MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Fee fishing, fee hunting, agritourism, trail riding and wildlife watching are examples of outdoor recreational businesses based on natural resources commonly found on Mississippi private lands.

A one-day workshop for farmers, landowners and resource managers will provide attendees with the resources to start and manage a natural resource enterprise. This April 24 event will be held in Benndale  in George County. Benndale is located at the intersection of Highway 26 and Highway 57, just west of Lucedale.

Beginning at 8 a.m., workshop participants will hear presentations about business management, marketing, types of enterprises and liability issues. Additional special topics to be discussed will be landowner cost share programs, such as Conservation Reserve Programs, and several long-leaf pine restoration programs available to South Mississippi landowners.

In the afternoon, participants will go into the field to learn about wildlife habitat management techniques and outdoor recreation enterprises, such as fee fishing and bird watching. Specialists also will discuss the ecology and recreational aspects of the Pascagoula River as well as wildlife habitat management, fee fishing, bird watching and invasive species management. 

This workshop is part of a series by the Natural Resource Enterprises Program at Mississippi State University. The program is a partnership with MSU’s Extension Service, MSU’s Forest and Wildlife Research Center, the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

MSU’s Extension Service, MAFES and the FWRC cooperatively created and implemented the Natural Resource Enterprises Program to help private landowners develop alternative or supplemental methods of income on their land.

Registration for the workshop is $25, which includes a reference notebook, lunch, breaks, presentations by resource professionals and a field tour with agency personnel. Early registration is recommended because of space limitations.

For more information about the workshop or to register, call (662) 325-3133 or visit http://www.wildlifeworkshop.msstate.edu.