Mississippi’s Prairie Restoration Efforts on Black Prairie WMA

Black Prairie Wildlife Management Area is a 5,200 acre area located in Lowndes County within the Blackland Prairie soil region. Over the past couple years, habitat management practices have been focused on restoring native prairie habitats on Black Prairie WMA. These habitat management practices will help restore native habitats and improve wildlife habitat on the area for an array of game and non-game species.

Managers have initiated a prescribed burning regime on the WMA and hope to continually increase the acreage burned each year. Along with prescribed fire, herbicide treatments are used to control non-desirable, invasive species such as tall fescue, Johnsongrass, and encroaching woody vegetation.

The WMA has recently been approved to receive funds through a State Wildlife Grant with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to aid in restoring prairie habitat on the area. The grant will provide funds to assist with applying herbicide, prescribed fire, and mechanical treatments on the WMA. In the future, these restoration efforts are sure to benefit wildlife as well as WMA users.

Mississippi Wildlife Fisheries and Parks

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP), formerly known as the Mississippi Game & Fish Commission, is an agency of the government of the U.S. state ofMississippi responsible for programs protecting Mississippi fish and wildlife resources and their habitats, as well as administering all state parks; it has its headquarters in Jackson. The agency issues hunting and fishing licenses, advises on habitat protection, and sponsors public education programs. It is also responsible for enforcement of Mississippi's fish and game laws. It is separate from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, which is the governing body for the state's natural salt-water resources and law enforcement thereof (i.e. Gulf of Mexico, ocean-going vessels, etc.).