[ Mississippi ] Did you know that there are up to 400,000 acres of marginal agricultural land available for conversion to sustainable forest in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley ? A mixed cottonwood/hardwood sustainable forestry project sponsored by the US BCSD provides an ideal venue to facilitate this conversion. It has resulted in approximately 15,000 acres of cropland being converted to cottonwood and hardwood forests, with another 11,000 acres committed for conversion. The project was divided into three phases. First, the US BCSD worked with partners to modify the enrollment criteria for the US Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Second, US BCSD created partnerships to leverage these modified criteria to co-finance the conversion of frequently flooded cropland to mixed hardwood stands. Third, US BCSD and its partners conducted outreach programs to promote the establishment of sustainable forestry in the lower Mississippi Valley and reach as many landowners as possible.

News notes are courtesy of Southern Forests Network News Notes
www.southernsustainableforests.org