Mississippi Forestry Commission eliminates 75 positions

The Mississippi Forestry Commission is laying off 75 workers, and while the agency said it spared firefighting crews in last year's cuts, this year's reorganization includes cutting approximately 50 employees who fight fires.

More:Local fire officials concerned over Forestry layoffs

Assistant State Forester Russell Bozeman said the cuts were necessary to offset a 16 percent, or $2.67 million, cut from the state Legislature. The state's appropriation to the commission is currently $16.2 million of its $23.6 million total budget.

Last year, the commission laid off 25 workers, including all its arson investigators and equipment mechanics, and eliminated six vacant positions because of state budget cuts. With $1.2 million in cuts to personnel last year, the commission is up to nearly $4 million in staff cuts in two years.

"This one will be testing our limits," said Charlie Morgan, state forester with the Mississippi Forestry Commission. "There was no fat. We took care of that last year if there was fat then."

Of the 75 positions cut, roughly 25 are office jobs, Morgan said. The rest are employees who perform "a very robust array of other services," like consult forest landowners, manage school trust lands and, occasionally, fight fires.

State Insurance Commissioner and Fire Marshal Mike Chaney said his office took over forest fire investigations after the layoffs in August.

"Preserving the Mississippi Forestry Commission’s statutorily mandated responsibility to protect forestland, lives, and homes from wildfire is our top priority," Morgan said in an agencynews release. "After much deliberation, the difficult decision was made to consolidate and reorganize districts, leaving as many wildland firefighting 'boots on the ground' in place as possible — within the constraints of our current budget restrictions ... The decision to reorganize our districts was not made lightly. We are deeply saddened to lose these faithful employees and appreciate their years of service to the state of Mississippi."

The commission notified affected employees today, and the reorganization will take effect July 1. Those who are laid off will have the opportunity to apply for a limited number of positions within the new regions, the news release said.

The agency said the reorganization aims to retain as many services the commission provides to the public as possible.

"In our reduction we used data that showed where the work is at, and used that data and relative to where our resources were to make sure that we maintain, as much as possible, the resources required to do the work," Morgan said. "That's not to say that if things go above normal, as far as wildfires and things like that, that we could not have a problem."

Contact Anna Wolfe at 601-961-7326 or awolfe@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter.

Fast facts

• During the 2016 fiscal year, the commission responded to and stopped 1,228 wildfires that burned 13,983 acres
• 31,370 total acres burned statewide in the last fiscal year. 
• Gov. Phil Bryant issued burn bans in 2015 and 2016.
• Statewide, 77 percent of Mississippi's forestland is privately owned by 350,000 people.
• Forestry contributes $12.79 billion to Mississippi's economy, $20 million of which goes to education through School Trust Land timber sale revenue. 
• The industry employs almost 70,000 people.
• Mississippi has 19.8 million forested acres.