VOLUME XXV1 NO. 1 SPRING 2018 - Delta Wildlife...Bobby Carson, Vice-Chairman Jim Luckett Mike...

PRSRT STDUS POSTAGE

PAIDMAILED FROM

ZIP CODE 35401PERMIT NO. 90

VOLUME XXV1 NO. 1 SPRING 2018

SPRING 2018 | Delta Wildlife 3SPRING 2018 | Delta Wildlife 3

Cover photo by Joe Mac Hudspeth, Jr.

Vol. XXVI No. 1

Features

JOE

MAC

HU

DSP

ETH

, JR.

8 Wild Turkeys in the Delta A write up about what we’ve learned from a project that provided a real-word experiment in which turkeys showed us when and where population restoration is possible in the interior Delta.

20 CWDChronic Wasting Disease is here and it is, and will be, on the forefront of Mississippi sportsmen’s minds for years to come.

President’s Message 4 CWD is Cause for Concern, but not Panic

Delta Wildlife News 5 Delta Wildlife Committee Members 18 Timber Price Report 23 MDWFP Requires Hog Traps to be Permitted 23 Mineral Sites Added to Supplemental Feeding Ban

Delta Fauna12 Shovelnose Sturgeon14 Birds of Spring25 Black Crappie and White Crappie Delta Sportsmen 6 Marine Stings and Poisonings 30 Is 20 the new 12? Delta Conservationist 13 Board Member Highlight: Powell Litton16 Partner Highlight: Josh Hankins 24 Member Highlight: Hunter Fordice 26 Fannye Cook Book Review Management 11 Monarch Butterfly Declines 37 Conservation Tracker

Departments

Spring 2018

32 Thad Cochran: Champion for Conservation As Senator Cochran says his farewell, we would like to offer a heartfelt appreciation to who we believe represents the preeminent qualities of a southern gentleman, an American patriot, and a conservationist.

4 Delta Wildlife | SPRING 20184 Delta Wildlife | SPRING 2018

It’s human nature to be fearful of the unknown. And it is often the unknown that makes us resis-tant to change. But like it or not, the discovery of Chronic Waste Disease in the South Delta man-

dates change in the way we will manage deer, hunt deer and process venison from this point forward in Mississip-pi. The good news is, the Delta Wildlife staff and others in the academic community have told me the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is doing a good job in its approach to better defining the problem and taking action to minimize the spread of CWD. Fur-thermore, those who have spoken with hunters in other states who have hunted in CWD Management Zones for years almost always comment, “it’s not a big deal.”

We will be learning much more about the current situation we face in the South Delta in regard to CWD. MDWFP has tested an additional 64 deer from the area since the original detection, none of which tested positive. These means the CWD Management Zone map that was published on the MDWFP website will remain the primary focus of control efforts in 2018. But when, or if, new deer test positive for CWD, then we can expect the management zone to grow in size.

More recent flooding in the South Delta will likely complicate matters. But MDW-FP is doing all it can to control what it can.

MDWFP is hosting multiple CWD meetings around the state for people to learn more about how they intend to address this issue. Delta Wildlife is also sharing all the information we can gather. We all have much to learn about CWD and the size of the issue we face here in Mississippi. But it will take some time to define the latter.

BY JOHN MURRY GREENLEE

Delta Wildlife is a private, non-prof it corporation dedicated to developing and properly managing wild-life habitat in the Delta and part-Delta Counties of Northwest Mississippi. Delta Wildlife Magazine is published quarterly by Delta Wildlife, P.O. Box 276, Stoneville, MS 38776. This is Volume XXVI, Number 1, published in the Spring of 2018. Members of Delta Wildlife receive this publication as a benefit of mem-bership. Delta Wildlife welcomes suggestions and contributions from readers. All materials should be sent to the Production Manager’s attention. Materials are reviewed and approved by an editorial committee. Advertising rates are available by calling (662) 686-3370 or email at [email protected]. The appearance of advertisers, or their identification as a member of Delta Wildlife, does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services featured.

Delta WildlifeCWD is Cause for Concern,

but not Panic

PresidentJohn Murry Greenlee, Yazoo City

Chairman of the BoardPaul D. Dees, Greenville

TreasurerTommy Goodwin, Greenville

Board of DirectorsHall Barret III, BelzoniPierce Brown, Schlater

Jimmy Bruton, HollandaleEmily Carter, Glen AllanWill Choate, Yazoo CityHayes Dent, Yazoo City

Terry Dulaney, ClarksdaleScott Flowers, Clarksdale

Mark Fratesi, LelandTommy Gary, Jr., Greenwood

Allan Grittman, DrewJohn Howarth, Jr., Cleveland

Austin Jones, MoorheadBryan Jones, Yazoo CityBill Kennedy, InvernessMike Lamensdorf, Cary

Powell Litton, GreenwoodRance Morgan, Leland

Murry McClintock, TunicaRandy Sewall, Coahoma

Colby Spradling, ClevelandGibb Steele, Greenville

Mike Sturdivant, Jr., GlendoraBill Ryan Tabb, Cleveland

Sledge Taylor, ComoLouie Thompson, Tchula

Rod Veazey, Indianola

Past Presidents Paul D. Dees, Greenville

Bobby Carson, MarksBowen Flowers, ClarksdaleAustin Jones, MooreheadBill Kennedy, InvernessBill Litton, Greenwood

Jim Luckett, DublinRandy Sewall, Coahoma

Magazine Production StaffTrey Cooke, Production Manager

Liz Brown, EditorLia Guthrie, Graphics and Design Manager

Ashley Kumpe, Graphic DesignWilliam May, Print Manager

Delta Wildlife StaffTrey Cooke, Executive DirectorLiz Brown, Executive Assistant

and Marketing DirectorTim Huggins, Natural Resource Specialist

Sam Franklin, Wildlife BiologistDan Prevost, Wildlife Forester

Jody Acosta, Wildlife TechHunter Hayes, Intern

VOLUME XXVI NO. 1 SPRING 2018

Sincerely,

John Murry Greenlee

President’s Message

SPRING 2018 | Delta Wildlife 5

Delta Wildlife News

Delta Wildlife CommitteesMembership

Bowen Flowers, ChairmanAustin Jones, Vice-Chairman

Bill LittonJohn Murry Greenlee

Randy SewallRod Veazey

Scott FlowersBen LamensdorfBernie Jordan

Brantley P. NicholsIke Brunetti

John Montfort JonesKirk MalmoPete Hunter

Peyton RandolphStrider McCrory

Will ChoateWalt Powers (Joe Mallard)

Rance MorganPierce Brown

John Howarth, Jr.

FisheriesPaul D. Dees, Chairman

Austin Jones, Vice-ChairmanLouie Thompson

Mark FratesiRandy Sewall

Ben W. PentecostBilly George Janous

Bob EleyBrian Ikerd

David “Guy” RayGwin Smith

Lewis “Mac” McKeeMichael Trotter

Pete HunterRay Crowell

ForestryJim Luckett, Chairman

John Murry Greenlee, Vice-Chairman

Jimmy BrutonMike Lamensdorf

Rod VeazeyTerry Dulaney

Alex GatesBilly George Janous

Bruce LeopoldDavid Young

Duncan MooreGeorge SmithJim Luckett

John M. Dean, Jr. Mac DurastantiMilford Hough

Murry McClintockReggie Dill

Sells J. NewmanWalton Gresham

Wynne Cox

Backyard Habitats & Non-Game Species

Emily Carter, ChairmanBobby Carson, Vice-Chairman

Jim LuckettMike Sturdivant, Jr.Sledge Taylor, IIIDudley Stewart

Jim LuckettJohn Montfort Jones

Walt Rogers IIIWillie F. Brown

Magazine, Education, and Public Relations

Emily Carter, ChairmanBill Kennedy, Vice-Chairman

Ann RuscoeBill Litton

Bobby CarsonHayes DentLia Guthrie

Mike Sturdivant, Jr.Andy AndersonDrew St. JohnKenner PattonKent Thornton

Kirk MalmoSam A. NewsomScott Coopwood

Sledge TaylorThomas E. Guillot, Jr.

Mourning Dove, Bobwhite Quail &

Small GameBill Kennedy, Chairman

Bryan Jones, III, Vice-ChairmanHal Barrett, III

Mike LamensdorfScott FlowersAustin FryeAustin Jones

B.T. SteadmanCameron Dinkins, IV

Chip UpchurchDan Branton

David “Guy” RayDuncan Moore

Ed MoodyErle West BarhamGrant BrabhamH.T. Miller, Jr. Hunter Mitchell

Jay JanousJerry StevensKirk MalmoLia Guthrie

Mark D. MorrisonPaul Padgett

Ralph Owens, Jr.Sells J. Newman

Sledge TaylorTom Tollison

Tommy GoodwinTravis Satterfield

Tripp HayesTucker Miller III

WaterfowlRandy Sewall, Chairman

Allan Grittman, Vice-ChairmanBill KennedyGibb SteeleRod Veazey

Andy AndersonArthur Abercrombie

Austin FryeAustin Jones

B.T. SteadmanBilly George Janous

Boyd AtkinsonBrantley P. Nichols

Brian IkerdBryan JonesBurke Fisher

Cameron Dinkins, IV Charles M. Merkel, Jr.

Chip UpchurchCraig Rozier

David “Guy” RayDavid Branham

David CoonDrew St. JohnDuncan Moore

Edward E. MilamErle West Barham

Floyd Anderson, Jr.Frank RawlingsFred PoindexterGanes ClementsGrant BrabhamH.T. Miller, Jr. Hunter Mitchell

James McArthur, Sr.Jay Janous

Jerry StevensJimmy Sandifer, Jr.

Joe Oglesby, Jr.John Green

John M. Dean, Jr.John Montfort Jones

John NowellKirk EricksonKirk MalmoKit Stovall

Louis LambiotteMurry McClintockPeyton Randolph

Rodney TharpRuss McPherson

Smith StonerSteve Gelvin

Strider McCroryTed Connell

Teddy MorrowTerry Dulaney

Thomas LuscoTJ Mallette

Tom TollisonTommy GoodwinTravis Satterfield

Trip BraundTucker Miller III

Wade LittonWill JonesWill Long

William McNamaraWP Brown

White-tailed Deer & Eastern Wild Turkey

John Murry Greenlee, ChairmanAustin Jones, Vice-Chairman

Bobby CarsonLouie Thompson

Murry McClintockAlex GatesB. Jones

Bart FreelandBill N. Lowther Boyd Atkinson

Brantley P. NicholsBrian Ikerd

Bruce LeopoldCameron Dinkins, IV

Craig RozierDan BrantonDavid Young

Dudley StewartDuncan MooreEd Robinson

Floyd Anderson, Jr. Gus Pieralisi, Jr.

