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Mississippi
Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)
The Mississippi Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program
(WHIP) Plan as approved by National Headquarters and in keeping with the
guidelines of the national goals is designed to accomplish the following
objectives:
1. To offer the opportunity to participate in the WHIP program to as many
landowners as possible.
2. To establish priorities which will add those wildlife management practices
which quickly enhance the agricultural and forest landscape and contribute to
the state and national goals of WHIP. Priorities will apply statewide.
3. To provide technical assistance to eligible participants with regard to the
priority wildlife habitat needs as identified and the development of Wildlife
Habitat Development Plans (WHDP) and implementation of authorized practices
under WHIP.
4. Provide cost-share payments for the purpose of restoring upland wildlife
habitat; wetland wildlife habitat; threatened and endangered species habitat;
habitat for declining species of National or State significance; declining
native habitats of National or State significance, such as longleaf pine
ecosystem; aquatic habitat; and other types of wildlife habitat on eligible
land.
5. Foster a positive change in public attitudes toward wildlife, wildlife
habitat, and its relationship to the agricultural landscape. This will be
accomplished utilizing technical assistance funds through newsletters, outdoor
classrooms, workshops, on-sight consultation and plan preparation.
Wildlife priorities were developed by team members with
knowledge of state, regional, and national wildlife and fisheries resource
concerns. Knowledge of these concerns came via the State Technical Committee
process, personal communication with organizations and individuals with
interests in wildlife on agricultural and forested landscapes. As a result
practices to emphasize community or ecosystem restoration were identified for
cost share. The practices were selected for the purpose of restoring upland
wildlife habitat; wetland wildlife habitat; threatened and endangered species
habitat; habitat for declining species of National or State significance;
declining native habitats of National or State significance, such as longleaf
pine ecosystem; aquatic habitat; and other types of wildlife habitat on eligible
land.
Priority Community/Ecosystem Concerns
A. Lack of desirable early successional components.
1. Lack of transition zones in cropland, pastureland and
hayland fields.
2. Lack of quality nesting habitat and rearing areas in old
fields, pastureland, hayland, and utility rights-of-ways.
3. Lack of corridor habitat in open areas such
as agricultural fields, pastureland, hayland, and old fields.
Species or ecosystems benefited: bobwhite quail, Bachman’s sparrow, cottontail
and swamp rabbits eastern wild turkey, grassland guild of birds, Black Belt and
Jackson Prairie.
B. Lack of winter water for waterfowl habitat, shallow water areas, and other
seasonally flooded wetland areas for wildlife.
Species or ecosystems benefited: Migratory birds, including ducks, geese, shore
and wading birds, also turkey, deer, reptiles, amphibians, and wetlands.
C. Lack of early successional wildlife habitat components in the under and
midstory of woodlands dominated by pine or pine/hardwood.
Species or ecosystems benefited: Bobwhite quail, cottontail and swamp rabbits,
red-cockaded woodpecker, eastern wild turkey, gopher tortoise, several guilds of
song birds, and the longleaf pine forest.
D. Lack of educational areas to identify native habitat components.
Solution - Use the practices: Tree/Shrub Establishment (612), Wetland Wildlife
Habitat Management (644), Upland Wildlife Habitat Management (645), Wetland
Restoration (657), Recreation Area Improvement (562), Recreation Trail and
Walkway (568), and/or Spring Development (574).
Species or ecosystems benefited: grassland guild and other edge loving birds,
backyard habitats, Black Belt and Jackson prairie, longleaf pine, wetlands, and
other native habitats.
E. Lack of habitat components for both Federal and State Listed Threatened and
Endangered Species (TES).
Solutions - Benefits to TES and protection of the landowner’s future options for
use of the property should be protected through the voluntary agreement with
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That agency has an established program called
“Safe Harbor”. Points will be given for TES benefits when selected practices are
applied within the identified area on the TES maps.
Species or ecosystems benefited: Gopher tortoises are benefited by the practices
of hedgerow planting (645), prescribed burning (338), strip disking (645),
conversion of fescue and bermuda (645), and early successional vegetation
(native grass) establishment (including native legumes) (647). Any bonus points
awarded under gopher tortoise criteria will cover any points potentially earned
for Mississippi sandhill crane, dusky gopher frog, Eastern indigo snake,
southern hognose snake, and black pine snake. The ranges of these species fall
within that of the gopher tortoise and beneficial practices for these species
are a subset of those for the tortoise.
Red-cockaded woodpeckers are benefited in pine and pine/hardwood forests by
prescribed burning (338).
Program Information
If you encounter any problems with the files provided on this page, please
contact Yolanda Jackson at 601-965-4139 ext. 166.
The following documents require
Acrobat Reader
The following document require
Microsoft Excel
2008 MS WHIP Cost List (XLS;
38 KB)
For
Archival Purposes Only
2007 MS WHIP Ranking Sheet (PDF: 203 KB)
2007 MS WHIP Cost List (PDF; 15 KB)
2006
MS WHIP Ranking Sheet (PDF; 50 KB)
2006 MS WHIP Environmental Benefit
Worksheet (PDF; 74 KB)
Click on the following links for more information
National Wildlife Habitat
Incentives Program
State Contact:
Al Garner, ASTC(Programs)
Phone: 601-965-5196
ext. 111
Email:
Al Garner
Clarence Finley, Resource Conservationist
Phone:601-965-4139 ext. 114
Email:
Clarence Finley
Contact your local
Natural Resources
Conservation Service for further details.
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