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Natural Resource Management in the Mississippi District Resource management preserves and protects natural features of the Gulf Islands National Seashore and leaves it like it is today; a legacy for future generations. The park's staff tries to accomplish this by maintaining the natural balance and abundance of the seashore's natural resources, and by documenting changes when they occur. The alternative to managing park resources is losing them forever. How Can I Help Protect the Plants and Animals of the Seashore? If you find a stranded animal, please call Gulf Islands National Seashore, immediately, at 228-875-9057. The following three things are most important when reporting: 1. How we can contact you if we need more information 2. The animal's precise location 3. A detailed physical description of the animal including any obvious trauma or tags *You can also volunteer to help remove non-native plant species. To find out more, please call 228-875-9057. Remember, you are the eyes and ears of the park. Your calling about injured animals could potentially save lives.
If you have questions or comments, please write to Gulf Islands National Seashore, 3500 Park Road, Ocean Springs, MS 39564 or by e-mail at GUIS_Superintendent@nps.gov. The National Park Service identified the most critical natural resource management issues as protecting rare and endangered species, removing non-native plant species and restoring the role of fire to the natural landscape through prescribed and controlled burning. Park rangers, biologists, volunteers, and student interns at Gulf Islands monitor sea turtles, stranded dolphins, shorebird colonies,and ospreys. They also remove non-native plants and prescribe controlled fires. Other projects include documenting changes to the islands' shorelines, eradicating nutria, stabilizing dunes, and collecting data on its natural resources through its inventory and monitoring program. Gulf Islands National Seashore also protects its natural resources by enforcing its rules and regulations. Visitors may not harm or remove any plant or animal, alive or dead. A Mississippi saltwater license is required for fishing. Visitors may collect seashells, provided nothing is living in them or on them, for personal, noncommercial use. And when visiting the seashore, visitors should take care to leave it in the same condition as they found it. If you want to do scientific research at Gulf Islands National Seashore, you may apply on-line for a research permit at the NPS Research Permit and Reporting System's website. For more information, please call 228-875-9057. Sea Turtles
Sea Turtles, few in number, are part of the national seashore. All species of sea turtles are threatened with extinction and protected under federal law. Gulf Islands National Seashore monitors and documents stranded and nesting sea turtles. If sea turtles are not monitored, managed or protected they disappear from Gulf Islands National Seashore. Three species are found at the seashore: Loggerheads (Caretta Caretta), Kemp's Ridleys (Lepidochelys kempt), and Giant Leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea), but only Loggerheads are known to nest here. Loggerheads may nest from May until September. The female makes an arduous and exhaustive journey, crawls ashore, buries her eggs in the sand and then returns to the ocean. The NPS looks for trails or"crawls" left by the turtles in the sand. Biologists and volunteers often find crawls during patrols of the beach. Airplane overflights are the most effective and efficient mode of spotting crawls on the islands. Once the nests are located, biologists inspect them for signs of predation by raccoons and other opportunitic creatures, or for evidence of human disturbance. After 75 days, the nests are inspected for a final time to determine if the eggs hatched were destroyed. Gulf Islands National Seashore also documents sick, injured, or dead turtles stranded on the beach. If it can be helped, the turtle is assisted back in the water. If not, it is checked for tags, photographed and measured. Other federal agencies that study and protect sea turtles are the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Dolphins Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins(Tursiops truncatus) are routinely spotted in the waters around Gulf Islands National Seashore. Pods of six to eight dolphins are often seen swimming close to boats or in the shallow water hunting schools of fish. Federal law protects all marine mamals. Stranded dolphins are assisted if possible. Gulf Islands National Seashore documents dead dolphins found on the beach for research. Individual dolphins can be identified by their dorsal fins or by tags. Shorebird Colonies Without resource management, you might not know you're in a colonial nesting area.