James C. Robertson, IIIJason MeyerJay Janous

Jimmy DonahooJoe Alderman

Kit StovallLewis “Mac” McKee

Louis HoopMattson FlowersPeyton Randolph

Pittman Edwards, Jr.Robert Dale, Jr.

Rod VeazeyRodney Tharp

Sha SorySmith StonerSteve Garrett

Strider McCroryTeddy MorrowTom Tollison

Tucker Miller IIIWill ChoateWill Redditt

Will WeathersWill Young

William DevineyWynne Cox

6 Delta Wildlife | SPRING 2018

Many of us across the South gravitate to the Gulf Beach-es to vacation most anytime throughout the year. If you

are planning a trip to the sunny beach you should be informed about some things that can ruin your trip, primarily from contact with sea creatures and food poi-sonings peculiar to seafood.

Scromboid PoisoningScromboid poisoning occurs with eat-

ing red meat fish that have been improp-erly stored. Bacterial overgrowth produc-es a toxin similar to histamine. Common species putting you at risk include amber-jack, anchovy, sardines, salmon, yellowfin tuna, wahoo, mackerel, herring and ma-hi-mahi.

Cooking kills the bacteria, but does not neutralize the toxin that often causes the fish to have a metallic or peppery taste. Symptoms may consist of nausea, vomit-ing, diarrhea, abdominal cramping, hives with itching, headache, pounding heart beats and burning in the mouth. These symptoms usually begin 30 minutes to an hour post ingestion and may last up to three hours. Severe cases with ana-phylaxis have been reported. Treatment is supportive with fluids, antihistamines and medications for vomiting, diarrhea and pain. Interestingly, the toxin does

not affect everyone and there is no spe-cific testing for the toxin in fish. It’s best, then, to inquire regarding the freshness and storage/transport of the fish. If you are served one tasting metallic or peppery, do not eat it.

Ciguatera PoisoningCiguatera poisoning occurs with in-

gesting reef-feeding fish, such as grouper, amberjack, snapper and king macker-el. Dinoflagellates, algae-like organisms prevalent in reef environments, are the root cause as they are ingested by small herbivorous fish which then become prey for larger carnivorous ones. The algae travels unchanged up the food chain to the dinner table causing illness.

This poisoning can affect the gastroin-testinal, cardiovascular and neurological systems. Symptoms usually onset from six to twelve hours with vomiting, diar-rhea and cramping. The heart rate may become slow and cause a drop in blood pressure. Neurologically, one may experi-ence pain and weakness in the extremities, difficulty walking and a paradoxical tem-perature perception with hot objects feel-ing cold and vice versa. Numbness may occur around the mouth and involve the tongue. Unfortunately, there are no tests to detect the illness, nor does a fish dis-play a specific color, odor or taste. Treat-

ment is again supportive. Early detection can be treated with gastric decontamina-tion with activated charcoal. Again, flu-ids, antiemetics, antihistamines and an-ti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen are in order. Gabapentin can be helpful in treating the neurological symptoms.

Vibrio BacteriaVibrio bacteria can cause illness in two

ways. It is prevalent in all ocean waters, but especially so in warmer climates. Vibio ingestion is most common with eating shellfish, especially raw oysters and can result in vomiting and diarrhea. The treatment is supportive as described above. Of interest is people with chronic illnesses are 80 times more likely to suf-fer from vibrio ingestion than the healthy population.

Vibrio can also cause serious soft tissue infections in open wounds exposed to sea water. One should not wash fresh wounds sustained in the surf or rocky beach-es with sea water. Thoroughly cleanse a wound with fresh water. Follow usual first aid guidelines.

Coelenterate Stings Coelenterates consist of jellyfish, sea

anemones and coral forming animals. They sting with specialized cells called ne-matocysts when in contact with their prey or predators. Coelenterate stings are the most common salt water injuries.

Common gulf and Florida coastal jelly-fish are Moon Jellies, Atlantic Sea Nettles, Cannonball jellyfish, Pink Meanies (espe-cially prevalent around Dauphin Island, Ala.) and Portuguese Man of War. These animals generally move with current or wave action and are frequently found in the surf or washed up on beaches. Ne-matocysts are located in their tentacles or warty projections under their bodies.

Moon Jellies are common in the gulf and are easily identified by their transpar-ent globular domes revealing pink four-leaf-clover shaped internal organs. Their stings are relatively mild, usually resulting in minor skin irritations. Portuguese Man of War, also common in the gulf, resem-ble floating purple balloons trailing long tentacles, often 50 feet or more long. The sting from this species can be quite serious and should be treated with immersion in hot water, temperature 104-113 degrees

BY DR. ROBERT “BOBBY” DALE

Marine Stings and Poisonings

Delta Sportsmen

Cannonball jellyfish and Pink Meanies (opposite page) are among common Gulf and Florida coastal jellyfish.


Fahrenheit, for twenty minutes. Most jellyfish stings respond to hydrocortisone cream, antihistamines and ibuprofen. More seri-ous stings resulting in vomiting, headache, fainting, etc., should be treated in the emergency room as soon as possible.

Sea Anemones are round, colorful flower-like creatures found attached to solid surfaces, such as rocks, piers or seashells. They are also a popular addition to salt water aquariums. Their ne-matocysts are located on their bodies, as are those on coral or-ganisms. Remember, coral is a living microscopic creature which upon its death adds minerals to form coral reefs. Anemone larva can get inside bathing suits and cause “sun bather’s eruption,” a particularly irritating/itching condition.

Treatment of coelenterate stings consists of washing the af-fected areas with sea water to neutralize the poison, and remov-ing the tentacles and nematocysts. Vinegar can also be used to neutralize most jellyfish stings, but not Portuguese Man of War stings, as it actually causes the nematocysts to extrude more poi-sonous chemical. Ironically fresh water does the same with most other jellyfish stings. Tweezers or gentle scraping with the edge of a plastic object such as credit card is useful to remove tenta-cles. Use shaving cream and a razor to remove anemone and cor-al nematocysts. An immediate shower and hydrocortisone cream is recommended for sun bather’s eruption. Remember to use gloves when aiding in removing nematocysts.

Echinoderm Stings This animal class includes sea urchins, starfish and sea cucum-

bers. These creatures are so named for their spiny skin and are often found in the seabed and reefs. They are recognized by their usually round shape with appendages, often five in num-

ber, radiating from the central body. Injuries from these animals usu-ally occur in divers or folks walking in the surf accidentally coming in contact with the spines, which can inflict painful puncture wounds. Ini-tial symptoms are pain, swelling and redness. The calcium spines

are delicate and break off easily into one’s exposed body parts. Spines in some species are venomous. Treatment is their careful

removal with tweezers. Poison is neutralized with immersion in water up to 113 degrees for 30-90 minutes. Any spines broken under the skin surface should be removed in the ER with ultra-sound guidance. Open wounds should be flushed with soapy fresh water and not be sutured or glued as they need to drain. Antibiotics and pain medication are often needed.

Other InjuriesStingray injuries are serious. These rays often bury themselves

in the sand and anyone stepping on one is likely to receive the business end of its tail, which contains a venomous spine. The victim should be treated immediately in an ER as removal of the spine and appropriate wound care is mandatory. The sting is rarely fatal, but the venom can cause significant skin and soft tissue loss. These wounds are also prone to infection. Punctures from saltwater catfish dorsal or pectoral fin spines similarly are quite painful and often become infected. Seek immediate atten-tion for these as well. Do not wait for them to become infected. It should go without saying all shark bites require emergent care in an ER.

If you vacation at the beach, by all means have fun. But go with an appreciation of the things that can cause you or a loved one illness and pain. Be sure your first aid kit contains supplies and medications to treat minor stings and poisonings and that you know the location of a local ER or urgent care clinic in case you need one. Be safe!

Delta Sportsman


Wild Turkeys in The DeltaWhat We Yearn and What We’ve Learned

BY ADAM B. BUTLERWild Turkey Program Coordinator

Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks

If you ask any Mississippi native where the outdoor heart of our state lies, they’ll almost assuredly point a finger over toward the Delta’s deep, dark soils. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has spent time afield there because

the Delta offers so much for a dedicated sportsman to enjoy. Take Delta dove shoots, for example. If you’ve never participated in one, you probably wouldn’t believe the stories. Then there’s the unparalleled waterfowling that comes with being the pinnacle of the Mississippi Flyway. Not to mention that Delta dirt can grow white-tailed bucks on par with the Midwest’s best. There is all this and more. If you love Mississippi’s outdoors, the Delta offers just about everything you could ever want.

Well…almost everything. There is one missing ingredient, and it’s a doozy. It’s an absence that causes a deafening silence on clear, blue mornings in March and April.

History of Delta Turkeys It’s not that there aren’t any turkeys in the Delta. The narrow

ribbon of timber along the Mississippi River offers some of the best turkey hunting in the nation when Ole Man River behaves himself for a few years. There can also be strong turkey popula-tions on some of the region’s well-timbered public lands. None-theless, for all intents, the bulk of the Delta’s interior is mostly void of the wild turkey’s thunderous gobble.

This wasn’t always the case. Historic writings suggest that ear-ly settlers encountered scores of the big birds when the original bottomland forests towered over the region. On one of the first surveys of the lower Mississippi River in the 1680s, the French ex-plorer Nicolas de La Salle remarked that the plains adjacent to the River were “stored up with turkeys.” Later accounts stretching all the way into the early twentieth century confirm this abundance. Unfortunately, the pre-settlement treasure did not last. Delta tur-

keys were overhunted while their woodland habitat was simulta-neously felled. Populations plummeted. By the 1940s most of the original big woods was gone, and so were the birds.

Much has been written about the restoration of the wild tur-key throughout North America. Beginning in the 1950s, trap and release programs allowed state wildlife agencies to successfully re-populate the species throughout its range. A review of the Missis-sippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks’ (MDWFP) re-cords shows that properties behind the levee were some of the first to be restocked as part of the state’s turkey restoration program. In the interior Delta, the Bear Lake Woods in Tallahatchie County were restocked in 1967. O’Keefe Wildlife Management Area in Quitman County received south Mississippi turkeys in 1971-72. Shortly thereafter in 1974-75, Catfish Point and Merigold Hunt-ing Clubs donated a combined 26 turkeys to reestablish Delta National Forest’s population. After that, turkey releases in the in-terior Delta slowed because the availability of mature timberland was insufficient. Turkeys need wooded acres; in their absence, reintroductions simply wouldn’t persist. This situation remained mostly unchanged throughout the ensuing decades.

