The National Wild Turkey Federation’s 50th Annual Convention and Sport Show was held last week in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks was honored with the Land Stewardship Award for its Fire on the Forty initiative, a private lands habitat program focused on prescribed fire to restore and improve wildlife habitat across the state, according to MDWFP.
John Gruchy, the department’s private lands program coordinator, credited partnerships and landowners for the award. He said the program benefits wildlife habitat and forest health through prescribed fire.
Fire on the Forty has aimed to educate landowners about ecological benefits and proper use of prescribed fire while providing cost-share support to offset burning costs. Over the past 15 years, the initiative restored more than 100,000 acres of fire-maintained habitat and engaged more than 1,200 landowners through workshops and field days, MDWFP said.
MDWFP expressed gratitude to the NWTF and its partners for supporting habitat improvement and sound land stewardship across Mississippi.
