The tour was April 5, 2004 at the new processing facility in Starkville.

Timtek is a pilot project that uses small diameter pine trees to shred and form dimension lumber. This is a new-engineered wood product that has potential to greatly increase the use of 1st thinning plantation pines.

This tour was provided as a portion of an "Enhanced Forestry Education Program" through Public Law 106-393. The funds were allocated through the Scott County Board of Supervisors.

Teacher Conservation Workshop Scholarship Recipients

The Wilkinson County Board of Supervisors, in cooperation with Wilkinson County Extension Service, recently sponsored scholarships for two teachers from Wilkinson County Schools to attend the Teachers Conservation Workshop (TCW). Mr. Bernard Waites was the only recipient of the scholarship this year. He attended the weeklong workshop, June 22-27, at Northeast Community College in Booneville, MS.

The Mississippi Forestry Association (MFA) sponsors the workshop each year in order to promote the conservation of natural resources through public educators. The workshop provides hands on ideas for use in classroom activities. Teachers, Conservationist, and Scientist instruct the workshop emphasizing the importance of conservation of natural resources with special attention given to Mississippi's forests and forest products.

The scholarship that Bernard received covered registration fees for the workshop as well as university academic credit fees for 3 hours of undergraduate credit. The scholarships were funded by Title III of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, and were provided by the Wilkinson County Board of Supervisors: Jack Darden, Robert Morgan, Mack Haynes, Kirk Smith, and W.G. Johnson.

Forestry Demonstration Areas in Wilkinson County

"Are my Pine Trees Ready to Thin?" is a question facing many landowners in Wilkinson County. Two Forestry Demonstration Areas have been established to attempt to answer this question. One of the demonstration areas is located on Henry Darden's tree farm on Hwy 33 S. This plantation has yet to be thinned and the other is located on Jesse Jefferson's tree farm on Hwy 61 S that has been thinned. Both areas are marked by 4-foot X 8 foot signs.

Landowners' benefit in several ways when thinning is done at the proper time and in the proper manner. First, high quality trees are left to grow into more valuable products. Secondly, landowners receive an intermediate income from the thinning operation. Thirdly, thinning helps maintain the health and vigor of the remaining stand. Finally, wildlife habitat is enhanced because thinning allows sunlight to reach the forest floor resulting in a greater production of browse. As you can see, thinning has many advantages for landowners when done at the proper time.

There are several key criteria to consider when determining the time of your first thinning. The first consideration should be tree diameter. The majority of your trees need to be greater than 5 inches in diameter to be merchantable. The second consideration should be tree height. Trees need to be at least 40 feet tall to be economically thinned. A third consideration should be natural pruning height. The shade intolerant pines need to prune their limbs from the ground up and need to be naturally pruned to 18-foot minimum before thinning.

The Wilkinson County Board of Supervisors through Title III of Public Law 106-393 funded these demonstration areas and Henry Darden and Jesse Jefferson allowed them to be established on their properties. "Are my Pine Trees Ready to Thin" publication number 2260 is available from the County Extension Office. For more information consult your local forestry professional and/or the MSU-ES County Office.

Forestry Wildlife Workshop Draws Good Crowd

Local forest landowners and wildlife enthusiasts turned out on April 3, 2003 to attend a Forestry and Wildlife Workshop in Wilkinson County. The workshop was funded by the Wilkinson County Board of Supervisors through Title III of Public Law 106-393, and conducted by Mississippi State University Extension Forestry Agents Don Bales, Tim Traugott and Trey Deloach.

Participants gathered at the Wilkinson County Extension Office, had lunch and headed to the field. The group was taken to several locations throughout a well-managed property to view management practices and to learn some of the basics of forest and wildlife ecology. Tim Traugott taught a session on "Plant Succession".This ecological principle explains how and why the landscape changes over time as simple plant communities are replaced by more complex ones. Landowners learned that every forest management activity (including the decision to do nothing) influences these plant communities and therefore influences the wildlife habitat.

Don Bales lead the landowners in the session on "Advanced Food Plot Management". There is a big difference in planting a few food plots and managing your planting program. Back to basics was the theme for the discussion. Under advanced food plot management, the manager analyzes his goals and objectives, his soil resources, and his financial, equipment and labor resources to create the most efficient planting program that will meet his stated goals. Soil sampling over several years will allow the manager to spend his lime and fertilizer dollars wisely. Larger food plots can be managed as perennial clover fields. Such fields require no annual planting and no nitrogen fertilizer. These fields can be managed with herbicides to control grass competition. Summer planting programs were also discussed. Summer food plots require considerable "farming skills" and should be undertaken only by those who are really serious and can devote the necessary resources to weed control and other problems not seen in fall plantings.

Trey Deloach led the group on how to use a "prism" to determine the relative density of their pine stands. Participants used the prisms to get a measurement known as "basal area". This terminology is often used by foresters and wildlife biologists to speak to each other about the density of pine stands and to regulate timber thinnings. Door prizes were awarded to over 10 participants who received diameter tapes and prisms.

Please check the Calendar of Events for more workshop information.

Outstanding Tree Farmer and Logger Recognized at Annual Banquet

The Southwest Mississippi Forestry held its annual membership banquet on Thursday, February 20, 2003 at First Baptist Church of McComb. During this banquet, awards were presented for the Tree Farmer and Logger of the Year.

Mr. and Mrs. John Rollins were awarded Tree Farmer of the Year for their outstanding efforts in timber management over the past 60 years. The Rollins have been recognized by the Mississippi Forestry Association for operating a Tree Farm for over 50 years. Included in their awards were a wooden plaque, a history book about Mississippi Forests and Forestry, and an expense paid trip to next year's Mississippi Forestry Association meeting.

T.A. Netterville Logging Company was awarded Logger of the Year for outstanding performance and safety records. Tommy started Netterville Logging in 1995 and has had no lost time accidents. Tommy employees 13 people and uses 4 contract trucks to move 100,000 tons of wood per year. Tommy and Lisa Netterville's awards also included a wooden plaque, a history book about Mississippi Forests and Forestry, and an expense paid trip to next year's Mississippi Forestry Association meeting.