Mississippi Forestry Commission

The mission of the Mississippi Forestry Commission is: ==Program areas==

The Mississippi Forestry Commission has two major program areas: • Forest Protection and Information This program area is concerned with protection of the state's forestlands from wildfire, as well as, the detection, evaluation, and control of forest pests that include insects, diseases, and invasive plants. • Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory and Forest Management This program area provides an assessment of statewide forest resources using geographic information systems to estimate forest removals, regeneration, and development of forest cover. The agency manages two state forests (Kurtz and Camden) and the state's forested 16th Section School Trust Lands. ==Organizational structure==

There is a ten-member Board of Commissioners appointed by the Governor of Mississippi. The agency is under the direction of a State Forester with five Departments (Business Support, Forest Information, Forest Management, Forest Protection, and Forest Health). ==16th Section Lands==

The Mississippi Forestry Commission provides resource management on the state's 480,000 acres of forested 16th Section School Trust Lands in a cooperative arrangement with the Mississippi Secretary of State and local school districts. For some school districts in Mississippi, revenues from 16th Section timber sales and associated hunting and fishing leases have been their only source of funds. ==References==