Two one-day workshops will provide the tools for farmers and landowners to start and manage a natural resource enterprise.

Fee fishing, fee hunting, agritourism, and wildlife watching are examples of enterprises based on the natural resources commonly found on Mississippi’s private lands.

An April 14 event will be held at Clear Springs Recreation Area in Franklin County within the Homochitto National Forest.

A second event is planned at the Lexington Multipurpose Complex in Holmes County on May 6.

Both workshops begin at 8 a.m. and conclude around 3:30 p.m.

Workshop participants will hear presentations about business management, marketing, revenue potential from enterprises, cost-share programs and liability issues.

Following lunch, the afternoon sessions will provide a glimpse at natural resource enterprises that can easily be adopted by landowners. The April 14 workshop includes outdoor activities involving wildlife habitat management, forest management, fee-fishing opportunities, wildlife watching and horse trail riding.

The event in Lexington will include an afternoon tour of Black Creek Outfitters in Holmes County where wildlife habitat management and conservation as well as other recreational opportunities will be demonstrated.

The workshops are in partnership with the Mississippi Municipal League. State and local elected officials and resource managers are invited to attend.

The workshops are part of a series by the Natural Resource Enterprises Program at Mississippi State University. The program is a partnership between MSU’s Extension Service, MSU’s Forest and Wildlife Research Center, the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

MSU’s Extension Service, MAFES and the FWRC cooperatively created and implement the Natural Resource Enterprises Program to assist private landowners in developing alternative or supplemental methods of income on their land.

Registration for the workshop is $25, which includes a reference notebook, lunch, break refreshments, presentations by resource professionals and a field tour with agency personnel.

For more information about the workshop or to register, visit http://www.wildlifeworkshop.msstate.edu or call (662) 325-3133.