Mississippi Forestry Commission

Mississippi Forestry Commission, a state government entity headquartered in Pearl, Mississippi, acts as the prime recipient of federal forest management and wildfire suppression grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, with 99% of its recent federal awards structured as prime grants rather than subcontracts or pass-through arrangements.

The Commission's federal grant portfolio concentrates almost entirely within USDA programs. The Department of Agriculture Forest Service and its regional offices (chiefly the R8-Southern Region) account for 147 of 174 awards in the source data, spanning the Cooperative Forestry Assistance program (CFDA 10.664), State & Private Forestry Cooperative Fire Assistance (CFDA 10.698), Forest Health Protection (CFDA 10.680), Forest Legacy Program (CFDA 10.676), State & Private Forestry Hazardous Fuel Reduction (CFDA 10.697), and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Temporary Bridge Program (CFDA 10.721). The Commission also receives grant funding from USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (CFDA 10.025) for cogongrass control and detection, and the Forest Service Research Service Southern Research Station for forest inventory and analysis work. A single cooperative agreement with the Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service (DOI Region 9) funds forest management on National Wildlife Refuges within the Theodore Roosevelt complex.

Recent representative grants demonstrate the Commission's core capability areas. A $5.24 million Cooperative Forestry Assistance award (CFDA 10.664, August 22, 2025, completion August 21, 2030) funds hazardous fuels reduction, invasive species management (particularly southern pine beetle and cogongrass control), forest health monitoring, technical assistance to private landowners, prescribed burning, and urban and community forestry across non-federal lands in Mississippi. A $7.257 million Cooperative Forestry Assistance grant (CFDA 10.664, July 1, 2024, completion August 31, 2030) targets forested watershed restoration and conservation in the Gulf region. A $389,159 State & Private Forestry Cooperative Fire Assistance award (CFDA 10.698, September 5, 2025, completion September 4, 2030) provides financial assistance, technical training, equipment procurement, and technology to support wildland fire protection, firefighter training, hazardous fuels reduction, prescribed burning, and community wildfire preparedness planning. Cogongrass management receives dedicated funding through a $550,000 cooperative agreement with APHIS (September 30, 2024, completion September 29, 2025) for detection, control, monitoring, and landowner education targeting cogongrass eradication across approximately 275 acres and 2,500 infested spots. The Commission also operates temporary bridge rental programs serving timber contractors and loggers under Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding ($500,000 awarded July 2, 2026, and $600,000 awarded August 15, 2025, both extending through 2030/2031).

Award activity has remained steady, averaging roughly 11 awards per year over the past five years (12 in 2022, 10 in 2023, 14 in 2024, 11 in 2025, and 7 awards through July 2026). The source data shows combined obligated dollars of $191.7 million against a combined potential value of $29 thousand—reflecting a data artifact where most awards carry zero ceiling values but substantial obligated invoiced revenue—indicating a mature, well-funded recipient relationship with the Forest Service. Only one award faces completion within the next twenty-four months, suggesting minimal recompete exposure in that window. The Commission acts as a sub-recipient on a single grant sub-award from the State of Mississippi Division of the Development Authority for herbicide application to treat cogongrass (awarded June 17, 2026).

As a state forestry agency and arm of state government, the Mississippi Forestry Commission delivers comprehensive forest stewardship, wildfire management, invasive species control, and forest health protection services on non-federal forest and rural lands throughout Mississippi, functioning as the operational delivery mechanism for USDA Forest Service grant programs across the Southern Region and holding long-standing cooperative partnerships with federal natural-resource agencies.