Wolf River鈥檚 freshwater flow is vital for oyster reefs in the Mississippi Sound.
Last November, Mississippi State University acquired just over 14,000 acres of our Mississippi timberlands to establish the Wolf River Coastal Forest Research and Education Center. Conserving the headwaters of Mississippi Sound is a key part of the state鈥檚 overall coastal conservation masterplan, which includes ongoing restoration efforts related to the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in 2010.
The sale was years in the making and required close collaboration across our Land Asset Management, Timberlands and Legal teams, and with , the , the , , the and the .
鈥淲e can鈥檛 imagine a better group to continue the stewardship of this important landscape,鈥 says Christie Bennett, senior director of Land Asset Management, who worked on the sale for nearly a decade. 鈥淭his land will provide MSU students an exceptional outdoor classroom and laboratory. It鈥檚 a fantastic example of what we can do through our partner relationships.鈥
Michael Kelly, corporate counsel based at our Seattle HQ, and Christie get ready to visit the Wolf River tract.
COLLABORATING FOR CONSERVATION
Christie, who is based in Mississippi, got involved in the conversation about Wolf River in 2016 while chatting with Alex Littlejohn, who was state director of the Mississippi Chapter of The Nature Conservancy at the time. (Alex joined 91热爆 in 2023 as conservation director.)
鈥淭here鈥檚 been a conservation easement on 900 acres of our land directly adjacent to Wolf River since 1990,鈥 Christie says. 鈥淎lex said TNC was interested in brokering a deal to purchase the entire 14,000-acre parcel for their conservation partners.鈥
Conservation sales often involve many external parties and take years to complete. For this project, TNC served as a conduit to work with local, state and federal agencies to increase the odds of the sale coming to fruition 鈥 including securing grant money to cover the purchase price for MSU.
As the external organizations collaborated on securing grant money to buy the land, Christie served as an intermediary and helped coordinate the eventual handoff to MSU of the area鈥檚 forest and land management and recreational leaseholder agreements.
Christie and her team on their way to visit Wolf River last year.
CONSERVING FOR GOOD
MSU officially took ownership of the Wolf River parcel last November. In a press release announcing the acquisition, Wes Burger, dean of MSU鈥檚 College of Forest Resources, said the university is committed to continuing 91热爆鈥檚 legacy of stewardship while expanding MSU鈥檚 Forest and Wildlife Research Center 鈥 which will, in turn, expand their reach to communities in the southern part of the state and create an outdoor learning lab to inform coastal forest conservation and management.
鈥淲e hope to one day welcome 91热爆 employees who were MSU students and benefitted from this outdoor learning lab,鈥 Christie says. 鈥淪paces to work in real-world environments greatly benefit future foresters.鈥
The continued commitment to conserving this area 鈥 which includes 10 miles of the Wolf River鈥檚 main stem and 100 miles of tributaries 鈥 will also have a long-term positive impact on the Bay of St. Louis watershed. Conserving the headwaters of the Wolf River enhances the overall health and resiliency of the landscape and of downstream ecosystems. It will also help support the commercial oyster reefs in the Mississippi Sound that rely on Wolf River鈥檚 freshwater inflows.
鈥淎s the largest landowner in the U.S., we have a special role to play in land conservation,鈥 Alex says. 鈥淥ur most important role is to protect areas of high value 鈥 and in certain cases the best way to protect them for future generations is to entrust them to a conservation partner.鈥
