A TOUR OF THE BACK BAY AND BAYOUS REVEALS TROUBLED WATERS

On June 10, an interesting mix of concerned residents, marine scientists, and environmental activists joined together for a 2-hour cruise along the backwaters and tidal marshes of Harrison County, Mississippi.

The cruise was organized by Turkey Creek Community Initiatives and Derrick Evans, the Turkey Creekkeeper, along with support from Waterkeeper Alliance. With nearly 100 passengers aboard we toured Back Bay Biloxi/Gulfport on a classic, 65 ft. wooden Biloxi lugger “Pan American Clipper” circa 1937. Dr. Mark La Salle, from the South Mississippi Audubon Society provided the interpretative program, while Derrick Evans and Terese Collins from the Gulf Islands Conservancy Inc. provided a history of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Mississippi Department of Marine Resources destructive policies affecting Back Bay, Keegan’s Bayou, Biloxi River, Big Lake and the Turkey Creek areas.

I navigated the Pan American Clipper under the huge Ocean Springs/Biloxi Hwy. 90 bridge, and on through the same waters used by the Southern Company and Mississippi Power for transporting massive barge loads of coal daily to power plant Jack Watson located on I-10 in Gulfport, recently classified as the 17^th worst polluting coal burning facility in the United States for nitrogen oxide pollution.

Passengers saw first hand the results of unstoppable, indiscriminate residential and commercial development allowed by Corps and state officials, including miles of red clay-filled tidal marshes, bulkheads, man-made channels and canals. They also saw numerous violations of the Clean Water Act, such as a scrap yard where scrap metal is falling into the water. The trip ended in North Gulfport where passengers viewed the buried remains of the infamous Gulf Coast Creosote Plant.

The trip revealed many threats to our local waters. Let’s hope that groups like Turkey Creekkeeper, the GRN, Gulf Islands Conservancy and many others can work together to tackle the mammoth task of saving the last remaining tidal marshes of our beloved back waters of coastal Mississippi.

Louis Skrmetta is a GRN Board Member. His family owns and operates Ship Island Excursions. You can read more about Louis in Sierra Magazine.