Hurricanes Harvey and Irma are devastating reminders that storms take a terrible toll on landscapes and proof that some trees hold up better than others.
Mississippi landscapes must withstand flooding, hot summers, seasonal drought, ice storms, winters that can dip to single digits, a humid and subtropical climate, and high winds from hurricanes and tornadoes.
John Kushla, a forestry professor with the Mississippi State Uni...
Mississippi State faculty, students, staff and local community members observed MSU's annual Arbor Day Celebration Friday [Feb. 10] with a program and tree-planting ceremony.
George Hopper, dean of the College of Forest Resources, said the event symbolized the university's commitment to serve as an environmental steward.
"Mississippi forests cover nearly 20 million acres. Trees improve the quality of life for our citizens a...
James E. Henderson has been selected head of the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center.
When Henderson assumes his new role on Feb. 1, he will oversee the daily operations of the MSU Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station in the southeastern region.
"Dr. James Henderson will be an asset to the southeast region," said Gary Jackson, director of the MSU Extension ...
Student members of the Society of American Foresters at Mississippi State again are tops among their U.S. peers.
As in 2011, the university SAF chapter has been awarded first-place honors.
Also, the 30-plus member group is included for the 18th consecutive year among the top three of nearly 40 student chapters located from Virginia to California and Maine to Arizona.
The first-place honor is based on accomplishmen...
The newest technology and machinery used to advance the South's timber industry will be demonstrated August 26-27 at the Mid-South Forestry Equipment Show.
The event will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Held at the John W. Starr Memorial Forest off Highway 25 south of Starkville, the show is sponsored by Mississippi State University's College of Forest Resources, Hatton-Brown Publishers Inc., the...
An increase in housing starts in 2015 strengthened Mississippi's timber industry, and stronger demand for sawtimber products used in construction are helping give the industry a boost this year.
James Henderson, an associate professor of forestry with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said timber ended the year with a total estimated harvest value of almost $1.67 billion.
"The markets for sawtimber have sh...
The nation's oldest and most selective honor society is recognizing a 21-year Mississippi State faculty veteran for dedication to the education profession and the society.
Stephen C. Grado is among 80 selected this year for Phi Kappa Phi's Love of Learning award. A $500 check accompanied the tribute.
Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, PKP currently has more than 300 university and college chapters throughout North ...
The forests of Siberia may be half a world away, but carbon released by wildfires raging there have the potential to alter Earth's atmosphere and lead to additional global climate change.
Exactly how much carbon is being released is the focus of a National Science Foundation-funded investigation by Mississippi State University assistant forestry professor Heather Alexander and graduate student Homero Pena. They are part of a scientif...
Many people are conditioned to think that any fire in the forest is a bad thing, but controlled burns prevent wildfires from being a problem in the woods.
Humans are the primary cause of forest fires in Mississippi. In 2015, there were about 1,800 wildfires in the state; lightning caused only eight of them. These fires affected an average area of 13 acres, for a total of about 23,000 acres burned. February and March face the highest ...
Landowners can learn about the use of prescribed fire to manage their property during a Feb. 19 workshop near Raymond.
The Mississippi State University Extension Service, the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and the Mississippi Prescribed Fire Council are partnering to offer the event to introduce landowners to the benefits of prescribed burning and how to safely do it.
Topics of the workshop include...
Mississippi State University and Shandong Agricultural University signed a Memorandum of Agreement today [Dec. 1] to offer a dual degree program in forestry.
The agreement will allow both institutions to enhance the educational experiences of students.
Participants will be awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in forestry from MSU's College of Forest Resources and a Bachelor of Agriculture degree from SDAU. Students at the C...
The Society of American Foresters again is recognizing its Mississippi State student chapter as one of the nation's best.
The land-grant university group recently took second place in SAF's 2015 outstanding student chapter competition. This latest award represents the 17th consecutive year in which the MSU group has placed among the top three finalists.
Founded in 1909, the Bethesda, Maryland-based non-profit organization i...
As part of the 2015 National NeighborWoods® Month observation, Mississippi State is establishing a Campus Tree Trail to help showcase its vast campus landscaping efforts.
During a 3:30 p.m. Friday [Oct. 23] program open to all at the Junction's far west end, university officials formally will announce the new tree identification trail, including a virtual trail to be published on the MSU website. The location is the site of the M...
As bleak as the outlook seemed for Mississippi's forestry industry in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the state's second largest agricultural commodity is slowly recovering.
"If you drive down the road today, you can still see timber stands that don't look like they should," said Stephen Dicke, a forestry professor with the Mississippi State University Extension Service in the College of Forest Resources. "There was a tremendous amoun...