In March and April, least terns (Sterna antillarum), royal terns (Sterna maxima), black skimmers (Rynchops niger), and other shorebirds begin gathering in groups that range from a couple dozen to several thousand. The males court the females with their fishing skills. By the end of May, eggs have been laid in shallow nests in the sand. Since shorebirds like the same parts of the beach that people like, Gulf Islands National Seashore closes the nest colonies to human traffic. Closures last as long as nests and chicks remain on the beach from the end of May through July or September. Usually, the perimeter of the closure is close enough to the nests that visitors can still only watch the colony. Biologists visit each colony once a week to observe the nests from a distance. Without the intervention of park staff and the help of park visitors, shorebird nesting colonies would be extinct on the barrier islands. How you can help protect shorebird colonies It is vitally important to obey the closures. Agitated flocks of adult birds may indicate the presence of nests, but shorebird nests and chicks are well camouflaged and are not easily seen until its too late. Even accidental disturbances may destroy nests, crush eggs, scatter chicks, or make the colony vulnerable to predators. Ospreys Without the concern and cooperation of park visitors, ospreys, or fish hawks (Pandion haliaetus), would not be national park success stories. In the late 1960's, they were nearly extinct from the accumulation of pesticides, such as DDT in the food chain. Rachel Carson's Silent Spring helped raise public awareness about the devastating effects of DDT on bird populations and was instrumental in getting it banned. This federal law as well as the Endangered Species Act of 1973, helped the recovery of dwindling populations of Osprey. Ospreys now nest on Horn, Petit Bois, East Ship and Cat Islands. Horn Island averages about 65 nesting pairs each year. They begin nesting as early as April and continue until the chicks fledge in the middle of July. Ospreys build large stick nests atop live or dead trees, usually pines near the water. Each pair often return to the same nest each year, though in some years nests are unoccupied. Each nesting season, biologists close the beach within 300 feet of each nesting pair and return twice a month to monitor the nests from a distance. Visitor can observe the nest from the perimeter of the closure and by June or July, the chick are often visible. *SPECIES ALERT* No chicks fledged in 2003 or 2002 Non-Native
Plants Without management, hundreds of native plant species of Gulf Islands National Seashore would be lost, replaced by as few as four or five species of nonnative plants. Biologists and volunteers at Gulf Islands National Seashore target Chinese tallow tree, or popcorn tree (Sapium sebiferum) Japanese pivet (Ligustrum japoncium), Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica) and Japanese climbing fern (Lygodium japonicum) for removal. These invasive plants are removed mechanically, both by pulling them out by the roots or girdling the stems, and occasionally with chemicals. Chemical herbicides are used only as a last resort, when mechanical methods are insufficient. Park workers use only chemicals and methods approved by the National Park Service to minimize the impact of surrounding native plants. Gulf Islands National Seashore has made good progress controlling non-native plants, but only with persistent efforts over many years. Continued public support will help further this process. Prescribed
Fire Gulf Islands National Seashore has an active prescribed fire policy for the Davis Bayou and the barrier islands. The park burned eight acres of Davis Bayou woodland in 2002 to help restore the role of fire to the Davis Bayou habitats. All but the wettest habitats in the Mississippi District depend on the periodic burning to maintain themselves. Prescribed fire also helps reduce excess or hazard fuel in the habitat, so that if a natural fire occurs it will be less intense and destructive. Prescribed fires are carefully planned to be controlled and safe. During a prescribed burn, the fire is contained within the prescribed area to prevent its spread to neighboring properties. In 2003, the 50 acres of hazard fuel were removed mechanically, or by hand, from the Davis Bayou woodlands. This reduced the hazard fuel, but a follow-up prescribed fire will be necessary to restore certain plant species. Visit www.nps.gov/fire to learn more about the role of fires in national parks. If you would like to know if any prescribed fires are planned for the Mississippi district call 228-875-9057 extension 114. Shoreline
Change Shaped by the wind, waves and tides, barrier islands are always changing, moving westward. The Mississippi District uses geographic information systems (GIS) to monitor and track changes to barrier island shorelines. GIS helps monitor shoreline change resulting from disasters. After Hurricane Georges in 1999, park workers used the satelite-based Global Positioning System (GPS) and aerial photography to map shoreline erosion and document the split of East Ship Island into two entities. Follow-up maping shows that the split in East Ship Island has recovered.
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Last Updated:
3/30/04
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