Wildlife Habitat Improvements Completed at Mississippi’s Charles Ray Nix WMA

Wildlife habitat improvements were recently completed at Charles Ray Nix Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Charles Ray Nix WMA is located a few miles west of Sardis in Panola County and offers approximately 4,000 acres of grassland and woodland habitat. During 2012, over 1,000 acres were treated with prescribed burning to improve understory cover for many wildlife species, and a total of 130 acres were treated from mid-July through early October with selective herbicides to control hardwood saplings and exotic vegetation like Chinese privet, sericea lespedeza, and Bermuda grass. WMA personnel control these undesirable species to encourage release and development of native plants such as grasses, legumes, and blackberry which provide food and cover for quail, turkey, deer, and a host of non-game wildlife.

For more information regarding Wildlife Management Areas in Mississippi, visit our website at www.mdwfp.com/wma or call us at 601-432-2199.

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.).