Hope on the HorizonThe 1990 Farm Bill afforded agricultural producers provisions

to voluntarily protect, restore and enhance wetlands on their properties. Landowners up and down the Mississippi Alluvial Valley soon began utilizing these programs to artificially refor-est marginal agricultural lands back into bottomland hardwoods. Not only did these efforts help maintain and restore wetland functionality on working lands, they were also a first step toward reimagining the Delta’s landscape. The newly planted young hardwood seedlings gave reason to believe that turkeys and other forest-dependent wildlife might be granted a second chance. Pa-


tience and time were the only missing ingredients. By the mid-2000s, many of the earliest hardwood plantings

began reaching sapling timber stages. While they were not yet the grandiose bottomland forests so closely associated with wild turkeys, they were beginning to provide a semblance of the for-est structure coveted by the birds. It became clear that at some point in the future, a major turkey restoration campaign would be warranted. The only question was when.

Restoration and ResearchIn 2008, the MDWFP began planning a large scale project

to evaluate the feasibility of restocking turkeys into the interior Delta. Turkeys were ultimately caught from donor sites around the state, then transported to study sites in the interior Delta and released. Each bird was fitted with a radio transmitter, worn like a backpack, so their movements and survival could be evaluat-ed. The MDWFP coordinated all the trap and restocking, while Dr. Guiming Wang, a professor within the College of Forest Resources at Mississippi State University, and his team of grad-uate students were responsible for collecting and analyzing the field data. The project was sponsored as a Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration grant, and both Delta Wildlife and the Missis-sippi Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation provided additional funding to ensure the undertaking’s success.

Prior to beginning fieldwork, the entire Delta was examined to determine resto-ration sites that offered the greatest chance of success. Three sites, run-ning a gradient of habitat quality based primarily on the availability of mature hardwoods, were ul-timately chosen. Each site repre-sented a 10 to 20-thousand-acre area with a unique landscape. The best site, located in northern Quitman County, was comprised of 22 per-cent mature hardwoods, 51 percent eight to twenty-year-old hardwood plantations and 27 row crops. The middle tier site, in central Quitman County, was similar in its availability of hard-wood plantations (59 percent) and row crops (29 percent), but had half the amount of mature timber (11 percent), which was isolated into much smaller stands. The poorest quality site was located in Coahoma County. It had the most area in row crops (65 percent) and the least in hardwood plantations (18 percent). Approximately 15 percent of its landscape was comprised of ma-ture hardwood timber. These key differences in landscape com-position were important factors that ultimately predicted how turkeys responded to each landscape.

The MDWFP began trapping turkeys at various donor prop-erties throughout Mississippi in January 2009. By March, 107 total turkeys had been relocated to the three Delta restoration sites. Each was deemed sufficiently stocked after receiving 30 to 35 individuals; this was a larger stocking than the MDWFP historically used because more individuals were needed to ensure sufficient scientific rigor for the project’s research and monitor-ing component. Relocation efforts resumed the following winter to help bolster existing numbers. From January to March 2010, an additional 59 turkeys were relocated to two of the three Delta restoration sites.

By tracking each turkey at least three times per week, im-portant patterns in survival, movements and habitat use were determined. The habitat deficiencies of the poorest quality site in Coahoma County became clear almost immediately. Within a few months, a majority of its turkeys had either died or left the study area. In fact, one gobbler was harvested the following

spring nearly 20 miles from the release site! Given the Coahoma population’s rapid crash, the research team elected to abandon it to focus more intensely on the two remaining areas. Although a few individuals initially made large exploratory movements, all released birds stayed on the two Quitman study areas. A flurry of deaths occurred shortly after the releases, but eventually losses stabilized. Gobbler survival outpaced that of hens since the fledg-ling populations were unhunted. As expected, most hen deaths occurred during the nesting season as a result of predators. Bob-cats were the primary culprit.

The availability of mature hardwood timber was the prima-ry determinant of habitat selection, movement and home range size. The greater availability of mature hardwoods, in larger stands, at the higher quality site in northern Quitman County allowed those birds to have smaller, more concentrated home ranges than turkeys at the central Quitman site where there were fewer, more scattered mature stands. More mature hardwoods also meant that turkeys on the higher tier site moved less during the day and stayed closer to their release location throughout the duration of the study. In fact, the further a given location was from mature woods, the less likely turkeys were to utilize it.

Overall, the project soundly demonstrated availability of ma-ture woods as the primary factor to be considered when

evaluating Delta sites for turkey restoration. Hard-wood plantations can provide some hab-

itat value for nesting but are mostly avoided otherwise, at least until they reach 25 to 30 years of age.

Implications for Tomorrow

Our restoration and research project provided a re-al-world experiment in which turkeys showed us when and

where population restoration is possible in the interior Delta. We learned that while developing hardwood plantations can be a component of turkey habitat, they are no substitute for ma-ture timber. We also demonstrated the scale at which landscapes should be evaluated for successful restoration is very large. Our study sites all encompassed nearly 20,000 acres and spanned multiple ownerships. For the best chance of success, potential restoration sites should minimally have several thousand acres of mature hardwoods scattered throughout landscapes of this size.

Unfortunately, flood events prevented us from being able to definitively compare the reproductive rates of these newly es-tablished populations to other flocks. Nonetheless, seven hens nested successfully during the two years of our research. While that number may seem slight, it was enough to allow those pop-ulations to gain a firm foothold in the region.

Although nearly a decade has passed since the first release, turkeys are still persisting at both of the Quitman County sites, once again reaffirming the wild turkey’s resilience. The research project’s final component was to measure the availability of oth-er areas in the Delta that offered habitat conditions similar to our successful release sites. These results suggest that currently only about 4 percent of the Delta is highly suitable for turkeys based on the availability of mature hardwoods. Therefore, future res-toration potential is dependent upon hardwood plantations be-coming old enough to function as mature forests from a turkey’s perspective. Based on the habits of the birds we studied, this does not occur until a stand nears 30 years of age. In the past few decades, nearly 280,000 acres of hardwoods have been planted in the Mississippi Delta. The oldest plantings are approaching this age, with many more acres slated to become turkey woods in the not too distant future. Given these realities, the interior Delta’s springtime silence may soon be over!


Management

Monarch Butterfly populations have been trending downward for about the past two decades. Unfortunate-ly, that trend seems to have contin-

ued into 2018. Western Monarch population esti-mates dropped from 300,000 butterflies last year to 200,000 in 2018. The 2018 official count of the Mexico population of Monarchs was estimated at 124 million compared to the long-term average of 300 million.

While there may be other factors, many scientists believe habitat loss or degradation is the primary reason for Monarch Butterfly declines. Mississippi is not generally considered part of the major migration corridor that Monarchs use but we are near enough that we see fairly large numbers pass through. How can you help Monarchs?

Monarch Butterfly DeclinesBY TIMOTHY HUGGINS

➤ Designate an area of your backyard for pollinators. Plant native species of varying bloom times, colors and heights. Plant host plants, such as milkweed, dill, Black-Eyed Susan, parsley and sunflowers.

➤ While it may be necessary to spray insecticides, be sure to avoid areas that pollinators frequent and time your applications for when bees and butterflies are less active, i.e. cool mornings or late in the afternoon.

➤ Encourage your friends and neighbors to plant more pollinator friendly areas.

➤ Provide fresh water.

➤ Provide sunny basking areas. Butterflies are cold blooded and need sunny spaces to regulate their body temperature.

Monarch Butterfly enjoys milkweed.


Delta Fauna

Shovelnose Sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus

BY TIMOTHY HUGGINS

Strange, prehistoric, ugly, delicacy? All words that could describe the Shovelnose sturgeon. The Shovelnose sturgeon, the smallest sturgeon in North America, is similar in appearance to the

Pallid sturgeon but it rarely exceeds five pounds. The shovelnose has a flattened and shovel-shaped snout and is distinguished by bony plates instead of scales, a sucker mouth and large barbels or whisker-like sensors next to its mouth. The barbels are used to detect prey and navigate in turbid waters. The Shovelnose sturgeon is characterized by a long slender filament on the upper lobe of the tail fin; however, it is often missing in mature fish. The snout is flat and shovel shaped. The scientific name Scaphirhyn-chus, Greek, means spade snout, and platorynchus, Greek, means broad snout. Another defining characteristic of the shovelnose are the bony plates found along the belly. Oth-er species of sturgeon are lacking these plates on the belly.

The shovelnose is found throughout the Missouri, Ohio

and Mississippi River systems and, unlike the Pallid stur-geon, is still fairly common. Although the harvest and possession of any sturgeon in Mississippi is illegal, there are some small commercial fisheries for Shovelnose stur-geon in Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and Arkansas. The roe is the most coveted part of the fish, and is sold as gourmet caviar. While not federally threated, the species is generally highly regulated by state wildlife agencies because of its similar appearance to the endangered Pallid sturgeon. Shovel-nose sturgeon are often accidentally caught while fishing for other species, specifically catfish. The shovelnose and blue catfish often share the same type of habitat, which can cause incidental catch of the sturgeon. In the event of an incidental catch in Mississippi waters, be sure to release sturgeon as quickly and harmlessly as possible. Then con-sider yourself lucky to witness first hand a species that has been around for 80 million years.



Delta Conservationist

Delta Wildlife Board Member Highlight: Backwater Duck & Seafood Gumbo

INGREDIENTS:

BROTH:q 4 - 5 whole Mallard Greenheadsq 2 large yellow onions, dicedq 2 large bell peppers, dicedq 1 clove garlic, mincedq 3 Tablespoons chicken bouillon granulesq 2 teaspoons saltq 1 teaspoon black pepperq 2 bay leavesq Chicken broth, to cover the ducks

ROUX:q ½ pound baconq ¾ cup all-purpose flourq Vegetable oil q 1 teaspoon saltq 1 teaspoon pepper

GUMBO:q Reserved Duck Brothq 1 large yellow onion: choppedq 1 large bell pepper: choppedq 2 cans of diced tomatoes drainedq Salt and pepperq 4 Tablespoons of Lea and Perrins

Worcestershire Sauceq ½ teaspoon cayenne pepperq 2 Tablespoons of garlic powderq ½ teaspoon of Tabasco Hot sauceq 2 Tablespoons of Pick-a-Peppa Jamaican

pepper sauce q Reserved duck meatq ½ cup finely chopped reserved baconq 1 package of frozen okraq 1 pound of frozen shrimpq 1 container of shucked oystersq 1 can of cold crab claw meat (pasteurized)

DIRECTIONS:

Broth: To a large stockpot, add the ducks, onions, bell peppers, garlic, bouillon, salt, pepper, bay leaves and enough chicken broth to cover the ducks. Bring to a boil and cook for about 1 hour, until tender. Remove ducks and pull the breast meat from the bones and chop it into small pieces — use only the breast meat and discard the rest. Strain the broth and save. Set aside the chopped duck breast and broth to use later.

