By Houston Havens, Waterfowl Biologist Published with Permission Have you ever had good intentions that just never seemed to be put into action? This is too often the case in waterfowl habitat management. Other activities usually take up much of our time during the spring and summer seasons, and the best intentions of planning ahead for duck season can be easily forgotten. The good news is, it is ... read more...

On October 29th I attended a program on wild hog management sponsored by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Mississippi State University Extension Service. Here’s the situation: the reproductive rate of hogs is astonishing.  According to the experts, you have to kill 80% of the population annually to maintain your current numbers. For those of you who love numbers: St... read more...

During the early 1900s, the wood duck was threatened with extinction due to unregulated harvest and habitat loss. Through conservation efforts, research, and the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, the wood duck now thrives in 42 states and five Canadian provinces. Many consider the wood duck the most beautiful and colorful bird in the world. The male has a purple and green crested h... read more...

Weird stuff happens, everywhere -- deer antlers are no exception. Examples may include single, broken, deformed, or malformed-antlered deer. Bucks exhibiting all of the aforementioned characteristics will be seen by hunters this deer season. Most of these deer, if legal, will be harvested forthright. A few of these "weird-antlered" bucks will leave hunters who are actively involved in de... read more...

"Is it genetics or is it nutrition?" For many years, this question has been asked of biologists concerning regional differences in white-tailed deer antler size. We know that body mass and Boone and Crockett scores vary among regions of the state. For example, Boone and Crockett scores differ by about 20 inches between the Delta and Lower Coastal Plain soil regions. We also know that bot... read more...