MISSISSIPPI STATE – The cover of the most recent issue of the Journal of Forestry highlights a Mississippi State University Extension Service publication series available to anyone interested in the forestry industry.

The national journal is published bimonthly by the Society of American Foresters. Published since 1902, it is the most widely circulated scholarly forestry journal in the world. Its mission is to advance the forestry profession by informing forest management professionals of significant developments and ideas in the many facets of forestry.

“The article on the economics of forestry and forest products in rural Mississippi provides details on the substantial impacts of the forestry sector on jobs and wages,” said George Hopper, director of the MSU Forest and Wildlife Center. “This research is important, and having it featured on the cover showcases MSU Extension and the Forest and Wildlife Center as national leaders in forestry and natural resource economics.”

The journal’s cover story examines the Extension publication series titled The Economic Contribution of Forestry and Forest Products, written by assistant Extension forestry professor James Henderson and forestry professor Ian Munn. Extension published a two-page publication for each of the state’s 71 predominately forested counties. Each report explains how county economies benefit from forestry and forest products industries.

“The forestry sectors account for more than 10 percent of the state’s jobs, 12 percent of the income, 14 percent of the total economic output and 13 percent of the total value-added impact,” Hopper said.

The Journal of Forestry covers forestry topics including economics, history, fire, measurements, policy, recreation, silviculture, forest ecology, geospatial technologies, international forestry, social sciences, wildlife management, education and communication, entomology and pathology, soils and hydrology, utilization and engineering, and urban and community forestry.