Roux: In a large, deep, black skillet or kettle, fry the bacon. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving the grease in the pan. To the hot bacon grease, slowly add the flour, if the mixture is of a paste consistency, add more bacon grease until it's loose and easy to stir. Stirring constantly, flour-grease mixture should cook on medium heat until a dark caramel color is obtained. Add the salt and pepper and stir. As soon as the salt and pepper are stirred into the roux, add the remaining ingredients to make the gumbo.

Gumbo: To the hot roux, add broth, then the onions, peppers and tomatoes. Add the season-ings. Then add duck, bacon pieces and okra. Next add the shrimp, crab meat and oysters, cook until shrimp is pink. Finally, add the gumbo file and stir. Let gumbo simmer for at least 1 hour. The longer it simmers, the better it gets.

Serve over white rice from the Mississippi Delta with hot French bread.

Powell LittonBY AMY TAYLOR

Powell Litton speaks with pride about his Mississippi Delta heritage, having learned a love and appreciation of the land at

an early age. “My earliest memories are of my dad taking me to Montgomery Island to hunt,” the Greenwood native comments. “Then in 1984, my family became founding members of Backwa-ter Brake, just east of Money, Mississip-pi. I hunted mostly deer and duck there with my father and Mr. Franklin Smith, who was the ‘Master of the Woods’ in our opinion.”

Powell has continued to hunt throughout his life. He graduated from Pillow Academy in Greenwood and attended the University of Mississippi before graduating from the University of Queensland in Australia. Although his hunting activities were somewhat curtailed during his time in Australia, he did have the opportunity of work-ing as a volunteer at Steve Irwin’s zoo for a few weeks before Powell began his job as a cotton broker there. When he moved back home to the United States, he worked in the Senate as a liaison be-tween the Legislative Branch and the Executive Branch. He adds, “It was an exciting time to work in D.C., just after 9-11. One of my most memora-ble moments there was on March 18, 2003, when I was called to the Senate to receive the President’s order that we had just bombed Iraq. It was my job to deliver that message to the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committee.”

Following his stint in D.C., Pow-ell headed home to work in the family business, Wade, Incorporated. Powell worked in Greenville, Miss., for a short time before moving to Clarksdale to run the business’s northern territory operations. After 12 years in that posi-tion, in 2016 Powell moved home to Greenwood to become the Chief Fi-nancial Officer for Wade, Incorporated. He explains, “My brother Wade Litton

and I run the business as a team; after 48 years in the business, our father (Bill Litton) is stepping out of the day-to-day operations.”

Powell has two children, William (9) and Martha (5), and enjoys living in Greenwood where he is actively in-volved in his community. In addition to serving on the board of Delta Wild-life, he is an active Rotary Club mem-ber, a board member of Delta Council, a board member of Backwater Brake and a member of the First Presbyterian Church.

“We’re fortunate to have an orga-nization such as Delta Wildlife here in our area to offer advice and assist the landowner in good land management practices,” comments Powell. “When you need a knowledgeable resource for information or advice, they’re definitely the ‘go-to’ guys. They’ve helped us on many projects on our Minter City prop-erty to enhance our waterfowl habitat.” Some of those projects have included consultant work on tree varieties, drain-age issues, advice on native grasses as well Delta Wildlife’s seed program. He continues, “I’ve seen a positive, dra-matic effect on our wildlife population since implementing these projects. Not only is Delta Wildlife’s expertise bene-fitting the local landowner, but they are also a voice for us on a national level. Delta Wildlife is vital to the Delta.”

“Delta Wildlife’s purpose is to pre-serve the legacy of the outdoors, and that’s the legacy I’d like to leave for my children as well. I enjoy nothing more than spending quality time with them in the woods, away from electronic dis-tractions,” Powell says. “When we’re together as a family at our hunting club, my kids feel like they’re at Disney World…and it just doesn’t get much better than that!”

An avid duck hunter, Powell shares a favorite recipe for Backwater Duck & Seafood Gumbo.

Backwater Duck & Seafood Gumbo


Carolina WrenThe Carolina Wren is a resident of Mississippi and one of our

more common birds. Although the largest of the Wren species in Mississippi, the Carolina weighs only about half an ounce and is 5 inches in length. The Wren’s roundish appearance and stub-by upright tail distinguishes it from most other songbirds. The chestnut-brown colored tail, back and head contrasts with the buffy cream-colored underparts. The back, wings and tail are barred with black in addition to white flecking throughout. The most distinguishable feature is the bold white stripe extending from the front of the eye to the back of the head. Males and females are indistinguishable by the observer’s eye. For what the Carolina Wren lacks in size, the male makes up for it with its loud and robust song that can be heard year-round in woods and neighborhoods across the state. The song is best described by its handle teakettle, teakettle, teakettle, teakettle in the twilight of the morning and throughout the day. They use a diversity of nest locations near the ground, including stumps, shrubs and natural cavities in the woods. In the residential landscape they are known to use firewood piles, open air out-buildings and even hang-ing grocery bags in your garage! Both the female and male con-struct the domed shape nest in a cou-ple days or less. Three to seven white eggs with small rusty red spots are laid during each nesting attempt with three broods per season being rather common. These birds spend most of their day at the ground and shrub-lev-el in search of invertebrates, including insects like moths, beetles, crickets and cockroaches.

Red-bellied WoodpeckerRed-bellied woodpeckers are a resident of Mississippi ranging

from the most remote woodlands to city parks and backyards. Red-bellies most distinctive field marks interestingly are not as-sociated with its name. The first being the heavy white and black

barring down its back, wings and tail. The second is the scarlet red “Mohawk” that can be easily seen with the naked eyed. However, the Red-bellied woodpecker does have a reddish “belly.” It’s just hard to see because it is a faint pinkish color and the belly is almost always

against the tree! Their call is a unique rolling shrill, Chur-r-r-rrr-rr or kwirr-rrr-r that can

be heard throughout the forest and neigh-

BY ADAM T. ROHNKE

Carolina Wren

PHO

TOS

BY B

ILL

STRI

PLIN

G

3

Birds of

Spring

Delta Fauna

3Red-bellied Woodpecker


borhoods in the morning. Two to six white eggs are laid in a nest of woodchips that are collected from the excavating of the nest cavity. This slender stream-lined woodpecker can be seen hitching up trees in search of insects along with feeding from suet and seed feeders. They are also know to cache nuts, berries and insects in the bark of trees.

House FinchA common bird, but a relative newcomer to Mississippi, the

House Finch became a resident throughout the 1980s and 90s. Originally a western U.S. species, the population expanded in the east and south U.S. after being introduced into the New York City area. Well adapted to living among humans, this spe-cies can be found in cities, small towns and working farms. This sparrow-sized bird has brown colored feathers across the major-ity of the body with broken dark brown streaks down the chest and belly. The males boast a vibrant rosy red on the head and breast that slowly fades down the belly. The female and juvenile possess all the same physical features of the adult male except the rosy coloring. The song is a short upbeat warbling without any distinct pattern that is exclusively sung from their perch. House Finches will nest in hardwood and pine trees and are particularly attracted to human structures like eaves and ledges on houses and barns. The nest primarily consists of dead grass, twigs and other available materials including string. Two to six white eggs with very fine dark speckling are laid during each nesting at-tempt with four broods per season being rather common. These finches primarily consume seeds, buds and fruit. They are com-

mon feeder birds, and it is not unusual to have several at once on a single feeder with more waiting nearby.

Adam T. Rohnke is a Senior Wildlife Extension Associate for Mississippi State University Extension. He holds degrees in wildlife and natural re-source science and environmental studies. He is a Certified Wildlife Biol-ogist®, certified Mississippi burn manager, certified trapper with the Fur Takers of America as well as an avid outdoorsman. He resides in Clinton, Miss., with his wife Angel.

Delta Fauna

3House Finch


USA

RIC

E

Josh Hankins is the Director of Grower Relations and the Rice Stewardship Partnership for USA Rice. Josh is headquartered in Arkansas and leads efforts to deliver on-the-ground conser-vation initiatives, assisting rice producers with increased on-farm energy and nutrient use efficiencies, water and soil con-servation and wildlife management across the Mid-South. His efforts through public-private partnerships have helped bring in over $80 million of conservation funding to the rice farming industry. Josh has wide-ranging work experience in the fields of agriculture, finance and medicine. He grew up in Arkansas, re-ceived his degree from Pepperdine University in California and lives in Little Rock with his wife and two daughters.

DW: Please comment on your work and your partnership with Delta Wildlife.

Hankins: The 2014 Farm Bill authorized a program called the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), which took a small sliver out of the Farm Bill’s conservation budget and opened it up to a competitive application process nationwide. If your organization can show you have the abil-ity to form forward-thinking partnerships, can raise nonfed-eral dollars to support your cause and offer sensible solutions to natural resource concerns that producers will utilize on their working lands, then the RCPP can be a great fit. Our Rice Stewardship Partnership’s first successful acquisition of an RCPP took place in 2015, and since then we’ve secured

seven others. In Mississippi, these programs will result in over $5 million to expand rice farmers’ voluntary, private lands conversation practices. These are funds that would be go-ing to another part of the country had our Rice Stewardship Partnership not successfully advocated for them.

Though some of the programs target working ricelands in mul-tiple states, they allow an unprec-edented opportu-nity for conserva-

tion priorities to be identified at a local level, and because of this, our working partnership with Delta Wildlife in Mis-sissippi was formed. Delta Wildlife’s staff possesses signifi-cant knowledge of how to successfully deploy conservation programs in their region, which has been vital to the success, growth, and adoption of our Partnership’s efforts in Missis-sippi. Generating buy-in at the regional level allows multiple entities to work together towards the same goals in a highly effective manner.

DW: What are your current and future projects?Hankins: All of our Partnership’s projects deployed and

to be deployed in Mississippi focus on conserving working

Josh Hankins


BY AMY TAYLOR

Delta Wildlife Partner:



Rice makes shrimp better…and not just on your plate.

Mississippi rice farmers are doing their part toinsure that Gulf shrimp populations are healthyand plentiful. How might you ask? Mississippi

rice producers are working to reduce theamount of nutrients that leave their fields.

