United States Department of Agriculture - Forest Service	Southern Research Station 200 W.T. Weaver Boulevard Asheville, NC 28804
	Date:   November 5, 2001 Science Contact: Paul B. Hamel  662-686-3167 phamel@fs.fed.us News Release Contact: Claire Payne 828-257-4392 cpayne@fs.fed.us

Reasons to Restore Bottomland Hardwoods in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley

Asheville,NC -- Although the Mississippi Alluvial Valley includes some of the richest soil in the United States, 80 percent of the Valley’s forests have been converted to agricultural use or development. Southern bottomland hardwood forests play a major role as habitat for numerous reptiles, amphibians, and mammals and for breeding, wintering, and migrating birds. Paul B. Hamel, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, and Thomas L. Foti, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, edited Bottomland Hardwoods of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley: Characteristics and Management of Natural Function, Structure, and Composition (GTR SRS-42). Articles address significance of old-growth and second-growth forests as habitat, effects of ownership patterns and land fragmentation, and the role bottomland hardwoods play in some songbirds’ tenuous future. You can request a free copy of GTR SRS-42 by e-mail (pubrequest@srs.fs.usda.gov) , telephone ((828) 257-4830), or by letter. Related Links: View this publication on-line: Bottomland Hardwoods of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley: Characteristics and Management of Natural Function, Structure, and Composition Visit the Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Web site www.srs.fs.fed.us/cbhr/

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