Current Research

The Natural Resource Enterprises Program funds research that will benefit landowners and natural resource enterprises in Mississippi. The research component includes over 20 projects addressing issues such as the impact of feral hogs, reducing landowner liability in wildlife and fisheries enterprises,
and the value of Mississippi rural lands with wildlife and fisheries resources. These projects address issues critical to landowners interested in establishing a business as well as those currently engaged in natural resource enterprises. Below is a brief listing of some of the current research projects.

Grazing conservation tillage corn with steers in an agroforestry environment: Advantages for land owners, wildlife and timber producers (PDF, 183KB)

Investigators: Rhonda Vann, Animal and Dairy Sciences; Glover B. Triplett, Plant and Soil Sciences; Jeanne C. Jones, Wildlife and Fisheries; Deborah A. Gaddis, Donald L. Grebner, Forestry
Project Goal: The goal of this project is to develop an integrated production system incorporating corn, cattle, wildlife, forestry and economic incentives that are ideally suited to landowners, including limited resource landowners.

 

Landowner involvement and attitudes: Fee-access wildlife and fisheries recreation. (PDF, 201KB)

Investigators: John D. Byrd, Plant and Soil Sciences; Stephen C. Grado, Emily K. Loden, Ian A. Munn, Forestry; W. Daryl Jones, Jeanne C. Jones, Ben C. West, Wildlife and Fisheries
Project Goals:
1. Enhance knowledge of current fee-access fish and wildlife recreation activity of nonindustrial private (NIP) landowners in Mississippi.
2. Increase our knowledge of attitudes of NIP landowners concerning fee-access fish and wildlife recreation and the potential for NIP landowners to engage in this type of business venture if university educators address perceived problems, challenges, and knowledge deficiencies among Mississippi’s landowners.
3. Provide Mississippi NIP landowners and citizens with educational programs in fish and wildlife management and fee-access recreation that accomplishes the following: a. enhances their ability to engage in compatible land uses that promote sustainable natural resource use and recreation while producing income for the landowner, b. conserves soil, forests, water, fish, and wildlife resources while reducing the role and necessity for environmental regulatory actions, c. increases fish and wildlife fee-access recreation to diversify income sources for the landowner and strengthen local and statewide economies, and d. retain and improve the quality of life for Mississippi landowners, recreationists, and the public through sustainable natural resource management.

 

Economic, agronomic, and ecological costs/benefits of field border management practices in agricultural systems of Mississippi (PDF, 153KB)

Investigator: L. Wes Burger, Jr., Wildlife and Fisheries
Project Goals: The goals of this project are to: 1. build upon work by Stull et al. 2000 and Bromley (1998) by quantifying real economic costs of field border establishment for producers in rowcrop production systems in Mississippi, and 2. provide producers, resource conservationists and policy makers with information and training to move farming toward sustainability.

 

Economic Impacts of the Great River Birding Trail in Mississippi (PDF, 174KB)

Investigators: Stephen C. Grado, Marcus K. Measells, Forestry; W. Daryl Jones, Wildlife and Fisheries; Greg Ibendahl, Agricultural Economics
Project Goal: This research and outreach project will measure and communicate the current and potential social and economic impacts of birdwatching activities on The Great River Birding Trail (GRBT) within the Lower Mississippi River counties and the state of Mississippi including total employment, personal income, value added, tax generation, and total economic impacts. The goal is to assist in the development of the GRBT in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley.

 

Carbon sequestration and enhanced wildlife habitat resulting from bottomland hardwood afforestation activities (PDF, 167KB)