This ultimately helps to reduce Hypoxia in theGulf of Mexico, creating a healthier and more

productive fishery.

ricelands, water and wildlife habitat. Rice is the most important grain in regard to human nutrition, providing more than one-fifth of the calories con-sumed by people worldwide. Likewise, rice is one of the most important food resources for waterfowl in the winter-ing areas of the Mississippi Alluvial Val-ley. In fact, flooded rice fields provide more than one-third of the calories available to wintering waterfowl in the three regions rice is grown in the Unit-ed States. Our US Rice producers are special and unique. They work the land to produce food for a hungry world, carefully manage the soil and water resources that support us all, and pro-vide waterfowl and other wetland wild-life places to feed, rest and call home. A recent study was conducted that showed the total cost of replacing all winter-flooded rice habitat in the Unit-ed States with restored wetlands would exceed $3.5 billion. What’s good for rice is good for ducks.

DW: In your opinion, what is the importance of an organization such as Delta Wildlife?

Hankins: It is important to keep our industry on the landscape for our rice growers, rural communities and wild-life, and our Rice Stewardship Partner-ship is helping do just that. None of the successes would be possible without the support and true working partner-ship with Delta Wildlife or without our leading financial sponsors: USDA Nat-ural Resources Conservation Service, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Walmart Foundation, the Mosaic Com-pany Foundation, Nestlé Purina Pet-Care, Chevron U.S.A., Freeport-Mc-MoRan Foundation, Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation, RiceTec, BASF, American Rice, Inc. – Riviana Foods, Inc., Delta Plastics, Anheuser Busch, Wells Fargo, Farmers Rice Mill-ing Company, Horizon Ag, Turner’s Creek & Bombay Hook Farms, Mac-Don Industries, Dow AgroSciences, Riceland Foods and Ducks Unlimited major sponsors.

If you grow rice in Mississippi, you will have another opportunity to sign up for our Partnership’s programs later this year, and as new programs become available, we’ll make sure you know where and when to sign up. Have a great 2018 growing season!


DW

ARC

HIV

ES

TRENDS• The 4th quarter sitewide average stumpage prices for pine sawtimber, pine chip-n-saw and mixed hardwood sawtimber product classes decreased below 3rd quarter prices while both pine and hardwood pulpwood prices increased. Compared to the 4th quarter of 2016, pine sawtimber, mixed hardwood sawtimber and hardwood pulpwood prices decreased while pine chip-n-saw and pine pulpwood increased.

• Statewide stumpage prices for pine sawtimber decreased 0.3%, pine chip-n-saw decreased 5.6%, and pine pulpwood increased 8.8% from the previous quarter. Sitewide stumpage prices for mixed hardwood sawtimber decreased 4.0% and hardwood pulpwood increased 5.2% from the previous quarter.

Mississippi Timber Price ReportRow-crop commodity markets are the topic of

many coffee shop and tailgate discussions through-out the Delta. While not receiving as much attention, the timber market is something that should be mon-itored and considered by forest landowners. Tim-ber harvests, particularly in hardwoods, may occur in 10-15 year intervals and possibly only 4-5 times throughout the life of a stand. This is drastically dif-ferent from an annually harvested row crop in that harvest decisions can have profound and long lasting effects, both in tree composition and growth, and in monetary returns.

Mississippi State University conducts a quarter-ly survey of stumpage timber prices in Mississippi. Stumpage price refers to the amount a landowner will receive per unit of timber harvested. This price report is intended to serve as a general guide and provide a picture of current market activity and how it relates to historic patterns. Specific management and harvest decisions should always be made in con-sultation with a Mississippi Registered Forester. Past and present reports along with market commentary can be found at: http://msucares.com/forestry/pric-es/reports/index.html.

Delta Wildlife News


4TH QUARTER 2017 PRICE REPORT:

Pine Sawtimber ............................................... $23Pine Chip-N-Saw ............................................ $15Pine Pulpwood .................................................. $7Mixed Hardwood Sawtimber .......................... $39Hardwood Pulpwood ........................................ $7

*4th Quarter 2017 Stumpage Prices/Ton*Source: Timber-Mart South

We work to be a different kind of company, built on a different model. From wireless, to fiber Internet, to technology solutions for business— Everything we’ve achieved over the past 30 years was possible for one simple reason: It’s all inspired by you.

Our tradition:Inspiration

C Spire. Customer inspired.

©2017 C Spire. All rights reserved.


Chronic Wasting Disease in Deer

BY BRONSON STRICKLAND

Since February 9, I don’t think a day has gone by when I haven’t thought about CWD and its impacts for Mis-sissippi in the coming years. In some “CWD States” the disease has changed the deer herd, as well as hunt-

ing, while in other states, hunting appears to carry on without skipping a beat. What is the projected outcome for Mississippi?

First, a quick review of the disease. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a neurological disease that is fatal. CWD is categorized as a TSE disease, which stands for Transmissible Spongiform En-cephalopathy — in plain English, this means holes develop in the brain — you can see why this is bad news for an infected deer. A brain that resembles Swiss cheese is not functional. Mad Cow disease and Scrapie are examples of this TSE-type disease in other mammals. The actual agent that causes the disease is a type of protein called a prion. These little prions can become abnor-mally shaped, and when they do, they cause the cells that typical-ly produce normal prions, to instead make the abnormal prions. Prions are not a virus, or bacteria. They are a type of protein that all critters with a nervous system have in their body. Over time, the number of bad prions accumulate and cause the disease. This is why the “incubation time” for the disease can be months and more than a year. The abnormal prions have to build up to a threshold amount before an animal shows symptoms. It is at this time, when the deer is symptomatic of the disease, that it can shed these abnormal prions and continue the cycle of spreading the abnormal prions and spreading the disease. The disease can be spread when an infected animal sheds the abnormal prions in their urine, feces or saliva. This is the reason the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks (MDWFP) banned feeding deer after the infected deer was identified on February 9 — to decrease the risk of spreading the disease further. Keep this very important point in mind: feeding deer does not cause the disease, but feeding can facilitate the spread of the disease if the disease occurs in the deer herd.

Where did the abnormal prions come from? We have only educated guesses at this point. Abnormal prions can live outside the body and can even be viable in the soil for years. We do know the deer found to have CWD was a native deer —meaning its genes corresponded to genes found in the Delta. Some scientists have hypothesized that abnormal prions are found in very small amounts all throughout the range of the white-tailed deer, and deer have always suffered from CWD. We just didn’t know it.

However, the vast majority of scientists that study CWD report that live animal transportation is the most efficient way to pass abnormal prions from place to place. This was very well doc-umented with the movement of deer and elk from Colorado (where the disease was first discovered in deer) to other states and Canadian Provinces. Live animal transportation could be the reason CWD found its way to Mississippi, but we have no

What this means for Mississippi


JOE

MA

C H

USD

PETH

, JR.


proof at this point. Another possibility is transportation of a deer carcass that a hunter killed in another CWD state. Be-cause deer can be infected with the disease long before they show symptoms, an unsuspecting hunter may have brought a carcass with abnormal prions from Colorado or Wisconsin. This is why MDWFP has restrictions on what parts of a deer carcass can be brought into the state by hunters.

Future FalloutSo how will CWD impact deer in Mississippi? Will our deer

herds decline? Will some local deer herds go extinct? This is very, very unlikely. Because the disease takes months, and of-ten years to manifest to a level for the deer to show symp-toms, deer can reproduce and keep building the population. By three years of age, a typical doe should have produced two to four fawns, so the population can continue to replace itself even with some adult deer dying of CWD. Now this could be different in areas where a deer herd is struggling (where fawn production and/or adult survival are low). In those places, we would assume CWD could affect the deer herd more neg-atively and management would involve reduction of doe har-vest. However, in most of Mississippi, this is not the case and we are fortunate to have great deer habitat and a productive herd. One thing to keep in mind, even with Mississippi’s pro-ductive deer herd, over time, the disease could cause the age structure to be younger simply because deer would not live to old ages. Because all deer that contract the disease will die, the number of animals living to ripe old ages will necessarily decrease. How this could affect Mississippi’s deer herd will

depend on the proportion of deer that get the disease. Let’s hope this infection rate is low.

We still have so much to learn before we can begin to make forecasts about how deer season will be affected in the fall of 2018. The MDWFP is executing their action plan and we need to support them and thank them for their efforts. Their plan involves sampling, potentially, a few hundred deer in the six-county CWD containment zone. As of the date of this article, well over one hundred deer have been sampled with no additional CWD-positive deer found. This is wonderful news for Mississippi! Some readers may be familiar with what occurred in Arkansas. When Arkansas Game and Fish Com-mission began sampling in their CWD containment zone in the northwest part of the state, they found over 20 percent of the deer tested positive for the disease. We are hoping the Mississippi experience will be like New York’s. When a CWD-positive was identified in New York, the state wildlife agency rushed in and conducted their collections to assess the damage, but found very, very few deer had the disease. For the most part, CWD is no longer an issue in New York be-cause it was fortunately caught in the early stages.

Many more questions will arise over the next few months as we learn more about the extent of the disease in Mississippi. Let’s all hope we were fortunate to catch the disease early and can minimize any negative impacts of the disease on our deer herd and our rich heritage of deer hunting.

JOE

MA

C H

USD

PETH

, JR.


Delta Wildlife News

MDWFP Requires Hog Traps to be Permitted

Sportsmen and landowners, who wish to trap wild hogs on their property within the following counties: Claiborne, Hinds, Is-

saquena, Sharkey, Warren and Yazoo, must now obtain a permit from the Mis-sissippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

Permitting will allow individuals to place bait or attractant within the confines of the hog trap. Bait or attractant placed around the outside of the hog traps, used to lure hogs within the confines of the actual trap is prohibited.

Mississippi counties that are not with-in the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) management zone can continue to trap and take wild hogs as permitted under the Nuisance Animal regulation.

Interested individuals looking to ob-tain hog trapping permits can contact the MDWFP Jackson office at 601-432-2400 or 601-432-2176.

“Our agency faces new challenges with

a confirmed CWD case. We must both de-crease activity that increases potential of disease spreading, while at the same time affording private landowners within the CWD management zone, the opportunity to protect their properties and investments

from the ongoing damage that occurs from wild hogs,” states Lt Colonel Chris Harris.

For more information regarding CWD in Mississippi, visit our website at www.mdwfp.com.

Mineral Sites Added to Supplemental Feeding Ban

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks has amended the supplemental feed-ing ban in the six counties with-

in the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) management zone. It is now unlawful to establish new mineral sites, mineral blocks, salt blocks or licks. It is also unlawful to add supplements to existing mineral sites.

