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Scientists at Mississippi State University are transforming a piece of property in Oktibbeha County into a unique habitat for conducting research and teaching best land management practices.

In this forest, wildlife habitat and timber production are intertwined. Deer, turkey, quail and an array of grassland songbirds fill the land while healthy streams flow along its boundaries.

MSU Forest and Wildlife Research Center experts began working on the 550-acre property this fall. The land is a living laboratory that showcases proper land management.

MSU alumnus Lester Andrews donated the property, which is now part of the university’s Bulldog Forest. Andrews grew up in Starkville. His father was an agronomy professor and alumnus of MSU, which was named Mississippi A&M at the time. Andrews, who received a bachelor’s degree from MSU in chemical engineering, gave the land to provide research opportunities for scientists and students.

“I am a research scientist, and my father was a research scientist, so it is very gratifying for this land to become a living research laboratory,” said Andrews, a chemistry and research professor at the University of Virginia. “Having worked in a laboratory all of my life, I understand the need for research and the desire to demonstrate research discoveries to others.” The property has sentimental value for Andrews. His father bought the property in 1979 and cleared it to farm soybeans. He and his father planted the property in pine trees in the winter of 1989.

From Mississippi State University: https://msucares.com/news/print/agnews/an13/20131118_forest.html