THE MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

Introduction

This review originated from legislative concerns over the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District's harvesting of timber in an area in northern Rankin County described by opponents of the cut as a scenic hardwood forest. This timber cut was within the district's statutory authority and the district complied with most state and federal laws governing the cut. However, PEER noted deficiencies in the district's Forest Management Plan guidelines which prevent it from fully achieving objectives (e.g., wildlife enhancement and outdoor recreation) other than the generation of timber revenues.

Also, given the controversial nature of clearcuts, the district has not solicited sufficient public input prior to execution of each of its clearcut projects.

Review of the Northern Rankin County Timber Sale

Description of the Cut

1994 Timber Sale Number 30 affected 147 acres of district timber development land located in northern Rankin County in an area open for regulated hunting, but only accessible to the general public by boat and wading sloughs. The sale, which generated $351,207 in FY 1995 revenues (less costs of $1,568) for district public recreation improvements, involved three clearcuts of twenty-nine acres each and a selective cut of sixty acres. (See Exhibit A for a map of the cut and its location in relation to the district.)

District's Justification for the Cut and Public Opposition

The district contended that the trees in this area were mature and beginning to die, and therefore losing their economic value. The district claimed that in addition to the immediate economic benefit of the cuts, the project would improve the forest stand in the long run by producing "more vigorous and better quality trees" and, in the short run, improve the habitat for certain species of wildlife (e.g., deer, quail, turkey, doves, rabbits) which thrive on the type of vegetation fostered by clearcutting.

Prior and subsequent to the cut, opponents described the area in question as one of the district's most impressive hardwood stands, and argued that natural succession was superior from an aesthetic standpoint to artificially imposed succession via clearcutting. Opponents' other objections included concerns that the cut might lead to erosion, sedimentation, flooding problems, and harm to wildlife that thrive in a mature forest.

The District's Decisionmaking Process

The decision process which culminated in 1994 Timber Sale Number 30 began in 1982 with the district's decision to utilize its timber as a revenue source, marked by the district entering into a formal agreement with the Mississippi Forestry Commission for the management and marketing of district timber. Based on a survey of its timber resources, the district subsequently completed a ten-year Forest Management Plan in 1988, which included 100 acres in planned clearcuts and 18 acres in planned selective cuts in the area of 1994 Timber Sale Number 30, based on considerations of the advanced age of the stand. The district approved these cuts as part of a revised Forest Management Plan in 1991.

The district only solicited public input relative to the entire plan (not each individual planned cut), and reported receiving no negative comments. Prior to execution of the plan relative to 1994 Timber Sale Number 30, the district recruised the area (inspected and measured timber to determine whether it needed to be cut and the estimated volume to be cut) and reduced the planned clearcuts by thirteen acres and increased selective cuts by forty-two acres.

Legal Compliance

While this timber cut is within the district's statutory authority and the district complied with most state and federal laws governing the cut, the district violated an unenforced provision of the 1944 Forest Harvesting Law requiring the retention of seed trees in mixed, predominantly hardwood stands.

Follow-Up Review of the District's Use of Real Estate Consultants

With respect to PEER's 1993 recommendations on the district's use of real estate consultants, the district has implemented some of the recommendations while ignoring others. For example, in 1993 PEER recommended that the district end reliance on consultants, with respect to the management of its leased realty, within two years. While the district has plans to become self-reliant with respect to day-to-day lease management, it still relies on consultants for technical real estate management services, such as the preparation of land development feasibility analyses.

Regarding contracting for real estate management services, the district has followed PEER's recommendation to pay consultants on the basis of actual services rendered rather than using retainer fees. The district has also followed PEER's recommendation to modify its method of calculating sales commissions, based on a more accurate valuation of the lease. However, the district does not routinely conduct needs assessments or competitively bid its contracts.

Recommendations

1. In order to ensure that outdoor recreation interests are represented in the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District's decisionmaking process, the Legislature should consider reconstituting the district's board by replacing the five members directly appointed by the county boards of supervisors of Hinds, Madison, Rankin, Leake, and Scott counties with the following new members:

• a homeowner and residential lessee of the district, residing in Rankin or Madison county, to be appointed by the Governor from lists of nominees submitted by the boards of supervisors of Rankin and Madison counties;
• a representative of outdoor recreational users, appointed by the Lieutenant Governor from lists of nominees submitted by the boards of supervisors of each of the five counties noted above;
• a wildlife biologist, appointed by the Governor, which the Governor shall select from a list of three nominees submitted by the Mississippi Wildlife Federation; and,
• an employee of one of the state Institutions of Higher Learning appointed by the Board of Trustees of the Institutions of Higher Learning who has a terminal academic degree in an environmentally related science with five years of environmental research experience.

(Boards of supervisors of Hinds, Madison, Rankin, Leake, and Scott counties would still nominate the five appointees to the Pearl River Industrial Commission who serve on the board as ex officio members.)

See Appendix B, page 31, for proposed legislation concerning composition of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District board.

2. Given the recreational and scenic value of the reservoir, the district's board should reconsider clearcutting except in emergencies, such as those warranted by a pine beetle infestation. In the interim, given the controversial nature of clearcutting, the board should adopt a policy that, ninety days prior to each planned clearcut, the district will issue a press release soliciting public input and announcing a public hearing to be held on the proposed cut.

3. The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District should ensure that it only uses timber revenue for recreational improvements, and not for any recurring district expenses, by segregating timber-related revenues and expenses into a separate fund.

4. The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District should consider incorporating principles of ecosystem management, as developed by the U.S. Forest Service, into its planning process. These principles include increased public participation, integration of resource management, sustainability of resource uses and values, and collaboration with researchers and scientists.

These principles, developed as a means of addressing multiple and sometimes conflicting demands on natural resources, could help the district determine how and whether clearcutting fits into the overall plan for the district as determined by district managers, the public, and multidisciplinary experts.

The district should also expand its current planning efforts to include ongoing assessment of the impact of timber cutting, home building, and other reservoir activities on erosion, sedimentation, and other environmental concerns.

5. The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District and the Mississippi Forestry Commission, which drafts the district's timber cutting contracts, should consider adding references to "best management practices" in its contracts with timber cutters in order to reinforce its specific contract provisions requiring such practices. Adding this terminology to the contracts would educate and inform timber cutters as to the importance of the practices and would relate the practices to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act which require Best Management Practices.

6. The Mississippi Forestry Commission should enforce compliance with MISS. CODE ANN. Section 49-19-61 requiring the regeneration of predominantly hardwood forest land which has been cut by leaving seed trees. If the commission believes that the law is outdated, it should propose a bill addressing the law's problems for consideration by the Legislature.

7. The district should adhere to sound contracting practices, including conducting a formal needs assessment prior to each decision to contract and using competitive bidding as the mechanism for awarding contracts.

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