State
OYSTER COUNCIL GIVES REPORT TO GOVERNOR
MPB
The Governor's Oyster Council has delivered its almost 70-page report to
Governor Phil Bryant, and now the question is – how to make its
recommendations become a reality. MPB's Evelina Burnett reports.
http://www.mpbonline.org/news/
Pascagoula company awarded bid to build Deer Island pier
Mississippi Press
Warren Kulo
June 24, 2015 at 4:11 PM
BILOXI, Mississippi -- Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann announced
Wednesday that a Pascagoula company has been awarded the bid to construct a
public pier at Deer Island.
http://www.gulflive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/06/pascagoula_company_awarded_bid.html#incart_river
Hillsborough County man dies of 'flesh-eating' bacteria infection
A man from Hillsborough County has died of a bacterial infection that he
contracted through saltwater, but he didn't get it in Florida.
The man was said to be on vacation in Mississippi when he came in contact
with the bacteria.
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/29394575/hillsborough-county-man-dies-of-flesh-eating-bacteria-infection
Jubilee leaves Fish Washed up on Coast Shore
WXXV
If you were out on the beaches in Harrison and Hancock Counties this
morning, you probably noticed the large amount of fish washed up on the
Coast line.
http://www.wxxv25.com/news/local/story/Jubilee-leaves-Fish-Washed-up-on-Coast-Shore/bnMmZNGqY0K1-yx4IgoCRg.cspx
Jubilee! Thousands of fish, crabs come ashore in Harrison County
WLOX
It's called a Jubilee, but it's not very fun for fish and crabs. Humans,
though, are another story. By 7:30 Wednesday morning, fish by the thousands
were washing up near the Pass Christian shoreline. The vast majority of
them were still alive, at least for a little while.
http://www.wdam.com/story/29395140/jubilee-thousands-of-fish-crabs-come-ashore-in-harrison-county
Regional
DNA testing reveals goose droppings to blame for Fairhope beach brouhaha
Al.com
Marc D. Anderson
June 24, 2015 at 5:52 PM
A concerned Fairhope resident's posting of a video on June 6 showing feces
lining a stretch of beach on the bay caused quite a stir and the city
wasted no time testing the substance.
http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2015/06/dna_testing_reveals_canada_goo.html#incart_river
National
House votes to weaken Obama's climate rule
The Hill
The House voted Wednesday to delay the Environmental Protection Agency's
climate rule for power plants and let state governors opt out of complying.
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/246053-house-votes-to-weaken-obamas-climate-rule
Obama nominates two officials to EPA posts
The Hill
President Obama has nominated two Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
officials to be full-time heads of the offices they currently lead.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/246039-obama-nominates-two-officials-to-epa-posts
Pence: Indiana won't comply with EPA plan in current form
Courier & Press
Gov. Mike Pence announced on Wednesday the state will not comply with an
impending federal plan to reduce carbon emissions from power plants unless
the proposal is "significantly improved" before being finalized.
http://www.courierpress.com/business/local/pence_75114466
EPA sends methane leak rule for final review
The Hill
The Obama administration has started the final review stage for proposed
regulations to minimize methane leaks from the oil and natural gas sector.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/245959-epa-sends-methane-leak-rule-for-final-review
EPA declines to study restricting Roundup pesticide's use
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency declined to study restricting the use
of a pesticide believed to harm the monarch butterfly's habitat.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/246023-epa-declines-to-pesticides-use-to-protect-butterfly
Data Centers and Hidden Water Use
In California, computer farms are under scrutiny for their large and
growing use of water for cooling
Wall Street Journal
Silicon Valley's appetite for data is well known. Its thirst is less
understood.
Amid record drought in California and other parts of the American West, the
machines that support everything from Instagram photos to Netflix movie
marathons require substantial quantities of water for the air-conditioning
systems needed to keep the servers cool.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10007111583511843695404581067903126039290
Press releases
USDA Seeks Partner Proposals to Protect and Restore Critical Wetlands in
Mississippi
Jackson, Miss. – The United States Department of Agriculture/Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State Conservationist Kurt Readus
announced the availability of $17.5 million in financial and technical
assistance nationwide to help eligible conservation partners voluntarily
protect, restore and enhance critical wetlands on private and tribal
agricultural lands.
"USDA has leveraged partnerships to accomplish a great deal on America's
wetlands over the past two decades, Readus said. "This year's funding will
help strengthen these partnerships and achieve greater wetland acreage in
Mississippi and throughout the nation."
Funding will be provided through the Wetland Reserve Enhancement
Partnership (WREP), a special enrollment option under the Agricultural
Conservation Easement Program's Wetland Reserve Easement component. It is
administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Under
WREP, states, local units of governments, non-governmental organizations
and American Indian tribes collaborate with USDA through cooperative and
partnership agreements. These partners work with willing tribal and private
landowners who voluntarily enroll eligible land into easements to protect,
restore and enhance wetlands on their properties. WREP was created through
the 2014 Farm Bill and was formerly known as the Wetlands Reserve
Enhancement Program.
