In February 2024, the State of Mississippi acquired approximately 611 acres of coastal wildlife habitat at the Graveline Bay Coastal Preserve in Jackson County. The acquisition is a component of the Mississippi Trustee Implementation Group’s Graveline Bay Land Acquisition and Management project. This project was included in the Mississippi Restoration Area 2016-2017 Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment. It expands the permanent protection of critical ecosystems along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, helping to partially restore injuries to natural resources caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The 2016-2017 Restoration Plan allocated $11.5 million for land acquisition and habitat management. Habitat within the newly acquired parcels includes coastal marshes and pine savannas, which provide foraging, loafing, and nesting areas for bird species injured by the oil spill. The project goal included the acquisition of up to 1,410 acres of privately owned land near the existing Graveline Bay Coastal Preserve within the project target acquisition area. In addition to habitat protection, the land acquisition will facilitate habitat management and promote increased opportunities for public appreciation and enjoyment of Mississippi’s coastal estuarine habitat that are compatible with protecting, enhancing, and preserving the natural resources.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality leads the land acquisition and habitat management project activities for this project, in coordination with the Department of the Interior. As part of the Graveline Bay Coastal Preserve, the newly acquired land will be managed by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.
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