Mississippi Field Notes

Fall 2007

Sunset in the Mississippi Delta
© Byron Jorjorian

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Mississippi Chapter Establishes Program in the Delta

In July 2007, a new era began for The Nature Conservancy in Mississippi with the establishment of a program with dedicated conservation staff working in the Mississippi Delta, based in an office in Vicksburg. The Conservancy has historically worked to purchase lands in the Mississippi Delta for conveyance, at no profit, to the state or federal government for long-term ownership by buying over 27,500 acres at such places as Delta National Forest, Dahomey, Panther Swamp, Morgan Brake and Hillside National Wildlife Refuges, and Malmaison and Shipland Wildlife Management Areas. In 2000, The Nature Conservancy partnered with other conservation partners to create the Lower Delta Partnership, now a thriving community based nonprofit organization led by Meg Cooper. With the hiring of a Program Manager and a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Technician working out of Vicksburg, the Conservancy now has the capability to devote staff time to on-the-ground projects benefiting private landowners and the environment.

We are pleased to introduce Daniel Sumerall as our new Delta Program Manager. Daniel graduated from Warren Central High School, and received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in forestry from Mississippi State University. Daniel has a primary assignment of working with landowners in the lower Delta to implement innovative projects on their lands that will provide both financial benefit to the landowner and will also benefit the environment. Daniel and his wife, Jodi, reside in Vicksburg.

We are also pleased to introduce Blair Madden as our new GIS Technician. Blair received her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in biology from Fordham University. Before coming to work for the Conservancy, Blair held positions both as a field biologist as well as a GIS professional. Blair works statewide assisting program managers and partners with landscape analysis, planning and other GIS services.

The Conservancy has a history of working in south Mississippi on coastal land acquisition, restoration projects, partnerships such as the Lower Pearl Partnership and Pascagoula River Basin Alliance, and our decade long partnership with the Department of Defense at Camp Shelby. We created our Northeast Mississippi Conservation Program in 2001 with the addition of a program manager based in Tupelo and have worked at priority sites such as the Tombigbee and Buttahatchie Rivers and will begin work soon at White’s Slough in Columbus. We created the Central Mississippi Conservation Program in 2005 to focus on areas of interest to us in the central portions of our state from the Alabama state line to the Mississippi River, including Mississippi’s Jackson Prairie. Now, with the launching of the Delta Program, The Nature Conservancy has established a presence in all the distinct geographical areas of our state which will allow us to pursue our mission with the local communities and stakeholders.

Thank you and farewell....

As we near the end of 2007, I wanted to share some news with you and highlights of our accomplishments in the last eight and a half years since I have been your state director.

I will be leaving The Nature Conservancy by calendar year end. We have accomplished many great things in the past eight and a half years, and this is an opportune time in the organization’s history for me to depart to pursue other goals I have in my life. It has truly been a pleasure being State Director of the Mississippi Chapter and meeting many of you. We should all feel a great sense of accomplishment at what we have achieved as staff, Board and members, and I hope you will all continue to support the good work of The Nature Conservancy in Mississippi in conserving Mississippi’s natural resources.

Almost 20 years ago, a small group of dedicated Mississippians committed the resources needed to found the Mississippi Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Two decades later, the Conservancy has protected and restored 133,000 acres of land and has grown from a staff of two to 30 working out of six offices in the state: Tupelo, Vicksburg, Jackson, Camp Shelby, Merrill and Ocean Springs. The Nature Conservancy has major projects ongoing across the entire state. It is the only conservation organization in Mississippi with the capacity to conduct prescribed burning, a conservation service in much demand these days. Perhaps what is most impressive about The Nature Conservancy is not the number of offices or size of staff, but rather that it is known as the organization which gets things accomplished on the ground in Mississippi. The funds you donate to The Nature Conservancy go into the ground and waters in Mississippi and are highly leveraged with grant funding.

Thank you for supporting The Nature Conservancy. I will miss working with you, but will still join with you as a member supporting the good work of the Conservancy in Mississippi.

