SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI — The Mississippi Forestry Commission says the first Southern pine beetle outbreak to hit southwest Mississippi in nearly 20 years has apparently doubled in size and shows no signs of slowing. The Enterprise-Journal reports officials are urging landowners in Franklin, Amite, Wilkinson, Adams, Jefferson, Lincoln and Copiah counties to check for the beetles, [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: August 6,2012
Tags: breach of contract, contract, county, county government, courts, energy, forest, forestland, fuel, judge, judicial, lawsuit, lumber, manufacture, manufacturer, manufacturing, sue, suing, timber, tree, wood, wood pellet
MAGNOLIA — An Aug. 13 trial date has been set in U.S. District Court in Jackson in a breach-of-contract lawsuit by Pike County against a wood pellet company that never built a promised mill. The Enterprise-Journal reports Indeck Energy Services of Buffalo Grove, Ill., bought land from Pike County in 2008 with plans to build [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: August 6,2012
Tags: brownfield, cleanup, ecosystem, environment, federal agency, federal government, lumber, manufacture, manufacturer, manufacturing, plant, pollution, public safety, timber, wildlife, wood, workplace safety
PURVIS — The cleanup at the former Davis Timber Co. site should be completed within weeks, the Environmental Protection Agency says. Just last week, workers were putting the final loads of clay over a 3.1-acre where contaminated dirt and water-bottom muck were moved, said Scott Martin, remedial project manager with the agency’s Region Four office [...] [...]
by MBJ Staff Published: July 19,2012
Tags: acquisition, forest, forester, forestry, invesdtor, invest, investing, investment, land, lumber, purchase, real estate, timber, tree, wood
JACKSON — The Hancock Timber Resource Group of Boston and Jackson-based Molpus Woodlands Group have purchased the 1.88 million acre timberland portfolio of Forest Capital Partners, the companies report. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Hancock Timber is acquiring 376,000 acres in Louisiana, 573,000 acres in Oregon, 138,000 acres in Idaho and 264,000 acres [...] [...]
by MBJ Staff Published: July 12,2012
Tags: beetle, forestry, forrest, harvest, home, homebuilding, house, housing, lumber, market, pest, price, tax, tax-free sales, thinning, timber, tree, wood, woodland
ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — Landowners debating the timing for their next timber sale should send trees to the market sooner, rather than later. James Henderson, assistant forestry professor with Mississippi State University’s Extension Service, said increases in housing starts are contributing to gradual timber price improvements, but better reasons to harvest could be related to insects [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: July 9,2012
Tags: agriculture, beetle, forest, forester, forestry, habitat, insect, lumber, pest, timber, tree, wood
SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI — Southern pine beetle populations are on the rise in southwest Mississippi, and foresters are warning of a potential outbreak and urging landowners to be on the lookout for the tree-killing pests. The Mississippi Forestry Commission says populations of the borer beetles that attack and kill live trees are increasing in the area [...] [...]
by MBJ Staff Published: June 25,2012
Tags: agriculture, expand, expansion, facility, forest, forestry, lumber, manufacture, manufacturer, manufacturing, mill, plant, stimulus, timber
CORINTH — Timber Products Company, manufacturer of various wood products, is expanding operations at its hardwood plywood facility in Corinth by adding a clear ultraviolet plywood finishing process at the plant. The project represents a company investment of $350,000 and will create up to four new jobs and help retain the company’s 50 current employees, [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: June 21,2012
Tags: agriculture, appeal, bench, court, decision, fire, fired, firing, forest, forester, forestry, judge, judicial, judiciary, log, logger, logging, lumber, ruling, terminate, termination, timber, tree, wood
FRANKLIN COUNTY — The Mississippi Court of Appeals has upheld the firing of a Franklin County forester who opposed a logging plan pushed by the state. The decision overturned a 2010 order by Franklin County judge who found the Mississippi Forestry Commission’s firing of Stephen Oglesby was wrong. According to court records, Oglesby was at [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: April 10,2012
Tags: disaster, disaster recovery, environment, federal agency, federal government, foresters, forestry, forests, habitat, hurricanes, lumber, natural disaster, pines, reforestation, severe weather, timber, trees, tropical weather, Weather, wildlife, wood
SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI — A long-term, federal initiative aimed at more than doubling the size of longleaf pine forests in the Southeast could have an estimated $300 million economic impact in the Mississippi Pine Belt. In February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that 20 restoration projects had been programmed for 2012, including a $2.7 million [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: March 13,2012
Tags: disaster, disaster recovery, environment, federal government, forests, hurricanes, lumber, natural disaster, nonprofits, timber, trees, wood
SOUTH MISSISSIPPI — The federal government and a nonprofit organization are working to help private landowners restore stands of oaks, cypress and other hardwoods ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina killed or severely damaged about 320 million trees in less than 24 hours when it swept through Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama in August 2005, according [...] [...]