By Beau Brodbeck

The winners of the 2012 Helene Mosley Memorial Treasure Forest Award, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians (PCI), invites landowners to tour PCI’s forest on Oct. 3. The Helene Mosley award, active since 1977, selects landowners who have gone above and beyond in conducting outstanding multiple-use forest management.

The Magnolia Branch forestry field day aims to exhibit what is truly a multi-use forest. PCI has done an outstanding job in managing the Magnolia Branch Wildlife Reserve for uses ranging from camping and recreation to edible native plants and forest products to game and endangered wildlife.

Registration for the Oct. 3 field day is free and includes lunch, so come join from 8:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, to register and directions, please contact the Escambia County Extension Office, located in Brewton, by calling (251) 867-7760 or emailing kellewi@aces.edu. The reserve is located at 24 Big Creek Road, located just off County Road 12/Robinsonville Road.

The field day will be an excellent opportunity for outdoor enthusiasts, including landowners, hunters, and foresters interested in managing forestland for multiple uses. Attendees will enjoy an outdoor experience touring the 6,500-acre reserve via truck-drawn trailers.

In addition to a fun day in the outdoors, the tour will feature five educational stops. Speakers will address a wide range of multiple use topics with management applications and associated economic considerations. Tour stops will include managing for native edible forest plants, maintaining or improving water quality, selecting and planting native understory plants, gopher tortoise and box turtle management and longleaf establishment. Expert speakers from a variety of agencies and the professional forestry community will pass on their knowledge and experience through these outdoor demonstrations.

 

Beau Brodbeck is an agent with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.