Sincerely,
Robbie Fisher

Mississippi milestones

	1999 Charles M. Deaton Preserve Dedication The 3,300 acre Charles M. Deaton Nature Preserve is one of the finest natural areas remaining in Mississippi and contains a large contiguous block of bottomland hardwood forest. This preserve contains the site where the Leaf and Chickasawhay Rivers converge to form the Pascagoula River. Photo: Deaton Preserve Dedication © TNC
	2000 Ole Miss Forest Lands The Nature Conservancy, the Forest Service and Friends of the Forest signed a “Joint Letter of Communication”, regarding 22,700 acres of land purchased from Ole Miss by the US Forest Service as an addition to DeSoto National Forest. The tract is one of the largest intact longleaf pine ecosystems remaining in the Southeast. Photo: Longleaf Pine Forest © Cathy Costello/TNC
	2001 NE Mississippi Program Launched Since 2001, The Conservancy has been engaged in community-based conservation in Northeast Mississippi, emphasizing education, outreach, and partnerships to generate strategies and solutions promoting compatible land and water use. Compatible land and water use sustains both ecosystem health and landscape function while supporting the values of the surrounding human community. Photo: Matthew Miller, Program Director, leading a field trip © Cathy Costello/TNC
	2002 Cave Property Donated M.C. Davis of Florida donated 86 acres in eastern Smith County to The Nature Conservancy, The Cat’s Den Cave Preserve features a small cave amidst rolling limestone hills and a beautiful hardwood forest on the upper Leaf River. Photo: Stalactites inside Cat's Den Cave © Rebecca Stowe/TNC
	2003 Pascagoula River Documentary The Conservancy and Mississippi Public Broadcasting joined forces to create an hour-long documentary to highlight the ecological, cultural and economic aspects of the Pascagoula River. After two years of collaboration, The Singing River: Rhythms of Nature premiered on Mississippi Public Broadcasting November 13, 2003. Photo: Pascagoula River © Rebecca Stowe/TNC
	2004 Mike’s Island Purchased The Conservancy officially dedicated its 2,700 acre Mike’s Island Preserve and unveiled its restoration plans. Eradicating invasive, non-native Chinese tallow trees was the centerpiece of the plan. Photo: Congressman Gene Taylor with Navy Seals and Chapter Trustees at Mike's Island © TNC
	2004 Coonewah Creek Management Plan Conservancy staff completed the first management plan for Coonewah Creek Chalk Bluffs Preserve in northeast Mississippi. The plan guides actions to ensure that the preserve will sustain the globally endangered Price’s potato bean and the other rare plants and animals that live there. Photo: Price's Potato Bean in Bloom © Matthew Miller/TNC
	2005 New Conservation Program A new program was established to focus on the conservation goals of central Mississippi in 29 counties. The Central Mississippi Conservation Program was established to preserve biological diversity by protecting important conservation sites and natural communities. These important sites are within major river systems such as the Big Black River, Pearl River, Strong River and Amite River. Photo: Waterfall at Clark Creek © Susan Hollandsworth/TNC
	2005 Red Creek Stream and Wetland Mitigation Project The Nature Conservancy broke ground on a new 3,031 acre project in northern Jackson County. Throughout the five year restoration project, The Nature Conservancy will restore 9.84 lineal stream miles, 450 acres of wetlands and 900 acres of uplands. The stream restoration will be conducted on four tributaries of Red Creek. Photo: Stream at Red Creek © Brad Humber
	2006 Central Gulf Co-op Team Established The Nature Conservancy, the only non-profit in Mississippi with the capacity to conduct prescribed burns, increased its ability to burn more acres by joining with the Louisiana Chapter to form the Central Gulf Co-op Team, a group of Nature Conservancy staff working jointly in coastal Mississippi and Louisiana to implement stewardship activities on the landscape. Photo: Prescribed Burn © Nelwyn McInnis/TNC
	2007 Delta Program Initiated The Nature Conservancy hired a Program Manager for the Mississippi Delta who is working out of an office in Vicksburg. The Program Manager is working with private landowners to establish ecologically beneficial practices which offer financial incentives for the landowner. Photo: Tree Frog in the Delta © TNC