The intent of the supplemental feeding ban is to minimize the concentration of white-tailed deer in small, centralized lo-cations to reduce the potential for spread-ing CWD.

The CWD management zone includes the following counties: Claiborne, Hinds, Issaquena, Sharkey, Warren and Yazoo.

For more about Chronic Wasting Dis-ease, visit www.mdwfp.com/cwd.

Delta Wildlife News



Delta Wildlife Member Highlight

Hunter L. FordiceBY AMY TAYLOR

A t the beginning of the 20th century, the Mississippi Delta had a very healthy popula-tion of Louisiana black bears,

which led to Teddy Roosevelt’s famous bear hunt in the South Delta in 1902. Through overharvesting and clearing the forest to make way for agriculture, the Louisiana black bear’s population was re-duced to the point that they were placed on the Endangered Species Act’s, “threatened species” list in 1992. However, thanks to the efforts of conservationists like Hunter Fordice of Vicksburg, the Louisiana black bear is beginning to repopulate the state of Mississippi and was actually removed from the threatened species list in 2016.

“In 2007, the first documented set of Louisiana black bear cubs born in the Mississippi Delta in about 40 years, were born on our farm at Valley Park, Missis-sippi.” Fordice said. “These two female cubs were born in a nest on the ground in the middle of a then 12-year-old WRP field. This pretty much validated what the NRCS was saying about WRP….build it and they will come.” He continues, “Since then, it’s really been quite an educational experience learning about the habitat and ecology of the black bear and witnessing firsthand the successful efforts of conser-vation programs such as WRE and CRP. These programs are creating the “suitable habitat” that is allowing these large carni-vores to re-colonize their historic range.” He adds, “We have opened our Issaquena County property to various organizations, such as the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks and Mississip-pi State University, for them to conduct research on these magnificent animals.” He adds, “Participating in this research has given me and my entire family a much greater appreciation for the importance of conservation on our property. It is gratify-ing when you can directly see the results and benefits.”

Although in recent years Hunter has become an active advocate of conservation

programs, having traveled to Washington, D.C., to speak on their importance, this businessman, landowner, farmer, out-doorsman and Delta Wildlife member was raised from childhood with an appre-ciation of nature and conservation of the land. His father, Kirk, made sure that his sons had a high regard and respect for the great outdoors, taking his boys hunting in the Delta National Forest in Sharkey County. “Daddy was an avid hunter and loved the land; he instilled those values in me as a child,” he comments. “It’s just something that is in your blood.”

BackgroundUpon graduation from the University

of Mississippi with a B.A. in Business Ad-ministration, Hunter was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Re-serve) and served six years with the 412th Engineer Command in Vicksburg. He retired in 1988 with the rank of Captain.

In 1982, Hunter began his career at Fordice Construction Company and to-day, he and his brother, Daniel K. Ford-ice III, own the company and represent the third generation of the family business founded in 1948 by his grandfather. “My Dad ran the company for 30 years un-til he was elected Governor of the great state of Mississippi in 1992.” At that time, Hunter became president of the company

Hunter’s bear picture that was used by the NRCS as the national poster for WRP in 2010.


Black Crappie and White CrappiePomoxis nigromaculatus, Pomoxis annularis

For the outdoorsman there are few things that conjure images of springtime more so than gobbling turkeys or spawning crappies. For now we’re going to focus on the crappies. There are two species of crappie, the white and

the black. While similar, there are some key differences. Pomoxis nigromaculatus, better known as the Black Crappie, is

found throughout Mississippi. The black crappie has 7-8 dorsal spines and random black spots scattered across the body. When compared to the white crappie, the body is slightly more com-pact, appearing less elongated.

Generally speaking the black crappie is found in clearer waters with more vegetation. They are less tolerant of turbid waters than their cousins. They can be found, just in reduced num-bers. Black crappie caught in turbid waters often appear lighter in color, more similar to their white crappie cousins. The current Mississippi state record black crappie is 4lb 4oz, and was caught in Arkabutla Reservoir in 1991. The current world record is 5lb 0oz and was caught in Missouri.

Pomoxis annularis, better known as the White Crappie, is also found throughout Mississippi. The white crappie has 5-6 dor-sal spines and its black spots appear as rings around the body.

The white crappie appears slightly longer than similar sized black crappie. White crappie are typically found in more turbid waters than their black cousins. The current world record crappie hales from Mississippi. A 5lb 3oz behemoth from Enid reservoir was caught July 31st 1957.

There are several great crappie lakes in Mississippi. In fact, some of the best crappie fishing in the country is found in the Mississippi Delta, or just up the bluffs in the reservoirs. Crappie fishing these lakes will yield both white and black crappie, and I doubt you will care which you catch.


Delta Fauna

and continues to serve in that position. Additionally, Hunter and Dan launched a second construction company in 2007. Southern Delta Construction, LLC, is currently engaged in dredging floatation canals, oil field slips, building levees and various other heavy construction work throughout the Louisiana coastal area.

In 2001, Hunter and his wife, Sallie, purchased Valley Park Plantation, LLC, in Issaquena County, where they contin-ue to see bears on a regular basis. “What started as a hobby of farming has now grown into a full-fledged farming oper-ation of mostly soybeans. Aside from the farmland, much of our acreage is in CRP and WRP, and Delta Wildlife has been a valuable resource to us throughout the years. Whether it’s the implementation of water control structures, moist soil man-agement for waterfowl, their habitat seed program for food plots or their mapping service, Sam, Trey and Jody are hands-on and offer great advice — not to mention how instrumental they have been in lob-bying to keep conservation programs in the Farm Bill. It’s critical to have their voice in Washington advocating for good

land management practices.” Actively involved in numerous organi-

zations, Hunter currently serves as the vice chairman of the Mississippi State Board of Contractors, 2nd Vice President of the Mississippi Road Builders Associ-ation, member of the Advisory Board of BancorpSouth (Vicksburg), as well as on the board of the Bear Education and Res-toration Group of MS (B.E.a R.). Ad-

ditionally, he has served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of Crawford Street United Methodist Church, past president of the Rotary Club of Vicksburg and past president of the Warren County Forestry Association.

Hunter is also passionate about hunt-ing ducks, turkeys, deer and doves on his farm in the Mississippi Delta.

Hunter and Sallie are the parents of four daughters, three of whom followed in their parents’ footsteps and are Ole Miss graduates, while their youngest is currently a student at Ole Miss.

“As Teddy Roosevelt once said, ‘There can be no greater issue than that of con-servation in this country,’ and I couldn’t agree more. While our country is faced with some mighty grave issues today, I think his statement is still valid, and I just have to believe that he would be mighty proud of the great work being done by Delta Wildlife and its membership.” Hunter concludes, “Our continued con-servation efforts today will insure that fu-ture generations will be able to enjoy this wonderful place that we so affectionately call the Mississippi Delta!”

White Crappie Black Crappie

ISTO

CK


Fannye Cook ReviewBY DR. ROBERT “BOBBY” DALE, JR.

I’m sure nearly everyone reading this is familiar with the names of conservation icons John Muir, Aldo Leopold and Theodore Roosevelt. But do you know Fannye Cook? Dor-othy Shawhan’s newly released biography, Fannye Cook,

Mississippi’s Pioneering Conservationist, details Cook’s accom-plishments as an activist for conservation. After reading it, I am convinced she stands shoulder to shoulder with these gentlemen.

Born in 1889 in Crystal Springs, Mississippi, Frances “Fan-nye” Cook was a strong willed woman determined to channel her love for all things outdoors into conservation efforts. An avid birder, she was inspired, in part, by the extinc-tion of the passenger pigeon when Martha, the last one of the species, died in the Cincinnati zoo in 1914. The species was once described during John J. Audubon’s time in the 1800s as being so plenti-ful that when they took flight they literally blocked the sun from view. By the early 20th century, the timber exporting industry had claimed nearly 95 percent of the state’s forest resources, especially in the Mississippi Delta. She was convinced that other species would follow the extinction path if uncontrolled market hunting, as well as loss of habitat, were not held in check.

After several failed attempts, her activist efforts were rewarded when the state legislature formed the Mississippi Game and Fish Commission in 1932, now the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. Money was appropriated to hire and train game wardens. New laws re-quired the purchase of hunting licenses and the establishment of hunting seasons. Research into maintaining the state’s diverse wildlife populations and habitat was begun.

Fannye Cook was not only an activist, she was a self-made wildlife researcher. A crack shot, she collected thousands of bird specimens, mounted, studied and catalogued them for further study. Shawhan relates the story of Cook, accompanied by a game warden, collecting birds in the Delta. She found a particu-lar duck she needed. The warden said it was too cold to wade in the slough where the duck was located. Cooke demanded he look the other way as she stripped down to her skivvies and waded out to shoot her duck.

Career AccomplishmentsCook was well connected among other conservationists and

researchers. She knew and corresponded frequently with Dr. Paul Bartsch at the Smithsonian Institution. He admired her work and often sought her advice and even asked her for certain spec-imens from Mississippi. Aldo Leopold, known as the Father of Conservation, once came to the state on a research project and made a point to visit with Fannye to discuss wildlife matters. Cook boarded for several years with Eudora Welty in Jackson who wrote several articles and stories about her and her work.

During the Great Depression, Cook organized and established

22 wildlife museums in high schools and colleges around the state through the government Works Progress Administration, WPA. As if she wasn’t busy enough, she authored numerous research reports, articles and pamphlets for public education. She founded the Mississippi Ornithological Society in 1955, served as its first president and was active in several other wildlife organizations. Throughout her career she lectured or guided educational tours for school children, PTAs, Boy Scouts, wildlife societies, govern-ment bodies and anyone interested in conservation matters.

Cook’s dedication to research and conservation were instru-mental in the founding of the Mississippi Museum of

Natural Science in 1939. After several location changes and its surviving the disastrous Pearl River f lood in 1979, it is now permanently lo-cated at LeFleur’s Bluff State Park in Jackson, Mississippi. Cook served as its first executive director. Many of Cook’s specimens and wildlife displays are still available for viewing and for re-search at the facility.

Cook retired as executive director in 1958, but continued her work in an ex officio capacity. She died in 1964 and is buried in Crystal Springs.

In 1973, the museum building was appropriately renamed the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, the Fannye A. Cook Memorial in memory of her ser-vice and career accomplishments, many of which were

not celebrated earlier in her career because she was a woman. She was told this by several professional men close to her, in-cluding the Smithsonian’s Dr. Bartsch. It must have been a hard pill for Fannye to swallow that she was overlooked for a position of authority in the newly formed Game and Fish Commission as well as several other positions to which she deserved to have been named. But she did not openly complain and continued to build a phenomenal career as she followed her life’s work.


