| Fast Facts |
location
15 miles northeast of Biloxi, 50 miles southeast of Jackson
ecoregions
Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain and East Gulf Coastal Plain
project size
9,700 square miles
preserves
Charles M. Deaton, Herman Murrah
public lands
Pascagoula River Wildlife Management Area, Ward Bayou Management Area, Mississippi Coastal Preserves, Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge, Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge, DeSoto National Forest
partners
Pascagoula River Basin Alliance, Audubon Society, Mississippi Departments of Wildlife and Fisheries, Environmental Quality and Marine Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
conservancy initiatives
Freshwater, Fire, Invasive Species
natural events
Spring and fall bird migrations; Gulf sturgeon discovery field trips, summer | |
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| A strong sense of heritage and local activism has allowed the Pascagoula River to remain the only free-flowing waterway of its size in the lower 48. |
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Swamp forest of cypress and tupelo gum.
© Beth Young |
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Those who have fallen under the spell of its poignant history and mossy banks, like many Mississippi natives, call the Pascagoula the "Singing River." According to legend, the peace-loving Pascagoula Indian tribe sang as they walked hand-in-hand into the river to avoid fighting with the invading Biloxi tribe. So the story goes, on a quiet night you can still hear them singing their death chant.
The Pascagoula watershed also rings with the calls of 327 species of birds that breed among the sprawling cypress-tupelo swamps, oxbow lakes and pine ridges. Wading birds croon as they forage throughout the bayous. Graceful swallow-tailed kites search for prey among the extensive bottomland forest. The distinctive clattering bugle of the rare Mississippi sandhill crane is heard as it fashions a home in the pine savanna. |
Great egret.
© Beth Young |
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Over the years, discordant intrusions from timber harvesting, shipbuilding, oil and gas production and even tourism have threatened the songbirds and other melodies of the Pascagoula. In 1974, The Nature Conservancy and other dedicated conservationists rallied to bring 35,000 acres of the watershed under public protection. This "grassroots |
| epic," as E.O. Wilson called it, led to a present-day river corridor buffered by almost 70,000 acres of public and private conservation lands. | |
Today, competing demands for water to quench a growing population's thirst and to nourish the river's natural bounty leave the watershed hanging in the balance. The Conservancy continues to play a role in maintaining the grassroots momentum fueled almost 30 years ago, most recently through our role in establishing the Pascagoula River Basin Alliance. Created in 2001, this broad-based coalition promotes the ecological, economic and cultural health of the watershed through the research, communication and action needed to ensure that the Pascagoula remains one of the nation's best preserved river systems.
Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's work in Mississippi. |
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| Conservation Profile |
targets
spawning areas for Gulf Sturgeon, Al Shad and Pearl Darter, swallow-tailed kite, pearl darter, bottomland hardwood forest, Gulf sturgeon, longleaf pine upland, Pascagoula and Escatawpa marshes, sea grass beds
stresses
sedimentation, proposed dams, dredging, water withdrawal, land conversion and forest fragmentation, incompatible silviculture, sewage discharges, invasive species, alteration of fire regime
strategies
build conservation alliances, strengthen local partner organizations, acquire land, secure conservation easements, restore ecosystems through fire management, promote compatible development and ecotourism, further scientific knowledge of the ecosystem
results
70,000 acres under public and private conservation protection, establishment of the Pascagoula River Basin Alliance established in 2001 | | | | |
