The Nature Conservancy in Mississippi - Herman Murrah Preserve

Herman Murrah Preserve

Wild Turkeys
© Rebecca Stowe/TNC

The Herman Murrah Preserve protects 1600 acres of bottomland hardwood swamp with three miles of frontage along the Pascagoula River. The Preserve connects the Charles Deaton Preserve with the Pascagoula River Wildlife Management Area. The preserve includes a 180-acre island in the river.

Location
George County, in southeast Mississippi

Plants

Bald cypress
Water tupelo
Wild clematis
Palmetto
Mayhaw
Swamp chestnut oak

Animals

Great egrets and anhingas nest in Black Slough on the Preserve.
American alligator
Otter
Wild turkey
Yellow blotched map turtle (found only in the Pascagoula basin)

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
The Herman Murrah Preserves is a vital connector between the Charles Deaton Preserve and the Pascagoula River Wildlife Management Area, helping protect a river corridor that is important for species with extensive ranges like the black bear.

The Conservancy's Work at the Herman Murrah Preserve
Three primary types of land management activities occur here:

Removal of invasive plants species such as Chinese tallow tree and cogongrass that out-compete native plant species
Replanting native hardwood trees and shrubs such as cypress, crabapple, cherrybark oak, willow oak, persimmon and sugarberry
Restoring hydrology

The following groups have worked together to protect the site's communities of plants and animals:

Coastal Impact Assistance Program
Conservancy staff and volunteers
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks
North American Wetlands Conservation Council

For more information on the Herman Murrah Preserve, please contact Rebecca Stowe, Director of Stewardship.

The Nature Conservancy

Mississippi Stewardship Program
138 Main Street Merrill
Lucedale, MS 39452
(601) 947-3111