About the AuthorDorothy Shawhan, English professor emerita at Delta State University,

was an English and journalism professor and chaired the Department of Languages and Literature for fourteen years there. She did a masterful job through her countless hours of researching and writing this book project. Unfortunately, she passed away suddenly as the book neared completion. Two very capable and talented women completed the project for her. Mar-ion Barnwell, professor emerita of English at Delta State University and Shawhan’s close friend and colleague, and Libby Hartfield, director emerita of the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science were instrumental in com-pleting Shawhan’s project.

Without Dorothy Shawhan’s dedication to introducing Fannye Cook to us, many of us might never have known of her. Through her literary efforts, Fannye Cook should now be more widely recognized in the company of Muir, Leopold and Roosevelt.

The book was published by and can be bought through the University Press of Mississippi. It is also available on Amazon and all Independent Bookstores.


Full Service Steel & Fabrication

1715 North Theobald

Greenville , MS 38703

Open 7:30am—4:30pm Monday—Friday

GREENVILLE STEEL SALES

USED PIPE

12” TO 36”

Flashboard risers, culverts, well casings ,

Tail water recovery systems

DELIVERED TO YOUR FARM

We will weld ‘em up, you just drop ‘em in! FREE DELIVERY

It is about catching fish and memories.

r e c r e a t i o n a l l a n d f i n a n c i n g

p r o u d ly s e rv i n g n o rt h m i s s i s s i p p i

We Understand the Lay of the Land

c l a r k s d a l e · c l e v e l a n d · c o r i n t h · s e n a t o b i a · s t a r k v i l l e · t u p e l o i n d i a n o l a · k o s c i u s k o · l o u i s v i l l e · n e w a l b a n y

www.MSLandBank.com · Toll Free 866.560.9664

we believe in giving you choices, not limitations

When you talk to Syngenta, the conversation

is about you: your fi elds, your plans, your

challenges, your business.

Can we help you get better stands, fi ght

weeds and pests, and break through yield

barriers? With our industry-leading portfolio

in crop protection, seeds, seed treatments

and traits, the answer is usually yes.

But important as great products are, we

know that what really matters is helping

you succeed.

So we believe in giving you choices, not

limitations. Tools, not barriers. Collaboration,

not manipulation.

Let’s work together – toward your success.

© 2017 Syngenta. The Syngenta logo and Bringing Plant Potential to Life are trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company. www.syngenta.com


Looking for a

financial partnerto help your

business grow?

Batesville • Belzoni • Cleveland • Greenville Grenada • Hernando • Hollandale • Indianola

Senatobia • Southaven • Vicksburg

gbtonline.com

Photo

by Ji

m Sa

ndife

r

Catfish Farmers share and enhance the natural resource wealth that is

the Mississippi Delta.

WE ARE PROUD SUPPORTERS OF

DELTA WILDLIFEEd Pentecost, ChairmanAndy Jones, President

Chris McGlawn, Vice PresidentWill Nobile, Secretary/Treasurer

Houston BattleBobby Jones

Shortly JonesJoe Oglesby

Ben PentecostAndy Prosser

Louie Thompson


With advancements in ammunition technology, it seems like the 20 gauge is slowly making its way into the limelight more and more these days in the hunting scene. What was once

widely regarded as a “youth cartridge” is being transformed into an all-around gun for hunting ducks, upland birds and more recently, turkeys all across the country. Why though? Why is it so popular right now?

To begin my hunting career, I started off with a 20 gauge shotgun. Actually, not just any old 20 gauge but a Remington 870 youth model with a 21” barrel to be exact. That little gun was toted many a miles as I grew up chasing squirrels, ducks, rabbits and a myriad of other game. Somewhere along the way, I “graduated” to a 12 gauge and put the little 20 gauge in the safe. I would occasionally get it out to shoot, but I was determined the 12 gauge was a “better” hunting gun.

Is 20 the New 12?

BY JODY ACOSTA

Delta Sportsmen



Delta Sportsmen

Xfer CK1 Save $100

BALchk1 availablebalance is 985.Save available balance is 500

Transfer complete. Ck1available balance is 885. Save available balance is 600

Fast forward to last year. Turkey season was approaching and I came across an article about some new shot that people were shooting and it piqued my interest. I had already decided to put forth a more valiant effort to actually turkey hunt last year, which is what led to my research to begin with. I saw some-thing called “TSS” mentioned so I started looking more into the Tungsten Super Shot (or TSS) and realized there was no need in setting up my 12 gauge for the upcoming season when I had the little 20 gauge sitting in the safe. A 20 gauge for turkeys? I got that question a few times. I admitted, I was not a die-hard turkey hunter (not yet at least), but I was a “gun guy” from way back and comfortable with the little shotgun and the research I had done on the shell combination corroborated the cartridge’s potential. After a good friend graciously gifted me five of those “new” shells (that he had been loading for several years by that point) that were comprised of Tungsten Super Shot, a metallur-gic composition that is the heaviest shot available today weigh-ing in at about 18 g/cc, I had a new project.

A little background on the “why” it works. Because of its weight, you can use smaller shot sizes than traditionally thought of as a turkey load — for example, 7.5, 8,and 9 shot is com-monly used with TSS. Do you think I’m crazy yet? I thought it was a little crazy myself as I was only familiar with those pellet sizes in low brass shells shooting target or dove loads. That was until I saw the patterns friends were getting with them and then finally shot it at paper myself. The density of the pellet allows for a smaller shot size, which means more pellets on a target, as mentioned earlier. Why is that significant? Putting numbers to that statement may help explain a little.

Why it WorksThere are approximately 345 +\- #5 lead pellets in a 2oz 12ga

load. Now with #9 TSS, you get 362 pellets per ounce, so a 1 5/8oz 20 gauge load would be able to carry 590 pellets of TSS. That is significantly more shot than the payload of the 12 gauge load but in a much smaller, lightweight and less recoiling gun. Why not just shoot a #5 lead out of a 20 gauge? Density. When a larger, heavier pellet is used, it is subjected to gravity at a faster rate and wind resistance due to its increased surface area (think “drag”). As the pellet begins to fall, it also begins to lose speed pretty drastically. The pellet’s surface area creates a large amount of drag, thus reducing the speed of the pellet. Finally, the reduced speed, even though it is coupled with the greater mass, begins to lose its energy. It’s hard to wrap around the fact that you can shoot a smaller pellet at lower speeds and get better results, but the density of the shot allows just that to happen.

So back to last turkey season and that old 870 20 gauge. Well, it got a little makeover and then, on its third turkey hunt, it got promoted from safe queen to full time turkey gun. The TSS did its job and did it well. Take a look into the TSS if you are in the market for a new turkey load. The only downside to shooting it is the cost, but as with everything, it’s relative. You are allowed 3 turkeys in Mississippi during the spring season. With the amount of time and effort put into chasing turkeys, why wouldn’t you spend a little more for the best performing shell available? Sever-al commercially loaded offerings are available at the time of this article was written with more rumored to be in development. I have a feeling those offerings will greatly increase in the years to come.

32 Delta Wildlife | SPRING 201832 Delta Wildlife | SPRING 2018


I learned at an early age, 10 to be exact, the importance of Thad Cochran’s role for Mississippians.

While in the 5th grade, I had the chance to visit Washing-ton DC for the first time with my grandparents, Murry and

Anne Alexander. My grandfather served 20 years as Washington County Levee Board Commissioner for the Mississippi Levee Board. While serving in this role, he would travel each year to Washington and carry each grandchild in the 5th grade along to show him or her the importance of federal government to our local Delta area. While on my trip to DC, I made a visit to Thad Cochran’s office and learned of his importance to our Delta and State of Mississippi. I will never forget that. This year I had the privilege of traveling back to his office in DC through my role as President of Delta Wildlife. That was a very special time for me as I reflected over the 34 years since my first visit and understood first-hand what my grandparents had tried to instill in me about Sena-tor Cochran.

Delta Wildlife’s relationship with Senator Cochran goes back to the very day the organiza-tion was established. On May 19, 1990, U.S. Senator Thad Cochran offered the keynote address on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River to the 100 business owners, land-owners and sportsmen who founded Delta Wildlife. That day has since become known as Founder’s Day and the inaugural meeting was concluded by naming Senator Cochran as the “Honorary Chairman” of Delta Wildlife. Delta Wildlife’s second President, Bill Kennedy, recalls, “One of Delta Wildlife’s goals early on was to represent Delta landowners and sportsmen within its unique operating area, and Thad Cochran took every opportunity he had to help us do that.”

Wikipedia has not yet listed Senator Cochran’s service as Hon-orary Chairman of Delta Wildlife on their website, but all records will include his service as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ag-riculture. And to conservation organizations like Delta Wildlife, his service as one of two Senate members of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission will certainly rank high on the list.

Conservation ChampionAs a member of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission,

Senator Cochran helped to protect 5.6 million acres of conserva-tion lands in the United States using Federal Duck Stamp reve-nue, the Wetlands Loan Act, the Emergency Wetland Resources Act and other sources. Furthermore, he has approved more than $1 billion dollars of funding for more than 1,900 high priority wildlife conservation projects throughout the United States.

As Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, Senator Cochran champi-oned several Farm Bills and Conservation Titles that have, and will have, lasting effects on wildlife and our environment. In 1985, the Conservation Reserve Program was first established. Seeing that it did not fully benefit lands in alluvial valleys like the Mis-sissippi Delta, Senator Cochran offered a new program, the Wet-

lands Reserve Program (WRP) in 1991. Senator Cochran also advocated the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) as well as a number of other Farm Bill programs that have bene-fited Mississippi sportsmen and landowners.

It is not my intent to list Sen-ator Cochran’s accomplishments, but I cannot avoid pointing out the fact that the Mississippi Delta and the State of Mississippi have

been the primary beneficiaries of Senator Cochran’s leadership positions on the Senate Appropriations Committee. From con-trolling pests like cormorants, Asian carp and feral swine to water-fowl habitat enhancement and protection to water conservation, forestry and flood protection, Senator Cochran has been Delta Wildlife’s champion.

Senator Cochran’s full history will be written in the coming decades, but I truly hope that historians will record the impact that he has had on wildlife habitat, conservation and the envi-ronment. Delta Wildlife salutes Senator William Thad Cochran as one of the greatest United States Senators to ever walk the halls of the Dirksen Senate Office Building and the U.S. Capital. To me, Senator Cochran represents the preeminent qualities of a southern gentlemen, an American patriot and a conservationist. God has blessed Thad Cochran, and we are blessed to have been served by him.

