Three departments, forest service establish relationships

Three university departments recently signed cooperative agreements with the U.S. Forest Service to establish closer working relations.

Signing agreements with the U.S. Forest Service are (l-r) Cameron Man and Glenn Cook of landscape architecture; Clara Johnson with the forest service; Dr. Randy Robinette of wildlife and fisheries; and Dr. Joe Seger of the Cobb Institute of Archaeology.

The Department of Landscape Architecture signed a five-year memorandum of understanding with the National Forests in Mississippi. The agreement allows landscape architecture students to use national forest lands for design and layout projects. Rangers from the Tombigbee National Forest in Ackerman will provide technical expertise, maps and other resources for the students to complete their projects.

In another agreement, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will provide a student intern to assist the Tombigbee National Forest with wildlife and fisheries program management. The student's primary responsibilities will be assisting the Tombigbee's wildlife biologist and forest fisheries biologist in habitat management.

And, the Cobb Institute of Archaeology and the National Forests in Mississippi have agreed to allow MSU faculty to digitally record an archaeological excavation planned this summer. The site is a large, prehistoric village located on the Noxubee River near Ackerman. Results from the excavation will be made available later on the Internet.

Other cooperative projects under consideration include a neo-tropical bird inventory and habitat study, a study of the effects of deer browsing on natural vegetation and analysis of the socioeconomic effects of forest service activities on counties in Mississippi.