Investigators/Cooperators: Richard Maiers, Changyou Sun, Donald L. Grebner, Andrew Londo, Forestry; Bruce D. Leopold, Jeanne Jones, Wildlife and Fisheries; Michael Cox, Plant and Soil Sciences
Project Goals:
1. Determine soil and vegetative carbon storage for a number of bottomland hardwood species.
2. Evaluate the effectiveness of fertilizer application in southern bottomland hardwoods.
3. Evaluate the effectiveness of herbaceous competition control measures in early growth and survival of planted bottomland hardwoods.
4. Evaluate the costs associated with a number of hardwood establishment procedures, and the subsequent costs for sequestering carbon for each procedure.
5. Establish permanent afforestation areas that can potentially be used for long-term research and demonstration purposes.
6. Evaluate the economic returns for alternative hardwood establishment procedures on a before and after tax basis.
7. Determine the best combination of hardwood species mix and herbicide and fertilizer regime that minimizes damage to seedlings from herbivory.
8. Assess wildlife habitat use among forest regeneration treatments.
9. Determine effects of various forest regeneration treatments on wildlife food and cover plants.
10. Determine which forest regeneration treatment most effectively restricts growth of exotic plant species.

 

Attribute-based analysis of Mississippi deer hunters’ preferences (PDF, 103KB)

Investigators/Collaborators: Darren Hudson, Agricultural Economics; Ian A. Munn, Anwar Hussain, Forestry; Benjamin C. West, Kevin Hunt, Wildlife and Fisheries
Project Goal: Advance our understanding of the hunting lease market in Mississippi by identifying combinations of lease attributes that will optimize hunter satisfaction and landowner revenues.

 

Evaluating the use of enhanced oak seedlings for increased survival and growth (PDF, 108KB)

Investigators: Andrew W. Ezell, John D. Hodges, Andrew Londo, Forestry; Dave Godwin, Ron Seiss, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
Project Goals:
1. To evaluate the survival and initial growth response of oak seedlings produced under special nursery protocols
2. To compare these “enhanced” seedlings to regular “nursery run” oak seedlings of the same species
3. To evaluate the influence of various cultural practices including competition control, planting method, and fertilization on initial seedling performance
4. To establish areas that can be monitored and evaluated for any differential in acorn production as relates to initial seedling condition or cultural practice. The areas will be
monumented and available for continued monitoring and measurement for decades.

 

Environmental effects on deer antler production in three regions of Mississippi (PDF, 101KB)

Investigators: Steve Demarais, Wildlife and Fisheries; Larry Castle, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
Project Goal: To improve deer management efficiency by quantifying the
effects of regional variation in soil and nutritional quality on physical development.

 

Investigate the potential liability and sustainability issues associated with wildlife and fisheries-based economic enterprises (PDF, 90KB)

Investigator(s): Stephen C. Grado, Changyou Sun, Forestry; Gregory A. Ibendahl, Agricultural Economics; W. Daryl Jones, Wildlife and Fisheries
Project Goal: The overall goal of this project is to examine the potential liability and sustainability issues related to fee access recreation and wildlife/fisheries-based economic enterprises.

 

An evaluation of the impact of long term flooding regimes on natural hardwood stands (PDF, 136KB)

Investigator(s): Andrew W. Ezell, Andrew Londo, Richard Maiers, Forestry; Richard Kaminski, Wildlife and Fisheries
Project Objectives:
1. To evaluate the impact of 40(+) years of annual flooding on a bottomland hardwood stand.
2. To characterize the speciation of a bottomland hardwood stand following 40(+) years of annual flooding.
3. To evaluate the use of unusually large oak seedlings as regeneration stock in flooded areas.
4. To develop guidelines for the administration of the flooding regime to be used in a bottomland hardwood stand being used annually for waterfowl habitat. Variables will include flooding periodicity, water depth compartment inundation rotation and desirable species regeneration.

 

Mississippi rural lands valuation study (PDF, 80KB)

Investigators: Jeanne C. Jones, W. Daryl Jones, Wildlife and Fisheries; Ian A. Munn, Stephen C. Grado, Forestry; Terry R. Hanson, Agricultural Economics
Project Goal: Ascertain recent sales values of rural lands in Mississippi influenced by outdoor recreation.

 

Evaluating productivity and economic viability of southern agroforestry systems for fiber, biofuels, and wildlife habitat (PDF, 114KB)

Investigators: John D. Kushla, Robert Grala, Forestry; W. Daryl Jones, Jeannie Jones, Adam Tullos, Wildlife and Fisheries; Randy Saunders, Mark Shankle, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station; Glover Triplett, Plant and Soil Science
Project Goal: To evaluate the benefits of growing crops and trees together in an integrated system, particularly in regard to enhancing producer markets and wildlife habitat.

