Wildlife Services—a program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)—provides Federal leadership and expertise to resolve wildlife conflicts that threaten public 

health and safety, natural resources, and agriculture. APHIS’ Wildlife Services program in Mississippi responds 

to requests for assistance from individuals, local governments, and other groups experiencing damage caused by wildlife by 

providing technical advice or direct assistance through cooperative service agreements.

Parks; Transportation; and Forestry Commission), 

the Mississippi Association of Supervisors, the Delta 

Council, the Mississippi Farm Bureau, and the 

Mississippi Extension Service. Funding comes from 

State, county, Federal, and private sources. 

Wildlife Services personnel use explosives routinely 

to remove beaver dams that are flooding property. 

Its personnel are trained and certified in the safe and 

effective use of explosives prior to conducting any 

explosives work. In fact, the Mississippi Wildlife Services 

staff includes six explosive specialists who are experts in 

the use of kinnepak, a binary explosive used to remove 

beaver dams that cannot be cleared by hand. 

Aquaculture Damage Management

Fish-eating birds cause an estimated $5 million in 

annual losses to the Mississippi aquaculture industry. 

These losses could be two to three times higher if 

Wildlife Services was not active in using nonlethal 

harassment to reduce predation. Two species that 

have increased in population over the last decade, 

the double-crested cormorant and the American 

white pelican, account for the most damage to 

Mississippi aquaculture. 

Wildlife Services conducts aerial surveys of cormorant 

roosts in the Mississippi Delta every 2 weeks, from 

October through April. Program officials note areas 

of heavy cormorant concentrations and notify local 

aquaculture producers in order to plan appropriate 

Wildlife Services protects 

Mississippi transportation—

from space shuttles to country 

roads—from damage caused by 

wildlife, such as bird strikes to 

aircraft and beaver dams like 

this one being raked from a 

culvert. 

Double-crested cormorants and 

feral swine are wildlife that cause 

conflicts in Mississippi; however, 

the beaver is a main focus of damage for Wildlife Services programs.

Wildlife Conflicts

Mississippi’s 2.8 million residents share a mix of agricultural, forested, and urban settings with an abundant 

diversity of wildlife, a natural resource that provides aesthetic, recreational, and economic benefits. By its very 

nature, however, wildlife is dynamic and mobile—and 

can cause conflicts when populations grow too large 

or have too close contact with humans. Introduced, 

or invasive, species may endanger native animals and 

the environment. Wildlife can also destroy crops and 

livestock, damage property and natural resources, and 

pose serious risks to human health and safety. 

Wildlife Services provides Federal leadership and 

expertise to resolve these conflicts and create a balance 

that allows people and wildlife to coexist peacefully. As 

wildlife damage occurs more frequently and evolves into 

new challenges, Wildlife Services’ knowledge and skills 

are in greater demand than ever.

While Wildlife Services’ primary focus is preventing and 

managing agricultural damage, its mission also includes 

resolving wildlife conflicts in urban areas; protecting 

public, private, and industrial property; and preserving natural resources, such as critical wildlife habitats 

beaver products has led to a decrease in trapping and 

subsequent population increases. Beavers now occupy 

nearly all watersheds in the State. 

This population and activity growth has resulted in 

some benefits—increased wetland habitat, reduced 

downstream sedimentation, and improved water quality. 

However, detrimental impacts from beaver activities 

have also increased. This damage impacts Mississippi 

roadways and bridges, agricultural and forest resources, 

and personal property and landscaping. It also causes 

flooding of municipal sewer and water treatment facilities. Altogether, beaver damage costs the citizens of 

Mississippi several million dollars each year. For example, a 1979 study estimated annual agricultural losses 

at about $2.5 million due to beavers, while a 1985 

study estimated a potential of $215 million in damage 

annually to marketable timber as a result of beavers.

Fortunately, through its Beaver Control Assistance 

Program (BCAP), Wildlife Services addresses a 

number of these problems and is able to prevent 

several million dollars more in damage from occurring. Specifically, BCAP assists the U.S. Department 

of Transportation (DOT), city and county governments, soil and water conservation districts, private 

landholders, and others with beaver problems. 

Wildlife Services runs BCAP through a cooperative service agreement with several Mississippi State agencies 

(i.e., Agriculture and Commerce; Wildlife, Fisheries and 

and threatened and endangered species. Increasingly, 

Wildlife Services is responsible for minimizing wildlife 

threats to public health and safety, as well as to the vital 

agricultural base. This work involves a broad range of 

efforts—from monitoring for wildlife diseases that can 

affect humans and domestic animals to preventing 

potentially dangerous interactions between wildlife and 

aircraft. The wildlife damage management challenges of 

the new century span invisible boundaries, and Wildlife 

Services has responded with a variety of programs to 

protect people, agriculture, and wildlife.

The Wildlife Services program staff in Mississippi 

includes wildlife biologists and specialists who have 

degrees in the sciences and/or formal training in wildlife 

behavior and management. Many of the staff members 

are active in professional wildlife organizations, such 

as The Wildlife Society. The State Director leads this 

diverse team of support staff, supervisors, and wildlife 

management professionals—including several airport 

biologists, a disease biologist, a rabies technician, 

aquaculture specialists, and numerous other wildlife 

specialists. Given the sensitive nature of their work, they 

receive regular training and testing in the proper use of 

their tools—which include pesticides, immobilizing and 

euthanizing drugs, firearms, and other equipment—to 

To help protect Mississippi’s aquaculture 

industry, Wildlife Services 

works with researchers to 

determine the types and 

sizes of fish that are being 

eaten by fish-eating birds. 

make their work safe for the public and for themselves. 

