State
Moss Point community welcomes $2.3 million Pascagoula River Audubon Center
Mississippi Press
MOSS POINT, Mississippi -- The real beauty of the new $2.3 million
Pascagoula River Audubon Center in Moss Point is not it's natural wood
walls, Gov. Phil Bryant said during the grand opening Thursday.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2015/10/moss_point_community_welcomes_1.html
Pascagoula River Audubon Center will be 'part of fabric of community'
Sun Herald
It's taken more than a decade of work, but the Pascagoula River Audubon
Center in Moss Point, which officials hope will drive both conservation and
tourism, is open.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/jackson-county/article39309627.html
Large crowd welcomes Pascagoula River Audubon Center
WLOX
PASCAGOULA, MS (WLOX) -Hundreds attended Thursday's dedication of the new
Pascagoula River Audubon Center in Moss Point off Rhodes Bayou, a gateway
to exploring the Pascagoula River and experiencing nature tourism.
http://www.wlox.com/story/30272849/large-crowd-welcomes-pascagoula-river-audubon-center
Sewage leak closes section of Biloxi beach
WLOX
BILOXI, MS (WLOX) -The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has
closed a section of beach in Biloxi after a force main break sent sewage
spewing into the Mississippi Sound.
http://www.wlox.com/story/30270201/sewage-leak-closes-section-of-biloxi-beach
Beach Closed Due to Sewage Leak
WXXV
Parts of the Biloxi beach were closed today due to raw sewage making its
way into the Mississippi Sound. This is an issue that is all too common
around the Coast. Today News 25's Shelby Graham spoke with the city of
Biloxi to hear how they are addressing it.
http://www.wxxv25.com/news/local/story/Beach-Closed-Due-to-Sewage-Leak/VZLn6gMrYkWiHfDMS_-lFA.cspx
Entergy gives $150,000 toward DeSoto wildlife center expansion
Commercial Appeal
Plans to expand a DeSoto County wildlife and conservation education
facility into a regional attraction serving all of North Mississippi are
getting a big boost from Entergy, which is donating $150,000 to the effort.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/suburbs/desoto/entergy-gives-150000-toward-desoto-wildlife-center-expansion--2229ce4b-3131-24f4-e053-0100007f1aaa-333120381.html
Great U.S. Central ShakeOut
WXXV
Drop, cover, and hold on, that's what kids all over the state of
Mississippi and the nation were advised to do today. It's all part of the
Great Central U.S. ShakeOut and News 25's Kristen Durand was at Popp's
Ferry Elementary School today, where students were taught to protect
themselves if our ground should start shaking.
http://www.wxxv25.com/news/local/story/Great-U-S-Central-ShakeOut/NrIhr8lY5UOwYKJtH08QhA.cspx
Oil Spill
Mississippi universities' consortium is center of excellence
Sun Herald
The Mississippi-based RESTORE Act Center of Excellence has been selected as
the RESTORE Research Center of Excellence, according to the state
Department of Environmental Quality.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/business/article39325749.html
MS RESTORE Act Center named Center of Excellence
Hattiesburg American
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality(MDEQ) announced
recently that the Mississippi Based RESTORE Act Center of Excellence
(MBRACE) has been selected as the RESTORE Research Center of
Excellence.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/local/2015/10/15/ms-restore-act-center-named-center-of-excellence/73998032/
Mississippi based RESTORE Act Center selected as center of excellence
WDAM
JACKSON, MS (WDAM) -The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
(MDEQ) announced that the Mississippi Based RESTORE Act Center of
Excellence (MBRACE) has been selected as the RESTORE Research Center of
Excellence.
http://www.wdam.com/story/30267254/mississippi-based-restore-act-center-selected-as-center-of-excellence
Spending $16.5 billion BP spill money will require careful planning,
officials say
Times-Picayune
With $16.5 billion in BP oil spill money about to be funneled into dozens
of environmental restoration projects in Louisiana and elsewhere along the
Gulf Coast, there's a danger that money will be lost or projects delayed by
a lack of planning at the local, state and federal level, a coastal
engineer and a representative of a national environmental group said
Thursday (Oct. 15).
http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/10/spending_165_billion_bp_spill.html#incart_river
Double-decker ferry boats coming in 2017
Pensacola News Journal
When the Gulf Islands National Seashore completed its master plan in
1978, the document specifically addressed the need for a ferry
service in the Florida district.
http://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/pensacola/beaches/2015/10/15/nps-awards-contract-ferry-service/73988494/
EDA: BP funds will 'forever change' region
Panama City News Herald
PANAMA CITY — With $300 million to support economic development coming to
Northwest Florida next year, Bay County Economic Development Alliance (EDA)
officials are preparing for what they say will be a game changer for the
region.
http://www.newsherald.com/article/20151014/BUSINESS/151019644
National
Aging And Underfunded: America's Dam Safety Problem, In 4 Charts
NPR
There are more than 87,000 dams in America and, like most infrastructure,
they go largely unnoticed — until something goes wrong.
http://www.npr.org/2015/10/11/447181629/aging-and-underfunded-americas-dam-safety-problem-in-4-charts
EPA cracking down on emissions from air conditioners, refrigerators
The Hill
President Obama is taking executive action to crack down on emissions from
air conditioners and refrigerators.
http://thehill.com/regulation/energy-environment/257056-epa-cracking-down-on-emissions-from-air-conditioners
USDA allocates $30M to protect, restore wetlands
The Hill
The Obama administration announced plans Thursday to spend $30 million to
protect, restore and enhance wetlands on private and tribal agricultural
lands in six states.
http://thehill.com/regulation/energy-environment/257032-usda-allocates-30m-to-protect-restore-wetlands
Press Releases
USDA to Invest $5.1 Million to Help Mississippi Wetlands
Jackson, Miss. – The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will
award $30 million to projects in six states to protect, restore and enhance
wetlands on private and tribal agricultural lands. The projects are being
funded under the Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (WREP), a program
authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.
WREP is administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
and allows states, local units of governments, non-governmental
organizations and American Indian tribes to form cooperative and
partnership agreements. These partners work directly with private
landowners interested in voluntarily enrolling their eligible agricultural
land into conservation wetland easements that help to protect, restore and
enhance the wetlands on their properties. WREP is a special enrollment
option under the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program's Wetland
Reserve Easement component created by the 2014 Farm Bill.
The 2015-2016 WREP projects are located in Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,
Mississippi, Nebraska and Tennessee.
Mississippi will receive approximately $5.1 Million to expand an existing
project to increase the acres acquired and wetlands restored in the
Mississippi River Basin. These additional wetland acres will provide
habitat for fish and wildlife, improve water quality by filtering sediments
and nutrients, reduce flooding, recharge ground water and provide outdoor
recreational and educational opportunities. These wetland reserve easement
programs allows effective integration of wetland restoration on working
landscapes by providing benefits to farmers, ranchers and rural communities
where the wetlands exist.
Collectively, NRCS easement programs help productive farm, ranch and tribal
lands continue in agricultural production and protect the nation's critical
wetlands and grasslands that are important to water supplies and 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 have 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. Today's awards build on the more than
$330 million USDA announced in fiscal year 2015 to protect and restore
agricultural working lands, grasslands and wetlands.
Visit NRCS's ACEP webpage to learn more about NRCS's wetland conservation
opportunities.
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