Hardwood Reforestation  |  Application

Hurricane Katrina devastated south Mississippi forestland in 2005. Hardwood bottoms suffered significant damage due to trees in the bottoms generally having large canopies and shallow root systems. Restoring these forests is a long-term endeavor, complicated by the lack of markets and inability to salvage damaged timber in the immediate aftermath of Katrina. Congress has directed the USDA Farm Services Agency (FSA) to carry out a pilot project demonstrating new technologies that can increase reforestation of hardwood bottoms on privately owned forest land damaged by Katrina. The purpose of this demonstration and research effort is to determine if new seedling production technologies can increase the regeneration success of planted hardwoods.

Mississippi State University (MSU) will conduct this demonstration and research effort in cooperation with FSA, the USDA Forest Service, and other appropriate entities. MSU is seeking private, nonindustrial landowners interested in participating in this effort.

This demonstration will replant approximately 350 acres on 5 - 10 sites owned by private landowners. The seedlings and planting costs will be borne by the project. Landowners will be responsible for preparing the sites so they are ready to plant in the 2008-2009 planting season. Sites will be planted at lower densities (about 100 trees per acre) compared with traditional plantings. A subset of the plantings will be designated for research purposes and more closely monitored and evaluated over a two-year period by MSU personnel. The following criteria will be used to select participants interested in having their land reforested:

• Damage must have been sustained from Hurricane Katrina;
• Area is or was forested (no agricultural or pasturelands allowed);
• Areas are located in Harrison, Hancock, Jackson, Pearl River, Stone, or George County;
• Sites must be ready to plant in the 2008/2009 planting season;
• Site has a conservation easement, or the landowner is willing to grant limited public access for 10 years
• Areas must be reasonably accessible to public roads;
• The site has an existing management plan;
• Management history of the site is known;
• Landowner must allow application of herbicide on the research portion of the site if deemed necessary by project coordinators;
• Minimum of 30 acres in size

Landowners chosen to participate in the demonstration component can choose from among a variety of species to be planted. Water oak and Nuttall oak will be replanted in the areas designated for the more intensive research component.

If you are possibly interested in this project or want to learn more, please contact
Glenn Hughes, Extension Forester
MSU Extension Service
Phone: (601) 794-0671
Cell: (601) 270-8729
Email: ghughes@ext.msstaste.edu.