AN ASSESSMENT OF MISSISSIPPI’S NONINDUSTRIAL PRIVATE FOREST LANDOWNERS KNOWLEDGE OF FORESTRY BMP’S ANDREW J. LONDO Department of Forestry, Mississippi State University, Box 9681, Mississippi State, MS 39762, U.S.A. (for correspondence, e-mail: andyL@ext.msstate.edu; phone: 662 325 8003; fax: 662 325 0027) Abstract. This study examined the knowledge levels of Mississippi Non Industrial Private Forest (NIPF) landowners. Data were collected by passing out surveys to participants in Best Management Practices (BMP) educational programs held in conjunction with County Forestry Association (CFA) meetings across Mississippi. Ten CFA’s participated in this study. Educational program participants were asked to fill out a survey with several demographic and BMP questions prior to the educational program. Results show that BMP program participants owned an average of 113 hectares, whereas the average Mississippi NIPF landowner owns 20 hectares. Responses to BMP related questions show that Mississippi NIPF landowners have a low level of knowledge concerning BMP’s. This situation is likely similar to other states in the Southeastern United States. It can be assumed that county forestry association members are more active and informed about managing their forest land. Therefore, these results may overestimate the BMP knowledge level all landowners in Mississippi. Improved educational programs for NIPF landowners, along with better communication between foresters, loggers, and NIPF landowners are needed if BMP’s are to be implemented effectively in Mississippi and across the southern region. Keywords: Best Management Practices, forest management, forestry, Mississippi, NIPF landowners, water quality 1. Introduction The quality of water draining from forested watersheds is generally high (NCASI, 1994). However, forest management activities have the potential to disturb the soil, which can lead to erosion and decreases in long-term site productivity and water quality (Londo and Mroz, 2001; Aust et al., 1998). The passage of the Water Quality Act of 1987 (WQA) established that programs for the control of non-point sources of pollution be implemented. Non point source pollution has no specific point of entry into a watercourse and as such can not be defined. To reduce the impact of forest management activities on non point source pollution, all states have developed a set of Forestry Best Management Practices (BMPs) in order to be in compliance with the WQA (Lickwar et al., 1990). BMPs can be defined as a collection of practices which limit the displacement of soil and maintain water quality (Shuler and Briggs, 2000). Various studies have been con- Water, Air, and Soil Pollution: Focus 4: 235–243, 2004. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.