Forested Flyways Near Greenwood, Mississippi

Landowners managing more than 40,000 acres attended the June 7th Forested Flyways field day.

Dr. Kenneth Reed's Tree Farm, located in Leflore County near Greenwood, provides critical waterfowl and wetland habitat under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan and DU's Continental Conservation Plan. Dr. Reed has worked with Steve Burgess of the Mississippi Forestry Commission to plant bottomland hardwoods on the property. In February of 2001, Ducks Unlimited helped put five additional acres into bottomland hardwoods. Forested Flyways habitat work scheduled for the spring of 2003 will repair three levees and install five new water control structures to enhance wetland habitat.

The educational field day demonstrated management strategies Dr. Reed has used to restore and enhance wetland and waterfowl habitat to encourage replication on other forested properties. Field day speakers described current conservation strategies and management techniques. Landowners will also have the opportunity to learn about cost/share programs and the types of technical assistance available t o help them realize their conservation goals.

By giving landowners a full set of options for land management and a peer role model, the American Forest Foundation's Habitat Conservation Programs leverage the conservation impact of habitat conservation efforts to improve wildlife habitat across the landscape.