MISSISSIPPI STATE – Landowners interested in increasing the return on their investment through recreational business can learn more about habitat management and new income opportunities at an upcoming workshop.

Specialists from Mississippi State University, state and federal agencies, and the private sector will share information about starting and managing a natural resource enterprise, such as wildlife watching, fee fishing, fee hunting and horse trail-riding. The workshop will be Nov. 13 at the Quail Hollow Ranch in Purvis.

Registration for the one-day workshop designed for farmers, forest landowners and resource managers begins at 8 a.m. The program starts at 9 a.m. Morning topics include business management, marketing, types of outdoor recreational enterprises, longleaf pine management, landowner cost-share programs and liability issues.

In the afternoon, participants will go on a field trip. Afternoon discussion topics include wild hog management and trapping techniques, and cost-share programs, such as the longleaf pine restoration programs available to South Mississippi landowners.

The $25 workshop registration includes a reference notebook, lunch, breaks and a field tour with agency personnel. Early registration is recommended due to space limitations.

This workshop is part of a series by the Natural Resource Enterprises Program, a collaborative program of the MSU Extension Service, MSU Forest and Wildlife Research Center, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is funded by the Mississippi Forestry Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service grant program.

For more information about the workshop or to register, visit http://www.naturalresources.msstate.edu/ or call (662) 325-3133.