North Mississippi WMA Waterfowl Habitat Forecast

MDWFP personnel have worked diligently through the summer to manage waterfowl habitat on its Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in North Mississippi. Managed moist-soil vegetation and supplemental plantings of millet and milo should provide wintering waterfowl with abundant food resources in impoundments at Tuscumbia, Canal Section, Sardis Waterfowl, and the Graham Lake portion of Upper Sardis WMA. Additionally, recent removal of woody vegetation within some impoundments at Tuscumbia has improved waterfowl habitat on this WMA. According to WMA biologists, there is a moderate acorn crop within the green tree reservoir at John Bell Williams WMA, and depending upon water levels, will provide an abundance of food for waterfowl.

Most hunters have observed that the region is experiencing both a lack of substantial rainfall and mild temperatures. As a result, water levels continue to decrease in natural wetland areas and impoundments that depend entirely on rainfall. WMA personnel are pumping within designated impoundments at Tuscumbia and Canal Section WMA. Despite these pumping efforts, some areas may not have sufficient water for ducks or hunters by opening day. If dry conditions persist, fewer flooded areas will be available, but this reduced habitat availability may concentrate waterfowl and may improve hunter success.

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.).