Mississippi Delta Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program Project
The Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program responds to the threat feral swine pose to American agriculture, landscapes and human and livestock health.
Project Area
The counties bordering the Mississippi River are a priority in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. The project zone includes all areas within the following counties: LeFlore, Washington, Holmes, Tallahatchie, Issaquena, Sharkey, and Yazoo. Within the proposed zone there are portions of Panola, Grenada, and Coahoma counties. The borders are defined by the Mississippi River to the West, Interstate 55 to the East (except for Carroll County), Mississippi Highway 6 to the North, and the Big Black River to the South. Within this proposed zone, Sunflower, Carroll and Humphreys counties are excluded for lack of feral swine densities when compared to the surrounding areas. This project area contains multiple Federal and State-owned lands, and the region is dominated by row crop production. Land use data obtained from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2022 Census of Agriculture was combined for the nine counties and is summarized below.
The total cropland in production for the proposed project site roughly consists of 1,758,376 acres from 2,312 total farms. In addition to cropland, the forested land total is roughly 425,199 acres with pastureland composing 200,628 total acres. Focus on this area is directly related to the amount of row crop and watershed acreage.
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Anticipated Partner Activities
The partner is expected to:
- Identify private landowners and farm operators in the project area seeking assistance with feral swine management.
- Identify private landowners and farm operators in the project area with feral swine damage.
- Establish long-term trap loan program to begin after the formal project is complete for landowners, farm operators, and land managers that participate in at least one trap training session to use the trap equipment purchased through this project.
- Assist private landowners, farm operators, and USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Wildlife Services staff with trapping of feral swine.
APHIS will be considered the subject matter experts for implementing feral swine removal and damage reduction activities. Partners will need to collaborate with APHIS personnel when removal activities are requested by participating landowners. All projects will be a collaborative and coordinated effort between the selected partner, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and APHIS. It is required that APHIS maintains operational control of feral swine management activities.
Monitoring/Evaluation Requirements of Partner
Feral swine detection and monitoring will be conducted prior to removal efforts and after removal efforts have been completed. Presence/absence surveys will be completed annually. Track surveys will be utilized for row crop project areas while camera surveys will be ideal for wooded project areas. Landowner participation will also be encouraged through reporting feral swine sightings pre and post removal efforts. An additional success metric will be an increase in landowner participation throughout both the project areas and surrounding counties.
Partners are required to collect standardized information for trapping operations in accordance with APHIS procedures. Examples of data collected include trap location, number of pigs trapped, location of nearby resources, etc.
Training Expectations
Education will be essential aspects of the project to ensure landowners are educated on the need for removing feral swine, approved techniques, and methods for controlling feral swine populations. Partners are expected to assist with training and educational activities.