Wetland reserve easements allow landowners to successfully enhance and
protect habitat for wildlife on their lands, reduce impacts from flooding,
recharge groundwater and provide outdoor recreational and educational
opportunities. The voluntary nature of NRCS' easement programs allows
effective integration of wetland restoration on working landscapes,
providing benefits to farmers and ranchers who enroll in the program, as
well as benefits to the local and rural communities where the wetlands
exist.
Proposals must be submitted to the NRCS state office by July 31, 2015.
Projects can range from individual to watershed-wide to ecosystem-wide.
Under a similar program in the 2008 Farm Bill, NRCS and its partners
entered into 272 easements that enrolled more than 44,020 acres of wetlands
from 2009 through 2013. Most of these agreements occurred through the
Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI). Through
partnerships, MRBI identifies high-priority watersheds where focused
conservation on agricultural land can make the most gains in improving
local, state and regional water quality.
The new collaborative WREP will build on those successes by providing the
financial and technical assistance necessary for states, non-governmental
organizations and tribes to leverage resources to restore and protect
wetlands and wildlife habitat.
Through WREP, NRCS will sign multi-year agreements with partners to
leverage resources, including funding, to achieve maximum wetland
restoration, protection and enhancement and to create optimum wildlife
habitat on enrolled acres. WREP partners are required to contribute a
funding match for financial or technical assistance. These partners work
directly with eligible landowners interested in enrolling their
agricultural land into conservation wetland easements.
This builds on approximately $332 million that USDA has announced this year
to protect and restore agricultural working lands, grasslands and wetlands.
Collectively, NRCS's easement programs help productive farm, ranch and
tribal lands remain in agriculture and protect the nation's critical
wetlands and grasslands, home to diverse wildlife and plant species. Under
the former Wetlands Reserve Program, private landowners, tribes and
entities such as land trusts and conservation organizations enrolled 2.7
million acres through 14,500 agreements for a total NRCS and partner
investment of $4.3 billion in financial and technical assistance.
Visit NRCS's ACEP webpage to learn more about NRCS's wetland conservation
options.
Sea Turtles Targeted in Next Phase of Deepwater Horizon Restoration
The next phase of early restoration for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
includes a proposed project focused on sea turtles. The project will focus
on three species—Kemp's ridley, green, and loggerhead—all of which are
protected under the Endangered Species Act. If the project is selected,
NOAA would co-lead implementation in partnership with the Department of
Interior and the State of Texas.
Sea turtles can live for decades, so we may not know the full extent of the
oil spill's impacts for many years. Sea turtles were exposed to oil through
direct contact, ingestion, and inhalation.
Through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment process, NOAA and its
federal and state partners have identified several potential strategies to
restore sea turtles. This phase is focused on reducing bycatch, increasing
survival from events such as extreme cold weather, and increasing nest
success at key nesting beaches.
Studies show that turtle bycatch (the unintentional capture of turtles as
part of normal fishing activity) is a significant cause of turtle deaths.
When sea turtles are trapped in fishing gear, they can drown or suffer
serious injuries. The use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in shrimp trawl
gear allows turtles to escape while retaining shrimp.
NOAA currently has a two-person team that works closely with Gulf fishermen
to ensure their TEDs are installed and working properly. Adding staff to
this effort and focusing in areas where sea turtles and shrimp fisheries
overlap, would help reduce preventable turtle deaths.
Turtles also die during "cold stun" events, which occur when there is a
rapid drop in temperature. This can "stun" turtles, making them lethargic
and eventually killing them. Additional staff, vessels, and mobile
temporary warming facilities would help rescue more turtles and improve
their survival.
The proposed project would also provide enhanced protection of Kemp's
ridley nests in the Gulf of Mexico. The project would provide needed
staff, training, and equipment (including incubation facilities), to help
support successful nesting of Kemp's ridley turtles.
Taken together, the proposed project is designed to conserve turtles at
various stages of their life cycle, from eggs to adults.
Florida largemouth bass stocked into Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway lakes
JACKSON – On May 22, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and
Parks (MDWFP) stocked Florida-strain largemouth bass fingerlings into two
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (TTW) lakes.
Aberdeen Lake received approximately 48,000, and 25,000 were stocked into
Lock C near Fulton. "Florida-strain largemouth bass are typically more
aggressive, grow faster, and potentially grow larger than the native bass
found in the TTW," says MDWFP Fisheries Biologist Tyler Stubbs.
According to Stubbs, the goal of the Florida-strain bass stockings is to
help increase the number of trophy-sized bass in these two lakes.
The fish were reared at the MDWFP's Turcotte Fish Hatchery, Canton.
For more information regarding fishing in Mississippi, visit our website at
www.mdwfp.com or call us at (601) 432-2212.