Bryan Jones (left) with Sen. Thad Cochran and John Phillips (right) on a duck hunt in Sharkey County.

THAD COCHRAN: CHAMPION FOR CONSERVATION

BY JOHN MURRY GREENLEE

H H H



“Farewell Speech

The following is the text of Cochran’s farewell message, which he submitted into the Congressional Record:

Mr. President, I appreciate the opportunity to express my deep gratitude for the honor given to me by the

people of Mississippi to represent them in Washington.I leave the Senate with confidence that our enduring Con-

stitution guards our country from human error, empowers our citizens to achieve greatness, and shines as a beacon of freedom and liberty for the world.

I am optimistic about the future of our great nation, and in the United States Senate’s role in determining that future.

While in Congress, I have served with nine presidents during times of conflict and peace. We have debated policies from trade to taxes to terrorism. We have engaged in heated argu-ments. But even in full disagreement, I believe all our motivations begin at the same point: the sin-cere desire to serve our states and country.

No one remains in the House or Senate who was here when I first took of-fice in January 1973. But I am particularly thankful for the friendship and leader-ship of the Senior Senator from Vermont, Mr. Leahy. He and I have fought side by side with each other; and sometimes face to face against each other, always with friendship and respect.

I am also grateful to have served with honorable Senators from my own state. My colleague, Senator Wicker, has been a friend and a strong and effective advocate for our state. We have worked together not only in the Senate, but also when he served as a U.S. Representative. Former Majority Leader Trent Lott, continues to be a voice in our national conversation. And the late John C. Stennis provided a witness to integrity when I first joined this body. His signature is above my signature at this desk.

It is a tradition in the Senate, like school children used to do, to sign the drawers of our desks. Senator Stennis signed this desk drawer. He noted the beginning of his service in 1947 and added a dash. He never filled in the date signifying the end of his Senate service in 1989. Perhaps there is symbolism there — that our service does not end when we depart this chamber.

I have been honored by this body to serve as Chairman both of the Appropriations and Agriculture committees. I’m thank-ful to my colleagues, past and present, and to the committee staff for assisting in crafting responsible funding priorities for our country; and for developing strategic agriculture policy to ensure the best use of our natural resources to provide afford-able and healthy food for our citizens and people around the world.

I thank my talented and dedicated staff, many of whom have

worked for many years in service to our country. All of us in this body know we could not achieve our priorities without exceptional staff. I have staff members who have served the Senate since my first term. I have one staff member, Doris Wagley, who was already in the office working the very first day I showed up for work in the House of Representatives in 1973. Whether they have been here for 45 years or a shorter tenure, I am grateful for their good assistance.

I ran my first Senate re-election campaign in 1984 largely on constituent service. I will always be proud of my state staff for their work on behalf of Mississippians. State staff help us keep our promises to our veterans, find opportunities for small businesses, ensure the elderly or infirmed receive care, and cut through bureaucracy. I’m sure members of your state staffs, like my staff, have hearts for their fellow citizens regardless of their political affiliation.

All our citizens have the right to be heard and to have a voice in their gov-ernment. I believe our job as their servants is not to tell others what to think or tell others what to do. Our job is to represent them. I have endeavored to do that the best way I possi-bly could. And now the time has come for me to pass the power granted by the people of Mississippi, the power of service, to someone else.

When John Sharp Wil-liams of Mississippi left the Senate, he delivered a farewell speech at a

dinner organized by the Mississippi Society of Washington. It is sometimes called the “Mockingbird Speech.” While I do not share some of the cynicism of that speech, there are sentiments I can appreciate. Here is an excerpt of that speech given March 3, 1923:

“I am going back to Yazoo City and to my old home on a ru-ral free-delivery route. I want to get up again each morning as I hear the rooster’s crow... and as night and the time for bed ap-proaches, I will listen to the greatest chorus of voices that man ever heard, music that will charm me and make me ready for repose, the voices of my mockingbirds trilling in the trees. And in that way I want to live the rest of my life, and when the end comes, I hope to be carried out of the house by my neighbors and laid to rest among my people. Now, some may say that is not a very wonderful future, all of this I have mapped out for myself, but I say there is merit in calm retirement... Perhaps it is a sign that I ought to retire, for retirement brings repose, and repose allows a kindly judgment of all things.”

I will now return to my beloved Mississippi and my family and friends there. I will miss this stately Chamber and this city. I won’t miss power or politics. I will miss people — you, my colleagues. I will treasure your courtesy and kindness. And I trust if your travels bring you to Oxford, Mississippi, you will not hesitate to visit and join me for a refreshment on the porch. We can listen to the mockingbirds together.

Thank you.

Sen. Cochran addressing the 100 founders of Delta Wildlife at Catfish Point Hunting Club

on May 19, 1990.

”34 Delta Wildlife | SPRING 2018

LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT PIECE OF LAND?When it comes to financing rural land for hunting, fishing, or just living, nobody can provide more rural loan expertise than Southern AgCredit. So if you’re digging the idea of owning land in the country, call us today.

SouthernAgCredit.com(800) 449-5742

Begin. Grow. Improve. Hunt. Unwind.

The Best Financing in the Country


www.scottpetroleuminc.comwww.scottpetroleuminc.com

PROPANE • GASOLINE • DIESEL • DIESEL EXHAUST FLUID • JET-A AVIATION FUELBULK OILS & GREASE • IRRIGATION ENGINES • 24-HOUR AUTOMATED FUELINGAPPLIANCES • GAS LOGS • FIREPLACES • GRILLS • FISH COOKERS • SCOTTCARD

PROPANE • GASOLINE • DIESEL • DIESEL EXHAUST FLUID • JET-A AVIATION FUELBULK OILS & GREASE • IRRIGATION ENGINES • 24-HOUR AUTOMATED FUELINGAPPLIANCES • GAS LOGS • FIREPLACES • GRILLS • FISH COOKERS • SCOTTCARD

SCOTT PETROLEUM CORPORATIONQUALITY PRODUCTS • QUALITY PRICES • QUALITY SERVICE

We enrich lives and build stronger communities.

Commitment to community is one of our core values.

BankPlus is committed to building strong communities throughout Mississippi by improving quality of life and making a positive difference where we live and work.

BankPlus.net

© Copyright 2018 BankPlus. Member FDIC.


Conservation TrackerBY SAM FRANKLIN

On average, the 2017/18 season was far better than past years for duck hunters across the Del-ta. The success experienced by Delta hunters could be attributed to any number of reasons.

But the biggest reason simply was there were more ducks here. The Delta Wildlife office got repeated calls through-out the season about the sheer volume of duck harvested. But as another year draws to a close, the work begins for the next successful hunt in the duck blind, on the food plot or in the woods. So here are a few helpful pointers to help you through the year.

DeerThis year needs to set a precedent for management/har-

vest data. As most avid outdoorsmen have heard, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in the Mississippi deer population has been confirmed. This year is crucial for deer biologist and harvest data, especially in the targeted areas of the South Delta. So be sure to get your harvest reports to your consulting biologist early.

Take the time to sit down with your biologist and go over any harvest changes that may need to be made, whether it is habitat conditions or other outside factors. A lot of factors


JOE

MA

C H

UD

SPET

H, J

R.

Management


go into making harvest recommendations so be sure to talk with your biologist and get in the know.

Take a look at your deer food plots. With the rain we’ve had this spring, a yellowing is common due to nitrogen leaching. If your wheat or oats are turning that yellowish color, just top sow a unit or two of nitrogen.

DucksFor properties that have been affected by the 2018 spring

flood and are intensively managed, try to get your water off as soon as it resides to prepare for the 2018/19 season where hot crops will be planted. Once the water begins to go down, it will go pretty quickly so be prepared to work soon after drying out. There will be a short window of opportunity to get hot crops planted. Be sure you are also preparing sprayers and field equip-ment for the upcoming work season. Don’t wait till you need to be working to start making needed repairs.

The Moist Soil Management practitioners should have about half their water off and getting their 2,4-D sourced from their local chemical representative.

QuailGet ready to burn if you haven’t done so. If we catch a dry

week, you may not have time to put in fire lanes and other neces-sary precautions. The window for spring burn is closing fast, and the hotter it gets the more likely you will kill trees.

If you’re planting grass, prepare the area to be planted as clean as possible. The less weed competition, the better your grass will do. A good burn down pre plant is best, but there are also chem-icals made specifically for post plant application to Native Warm Season Grasses. Call the Delta Wildlife office for assistance with grass planting advice.

Management

PHO

TOS

BY JO

E M

AC

HU

DSE

PTH

, JR.

The spring squirrel season is from May 15-June 1. With the spring row-crop planting season coming up,

there should be plenty of hog hunting opportunity. Hogs know it’s feeding time when the planters are running and this draws them out of the woods and sloughs and into the fields. They typically come around a freshly planted field

right around dusk. With turkey season in full swing and preparation for all

other game this year, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with to-do’s. But, don’t forget it’s supposed to be fun. Get out and starting planting the seed for future memories and the upcoming season.

Additional Opportunities

JUST BECAUSE IT’S WORKdoesn’t mean it can’t be fun.

Come see our selection of High-Performance Utility Vehicles.The Gator™ RSX high-performance vehicles are trail ready and hard working

with a dumping cargo box capable of light hauling. We make work fun.







LEARN MORE ABOUT GROWING

SOUTHERN SUCCESS:GrowTheSouth.com

What grows success in the South? You have so many options, opportunities and variables. That’s why the seed you plant can make the difference between a successful season and “maybe next season.”

DEKALB®. Asgrow®. Deltapine®.

Delivering PROVEN

PERFORMANCE in the South—

season after season—backed

by EXCLUSIVE GENETICS

AND INDUSTRY-LEADING

TRAITS, TECHNOLOGY AND

AGRONOMIC SUPPORT.

Always read and follow IRM, where applicable, grain marketing and all other stewardship practices and pesticide label directions. Details of these practices can be found in the Trait Stewardship Responsibilities Notice to Farmers for “The Seed That Makes the South Grow” advertisement printed in this publication. ©2018 Monsanto Company. All Rights Reserved. DP-17052-DW-MAR 31-BC

SOUTH GROWTHE SEED THAT MAKES THE

VOLUME XXV1 NO. 1 SPRING 2018 - Delta Wildlife...Bobby Carson, Vice-Chairman Jim Luckett Mike...

Documents

Transcript of VOLUME XXV1 NO. 1 SPRING 2018 - Delta Wildlife...Bobby Carson, Vice-Chairman Jim Luckett Mike...