 

An accounting tradeoff between Wetlands Reserve Program and government payments (PDF, 75KB)

Investigators: Gregory Ibendahl, C.W. Herndon, Dan Petrolia, Agricultural Economics
Project Goal: The purpose of this project is to examine the tradeoff between land as farmland and land enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) from a strictly accounting concept. In other words, the cost to enroll land in the WRP will be weighed against the cost to provide government payments to that land over time and amortized over the life of the WRP contract.

 

Feral hog landscape impact study (PDF, 155KB)

Investigators: Richard Minnis, Wildlife and Fisheries; Delta Council; Numerous Landowners in the Delta; Delta National Forest; USFWS Refuge System
Project Goal:
1. To determine the ecological and economic effectiveness of four indices of feral hog abundance.
2. To evaluate the economic effectiveness of feral hog removal.

 

The Economics of Wildlife-based Alternative Enterprises: Consumer Demand and Costs of Production (PDF, 101KB)

Investigators: Ian Munn, Steve Grado, Forestry
Objectives:
1. Evaluate the marketability of the various types of wildlife and fisheries based enterprises.
2. Assess the economic potential for an industry comprised of private owners managing wildlife and/or fisheries enterprises for commercial purposes.

 

Reducing landowner liability in Mississippi wildlife and fisheries enterprises (PDF, 215KB)

Investigators: W. Daryl Jones, Wildlife and Fisheries; Changyou Sun, Forestry
Project Goal: To assess the current and potential risks/liability to landowners who charge any type of fee to paying clients for recreational access to their properties.

 

Description and assessment of the economic and biological feasibilities for alternative wildlife- and fisheriesbased enterprises (PDF, 223KB)

Investigators: S.C. Grado, I.A. Munn, Forestry; W.D. Jones, Wildlife and Fisheries Project Goal: Through a comprehensive assessment and analysis program, obtain empirically-based information concerning the overall economic, biological, and social potential of existing resources; the economic and technical aspects of alternative enterprises;
existing legal, biological, and economic constraints; supportive and hindering policies and related issues; and community impacts of implementing alternative wildlife and/or fisheries commercial enterprises within current and estimated future land use strategies.

 

Assess federal, state, and local policies in Mississippi and surrounding states that influence the capability of landowners or individuals to develop fee-access wildlife and fisheries enterprises (PDF, 115KB)

Investigators: W. Daryl Jones, Wildlife and Fisheries; Changyou Sun, Forestry
Project Goal: Assess federal, state, and local policies in Mississippi and surrounding states that influence the capability of landowners or individuals to develop fee access wildlife and fisheries enterprises.

 

Economic impact of wildlife and fisheries resources in Mississippi (PDF, 250KB)

Investigators: W. Daryl Jones, Wildlife and Fisheries; Stephen C. Grado, Changyou Sun, Forestry; David Parvin, formerly Agricultural Economics (retired)
Project Goal: Compare and evaluate potential and current economic value of natural resources in Mississippi to attract more attention to the issue, facilitate the enacting of policies, and increase the State and ultimately regional economic growth.

 

Ames Plantation, Demonstration and Research Project (PDF, 152 KB)

Investigators: W. Daryl Jones, Bruce Leopold, Adam Tullos, Wildlife and Fisheries; Alan Blaine, North Mississippi Research and Extension Center; Allan Houston, University of Tennessee at Ames Plantation; Rick Carlisle, Ames Plantation
Project Goal: Establishment of a wildlife habitat demonstration project focused on enterprise interests on Ames Plantation. Evaluate where capabilities may be limited and investigation is needed to understand the dynamic nature of sustaining wildlife habitats
and help recognize the ecological and economic attractiveness in effective habitat management. Furthermore, to assist with the understanding of how improved habitat management increases the potential for recreational fee access activities, and attractiveness to potential clients. Collect brief benefit/ cost information from leasing land, allowing the uses of these resources as amenities, or provide daily permits for recreational access.