Squirrel hunting is still a significant pastime, but, for most, one limited to a month prior to deer season and another stretch in February once the last of the extended deer seasons ends. Rabbit hunting, probably the most exciting of any shooting sport, has also been relegated to a secondary role, its decline brought on perhaps as much by the decline of rabbit numbers in the mid-20th century as by the increase in deer populations that made big-game hunters out of most small game aficionados. This trend continues despite a sharp increase in rabbit numbers fueled by projects like the Conservation Reserve Program and Wetlands Reserve Program over the past two decades.

Hunting for wild bobwhites has suffered the worst. Land-use patterns over the past half-century have devastated quail habitat, and restoration projects are in their infancy. Action for these game birds is limited to northeast Mississippi and a few pockets in other areas.

While it has taken decades for these changes to occur, the events of the past 18 months have also made a serious impact on small-game biology, habitat and hunting. Mississippi’s small-game project leader Dave Godwin provided an update of those events.

SQUIRRELS
The first five years of the new century saw Mississippi sportsmen enjoying a notably profitable run of squirrel hunting. “We’ve had several years of good to excellent mast production, along with mild winters,” Godwin said in reference to the acorn crop. “I think most areas of the state had seen the benefits of that with outstanding squirrel production and hunting opportunities.”

All that changed in August 2005, when, in the middle of another fruitful year of acorn production, Hurricane Katrina blew through, wiping out not only the mast crop in most areas of the state but also thousands of acres of hardwood trees in south Mississippi.

“We had a catastrophic loss of hardwoods in the lower third of the state,” Godwin reported. “Some of our larger stands of hardwoods, like Old River Wildlife Management Area in Pearl River County, suffered as much as an 80 percent loss of trees. You’re looking at devastation that could impact squirrel hunting for several decades down there.

“District 6 took a catastrophic hit, but the storm also impacted the rest of the state,” Godwin noted with regard to the southeast portion of Mississippi. “Obviously, we’re not talking long-term impact in other areas like we are in the southeastern corner.”

Katrina’s sustained winds were still pushing 100 miles an hour when it reached Jackson, and were well above 50 when it reached the Tupelo area. “In addition to the direct impact of tree loss in the southern half of the state, the hurricane caused some indirect impact on squirrels, and at this point we don’t have a handle on just how far north it will be felt,” Godwin said. “There was a loss of acorn mast as far north as District 1. There were also substantial losses of nests being blown out of trees and weaker den trees being blown down. I know from talking to landowners and hunters that they were finding squirrel mortality for months after the storm.