The staff also undergoes complete background investigations and drug testing prior to employment. 

As the number one industry in the State, agriculture 

employs 29 percent of the Mississippi workforce. 

It contributes $6.3 billion to the State’s economy. 

Mississippi has more than 40,000 farms—located in 

every county and covering a total of 11 million acres. 

Wildlife Services can assist in protecting the State’s 

leading resources and commodities: forestry, catfish, 

cattle, poultry and eggs, soybeans, corn, rice, cotton, 

wheat, and hay. 

Wildlife Services’ work complies with all Federal, State, 

and local laws, including the National Environmental 

Policy Act, which requires Federal agencies to evaluate 

the potential environmental impacts when implementing a major Federal action. In addition, Wildlife Services 

is self-insured under the Federal Tort Claims Act, and 

the program obtains written permission from landowners prior to any operation.

Beaver Damage Management

One of the major considerations for Wildlife Services 

in Mississippi is protecting transportation, agriculture, 

forestry, and property through beaver damage management. Historically, the beaver has represented a valuable economic and natural resource for Mississippi as 

a fur-bearing commodity. Today, the lower demand for 
Wildlife Services

Protecting Mississippi 

Agriculture and Resources

Wildlife Services Seeks Balance 

Between Humans and Wildlife 

harassment activities. Wildlife Services specialists are 

available to educate producers about nonlethal harass-

ment methods to disperse other fish-eating species 

and, when necessary, help obtain depredation permits. 

Program officials have also begun to survey American 

white pelicans from the ground and the air to help 

producers plan harassment activities. 

New Federal rules allow for the lethal removal of 

double-crested cormorants in winter roost sites and 

nontraditional nesting areas. Wildlife Services has 

begun implementing these new depredation orders, 

which are permitted to protect aquaculture and natural 

resources. Numerous Mississippi cooperators have 

assisted in successfully carrying out this effort. In addi-

tion, Wildlife Services offices in several northern States 

actively manipulate cormorant eggs to prevent them 

from hatching and protect local resources; these efforts 

may assist Mississippi producers as well by helping to 

control population increases. 

The National Wildlife Research Center—the research 

arm of Wildlife Services and the only U.S. facility 

devoted entirely to the development of wildlife dam-

age management methods—operates a field station in 

Mississippi for aquaculture damage research through-

out the Eastern United States. The station, located in 

Starkville, primarily studies captive and free-ranging 

birds to determine the local and regional population 

status of fish-eating birds, the extent of damage caused, 

and effective management techniques. The station’s 

field researchers seek alternative strategies that can be 

integrated into a comprehensive management plan for 

cost-effective reductions in damage that birds cause to 

the aquaculture industry. 

Airport Wildlife Hazards

Wildlife Services is recognized internationally for its 

scientific expertise in reducing wildlife hazards to the 

aviation industry. The January 2009 forced landing 

on the Hudson River of a commercial airliner that had 

collided with Canada geese dramatically demonstrated 

such hazards. Experts estimate that wildlife strikes with 

airplanes cost the U.S. civil aviation industry more than 

$625 million and military aviation more than $100 mil-

lion annually. Mississippi’s civil and military airports on 

the coast and inland must manage a variety of potential 

wildlife hazards.

Wildlife Services currently employs three full-time em-

ployees who protect both civil and military installations 

and provide technical advice to numerous airports in 

Mississippi each year.

Other Wildlife Management Concerns

Wildlife Services provides assistance to a variety of 

groups and individuals on health and safety issues con-

cerning wildlife. The most widespread request concerns 

bats dwelling in residences and businesses. In urban 

and suburban areas, residents may need assistance 

in responding safely to other wildlife conflicts, such 

as vultures roosting on homes and towers or resident 

Canada geese interfering with the enjoyment of recre-

ational areas. Another common problem occurs when USDA is an equal opporltunity employer and provider.

United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 

Program Aid No. 2036 • Issued April 2010

Protecting People 

Protecting Agriculture

Protecting Wildlife

overabundant flocks of blackbirds and pigeons defecate 

on buildings and other properties. All of these species 

can harbor a variety of diseases, and their fecal 

material can create hazardous conditions for people. 

Wildlife Services provides advice on methods to 

respond to such problems and can conduct operations 

to assist on a user-fee basis. 

Invasive species, such as nutria and feral swine (wild 

hogs), can cause severe damage to natural resources 

and property in developed communities and natural 

areas. Wildlife Services’ unique skills and training equip 

the staff to respond to these invasive animals with com-

prehensive programs. 

Wildlife Services also conducts surveillance for rabies, 

avian influenza, and other diseases in wildlife that 

pose serious risks to the public, the Nation’s livestock 

and poultry, other wildlife populations, and/or the U.S. 

economy. A wildlife disease biologist, part of the Wildlife 

Services’ National Wildlife Disease Program, is part of 

the Mississippi staff. 

For More Information

To learn more, contact the Wildlife Services’ 

Mississippi staff at 1-866-4USDA-WS 

(toll-free at 1-866-487-3297) or 

(662) 325-3014. 

Information is also available on APHIS’ Web site at 

www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage.

Cover photos: Propane cannon used at an aquaculture 

facility to discourage birds (top); a Wildlife Services 

biologist rakes a beaver dam shown over beaverdamaged property (lower).

Photo credits: All USDA-APHIS photographs by 

Richard Nowitz, except for the cormorants, feral swine, 

and space shuttle images, which are from the APHIS 

photo collection.

Vultures can present a variety of damage concerns (left). A 

disease biologist monitors for diseases in wildlife to support 

the APHIS mission (right).