Delta Wildlife, along with State partners The Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission, Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, and Mississippi State University, are pleased to announce that the sign up and application period for the Mississippi Delta Feral Swine Abatement Expansion Project is now open.

Eligible counties include Claiborne, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Jefferson, Sharkey, Warren, Washington and Yazoo.

NRCS, APHIS and the Mississippi State Technical Agriculture Committee worked together to define the critical areas to be considered for projects within the state. The first round Mississippi pilot project runs from 2020 to 2023 and includes Issaquena, Sharkey, Warren and Yazoo.

The second round, known as the “Mississippi Delta Expansion Project,” is slated to run from 2021-2024. Participating counties consists of the original four counties plus Claiborne, Holmes, Humphreys, Jefferson and Washington counties.

Combined, there will be 36 smart traps deployed across the nine counties that are managed by Delta Wildlife staff, offering landowners the most effective means of whole sounder removal at no expense or effort to the landowner. Delta Wildlife staff is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the trap from start to finish. Delta Wildlife is enthusiastic to work with our state and federal partners to expand the footprint of smart trapping that is currently taking place in the Mississippi Delta.

This project is implemented jointly by NRCS and USDA’s Animal and Plant Health and Inspection Service (APHIS). Total funding for the program is $75 million over the life of the 2018 Farm Bill. In the first round of funding, NRCS obligated more than $16.7 million for 20 feral swine pilot projects in 10 states.

APHIS and NRCS limited the first round of pilot projects to select areas of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. Round 1 projects are currently ongoing and are a collaborative effort between APHIS, NRCS and the selected partners.

A second round of funding and projects have been selected and include work in Alabama, Hawaii, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas.

NRCS and APHIS are working with Delta Wildlife, Inc., on the two pilot projects in Mississippi to deliver NRCS funded assistance to producers for eradication and control activities. Collaboration in the pilot area between Delta Wildlife, Mississippi State University, the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission, and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce will provide outreach, training opportunities, trap distribution and management, monitoring and evaluation.

Activities will also allow efforts to focus on their eradication and control of feral swine by educating landowners and providing tools/equipment that can be used after the project has ended.

Private landowners seeking assistance will request services by visiting https://www.deltawildlife.org/feralswine.html to submit an online application. Site visits and Assessments will be completed by MSWCC on a first come first serve basis, then active management/trapping will be prioritized and scheduled using a damage assessment ranking tool by Delta Wildlife Staff.

For more information on the project or assistance signing up, please contact MSWCC Feral Swine Program Coordinator, Nolan Brooks. You may email him at Nolan@deltawildlife.org or call 662-822-6764.