Mississippi's timber industry is holding steady this year from 2014 as both the U.S. housing market and the demand for lumber continue to improve gradually.
State average stumpage prices for hardwood sawtimber declined sharply in the second fiscal quarter of 2015 from the first quarter, while pine sawtimber prices increased. Hardwood sawtimber is down compared to a year ago, while pine sawtimber is slightly higher.
Prices a...
A forest geneticist at Mississippi State University is encouraging landowners to invest in better seedlings, and he's giving them free trees so they can see for themselves that the results are worth the much higher initial cost.
Randy Rousseau, an MSU Extension and research professor in the Forest and Wildlife Research Center, developed the Land Owner Tree Improvement Cooperative, which he now administers. In 2014, he provided informatio...
A time-honored friendly competition among 15 southern forestry schools will take place when Mississippi State University's Forestry Club hosts the 58th Annual Southern Forestry Conclave next week.
The March 12-14 event is free and open to the public at the university's John W. Starr Memorial Forest. Featuring different student competit...
Mississippi State officials, along with members of the university's student chapter of the Society of American Foresters and the Campus Tree Advisory Committee, gathered today [Feb. 13] in the Junction to celebrate the land-grant institution's Tree Campus USA designation by the Arbor Day Foundation.
"I am so proud that we are a tree ca...
Spencer Beasley is a senior forestry major with a concentration in environmental conservation. A resident of Decatur, Alabama, Beasley chose MSU because of its small university feel and nationally recognized forestry program. Beasley heard about MSU during his junior year of high school through his neighbor who was a student at State. After attending a football game in Davis Wade Stadium, taking a tour of the University and meeting with someon...
Longtime outreach efforts by the Mississippi State University Extension Service's forestry department received significant attention when it won a national award.
MSU Extension Forestry won the 2014 Family Forests Education Award presented by the National Woodland Owners Association and the National Association of University Forest Res...
More than 130 students, teachers and community members combed the grounds of the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science in Jackson on Sept. 13 during the state's first BioBlitz.
"We were looking for a fun, interactive way to educate the public about Mississippi's natural resources," said Jason Gordon, assistant Extension profe...
Using fast-growing woody crops as a source of energy and fuel may be the key to energy independence in the United States.
The latest Southeastern biofuels research and production methods will be on display for landowners, industry professionals and community leaders during a month-long series of field days in September sponsored by the...
A hands-on event designed to promote an interest in the natural world will be held on Oct. 4 at the Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center near Tupelo.
The Mississippi State University Extension Service is partnering with the Natchez Trace Parkway to host Mississippi BioBlitz, a 13-hour event that teams scientists, students, teachers and...
A Mississippi State University undergraduate student and research scholar has won the Harold Weaver Undergraduate Student Excellence Award for his research on the flammability of hardwood forests.
Senior forestry major Zach Senneff of Caledonia, received the honor from the Association of Fire Ecology at the Large Wildland Fires Confere...
Markets for Mississippi's sawtimber and pulpwood are bouncing back from the economic recession, but the industry is not improving across the board.
"Slowly but surely, markets for sawtimber are beginning to grow again after the sharp declines seen after the collapse of the U.S. housing market and the ensuing recession," said ...
Mississippi State University scientists have created a new software program to help foresters and landowners manage hardwood timber.
Emily Schultz and Tom Matney, forestry professors in the MSU Forest and Wildlife Research Center, developed the software and user's guide based on 33 years of research.
The free software provide...
Mississippi State University and its leaders earned national recognition recently for promoting and maintaining healthy trees and inspiring faculty, staff, students and community members to conserve.
The Arbor Day Foundation named the university a Tree Campus USA. The program honors campuses that implement proper urban forestry managem...
Mississippi farmers and landowners have three opportunities to learn the costs and benefits of implementing sustainable woodland management practices during a Lunch and Learn program available through the Mississippi State University Extension Service.
Steps Toward Woodland Certification is a Mississippi State University Extension Serv...
Arbor Day, celebrated for more than 135 years as a special time set aside for tree planting, will be observed Feb. 14 at Mississippi State.
Nationally, the air quality-enhancement celebration takes place on the last Friday in April. Southern states observe Arbor Day, however, in January and February when tree planting in the region is ...
The cover of the most recent issue of the Journal of Forestry highlights a Mississippi State University Extension Service publication series available to anyone interested in the forestry industry.
The national journal is published bimonthly by the Society of American Foresters. Published since 1902, it is the most widely circulated sc...
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