MEADVILLE — Southwest Mississippi’s economic future is easy to see; it’s all around us, but if you look past the forest and the trees, you may miss it.

The region’s massive timber resources are a huge opportunity as the economy begins to turn, the head of the Mississippi Development Authority, Gray Swoope, said Wednesday.

But timber-related industries are only one of three targeted by the region’s economic developers.

Swoope was speaking to state and regional economic development leaders at the Southwest Mississippi Partnership’s economic development symposium at Okhissa Lake

He stressed the importance of working as a region rather than individually and talked about how the national economy changed the state’s economic development strategy.

“Were seeing some things that are very disturbing,” Swoope said. “We know that things will be different and we have to respond differently.”

That includes working regionally and restructuring the way MDA focuses resources. He said MDA now focuses more time and effort on retaining and improving existing businesses than it had in the past.

“Things are going to be different,” he said. “The opportunities in this economy are going to be far fewer. We have to have our A game.”

Part of the “A game” includes pooling resources and working together as a region to become more competitive, he said, adding that regionally the area has nearly 250,000 residents.

Further, examining what types of businesses the region is best suited to fit is a key.

“We’d be remiss if we didn’t recognize the rich timber resources of this region,” Swoope said, adding that the industry is poised for growth when the economy begins to improve through two key sectors:

A revived construction industry.

Development of biomass, wood-based renewable energy sources.

After recognizing opportunities for locating businesses in areas logically located near resources, the key, Swoope said, is working together.

“We have to be relentless, relentless in trying to make it happen,” he said. “Elected officials and business leaders, we all have to get on the same sheet.”

Getting the region on the same sheet is the goal of the Southwest Mississippi Partnership.

The group just finished the first segment of a three-prong plan to land a major new employer in the region — identifying specific industries that could best be targeted for relocation to the area.

The results were released Wednesday and came from extensive studying of the region’s resources.

The three areas include:

Biomass and biofuel production from forest residues, essentially turning wood byproducts into energy.

Distribution centers.

Food products and processing.

Carol Johnson, president and founder of Continuous Dialog, an Atlanta-based economic development consulting firm, challenged the region’s leaders to think differently about the future and about working with one another.

“Political boundaries are fixed. Economic boundaries are not,” she said. “Your team is bigger than you think.”