What do Mississippi's Public Forestry Agencies do?

There are several agencies of the federal and Mississippi state government that have responsibilities in forestry. The common occurrence of newspaper and television reporters referring to people they interview as working for the "forestry service" is an indicator of the confusion among the public about the different roles of various agencies in forestry.

The purpose of this page is to explain the public agencies involved in forestry, so landowners and the general public will have a better understanding of the role each agency fills.

1. The leading state forestry agency in our state is the Mississippi Forestry Commission. MFC has a forester located in most counties. Check the local phone book or the MFC web page for your county forester. The MFC has responsibilities for:
   • wildfire protection and prevention
   • technical forest management assistance to private landowners
   • administering cost-share funds for reforestation and other forest management practices under the Forest Resource Development Program (FDRP)
   • managing 16th section timberlands, state park forests, and other public forest lands
   • assistance with other cost-share programs
   • other programs
2. The US Forest Service is a federal agency (Division of the US Department of Agriculture) that has responsibility for management of the National Forest lands in Mississippi. The mission of the forest service is to protect and manage the 1.1 million acres of National Forests in our state. Mississippi National Forests include the Holly Springs, Delta, Tombigbee, Bienville, Homochitto, and DeSoto.

The US Forest Service also has a research mission carried out by the Southern Research Station headquartered in Ashville, NC.