NATCHEZ &8212; A different kind of turkey story is playing out at the Sandy Creek Wildlife Management Area near Natchez this week.

The Thanksgiving birds there run no risk of finding themselves on a holiday dinner table. In fact, they have reason to celebrate, thanks to part of a $20,000 Entergy grant that has provided new habitat for the turkeys.

&8220;Five acres were cleared, and a seed mixture was planted with maybe 10 different seeds,&8221; said biologist Chris McDonald, who works at the wildlife management area in southeastern Adams County.

The grasses provide brooding habitats for turkeys and are beneficial to songbirds, as well, McDonald said.

The project results from a collaboration among Entergy, which owns the property, the U.S. Forest Service, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and the National Wild Turkey Federation, a private nonprofit organization.

For Entergy, the benefit is having utility rights of way kept clear of vegetation that could interfere with transmission lines.

&8220;Already the project is yielding improved service and reliability for Entergy customers and reduced maintenance costs,&8221; a spokeswoman for the company said.

Joe Koloski of Brandon, a biologist with the National Wild Turkey Federation, said the Entergy grant has allowed the federation to work on more than 80 acres in four states &8212; Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, in addition to Mississippi &8212; to do similar habitat work on rights-of-way.

&8220;We&8217;re excited about it,&8221; Koloski said. &8220;It&8217;s a good example of how a private nonprofit, government agencies and a corporation can work together toward a common goal.&8221;

The five-acre site at Sandy Creek is a small project, he said. &8220;It&8217;s an example to show what can be done.&8221;

The Forest Service tested selected herbicides used to control hardwood growths before the project began.

&8220;They did what is called an environmental assessment,&8221; Koloski said.

With the thick hardwood growth out of the way, the native grasses and plants have a chance to thrive, providing excellent cover and food for the turkeys&8217; young, he said.

&8220;The native grasses and vegetation are very drought tolerant, a lot more so than introduced plants,&8221; he said.

Turkeys thrive in vegetation that &8220;bunches, providing places they can travel through and feed and still have cover overhead,&8221; Koloski said.

Long-term, projects such as these provide Entergy with easier maintenance of their rights of way, he said.

&8220;And for us, we&8217;re building better wildlife habitats. And the Forest Service has the same goal we have, to protect wildlife and the integrity of the environment.&8221;

Carolyn Shanks, president of Entergy Mississippi, said in a press release that the environmental stewardship grants Entergy awards are a win-win situation for Entergy and the environment.

&8220;Through this grant, we&8217;re providing benefits to customers with safe and dependable delivery of electricity while supporting wildlife habitats within our service area,&8221; she said.

Sandy Creek Wildlife Management Area is part of the Homochitto National Forest. Turkey season is March 15 to May 1.

In addition to hunting of small and big game, the area has places for camping, wildlife viewing and horseback riding, McDonald said.

A Web site, mdwfp.com, provides more information and directions for getting to the wildlife area.