MNN - Mother Nature Network

 

BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI — October 20, 2010 — Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann and The Nature Conservancy are pleased to announce a $1 million donation from the IP Casino Resort & Spa for the purpose of purchasing lands for the Mississippi Coastal Preserves Program, which is administered by the State.

 

"Imperial Palace's most generous donation will enable The Nature Conservancy to purchase tidelands to donate to the State. This continues our efforts to preserve the culture of the Mississippi Gulf Coast by protecting its most valuable resources through coastal preservation," says Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann. "By donating these funds, the Imperial Palace has shown their commitment to Mississippi's coastal and marine environment."

 

"Conservation of Mississippi's coastal wetlands and marshes through the State's Coastal Preserve Program will help restore the health of the Gulf of Mexico that the State's coastal communities and local economies depend on," says James Murrian, executive director of The Nature Conservancy in Mississippi. "The Imperial Palace funds will add more coastal habitats to the 30,000-plus acres already protected through the Program."

 

The funds will be donated to The Nature Conservancy. The conservation organization will acquire lands on behalf of Mississippi Coastal Preserves Program. The Secretary of State's Office has had a decade-long relationship with The Nature Conservancy to acquire lands for public use on behalf of the State. The lands acquired through the donation will be held as part of the Public Trust Tidelands by the Secretary of State's Office.

 

The Coastal Preserves Programs objective is to acquire, protect, and manage sensitive coastal wetland habitats along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, therefore ensuring the ecological health of Mississippi's coastal wetland ecosystems. The State currently has title to approximately 30,000 acres of the designated 72,000 acres of crucial coastal wetland habitat within Mississippi's 20 Coastal preserve sites within Mississippi's 20 Coastal preserve site. Since 1996, The Nature Conservancy has helped to protect more than 16,000 acres which are now included in the Coastal Preserve Program.