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Lagniappe (a little something extra)

Around the Gulf . . .

In July, the Rockwood development, a controversial plan to build gas stations, shopping centers and offices in a swampy forested area near Gulfport, Mississippi, was approved. Approval had been sought since 1998 but state and federal authorities were concerned about pollution and the effect of building on wetlands. Conditions of the permit include funding an escrow account to purchase and conserve wetlands in the area in the future, building retention ponds, creating oil and water separators and tree-lined buffer zones to filter runoff and building around some existing wetlands, leaving 10 percent, or 8 acres, intact.

A Mississippi state representative has proposed to cut $8 million from Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality funding for federally required programs, hoping that the federal government will step in and pay for those programs. In response to the proposal, the Sierra Club expressed support, hoping that the EPA would take a tougher stance on polluters than does the DEQ.

This summer, three new members were appointed to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. The appointees for 2002 are for three at-large seats and include: Maumus F. Claverie Jr. (recreational fisherman from New Orleans, LA), James B. Fensom (recreational fisherman from Panama City, FL), and Joseph P. Hendrix Jr. (manager, shrimp aquaculture facility, seafood marketing from Harlingen, TX). Dr. Claverie and Mr. Fensom are reappointments to the Council, while Mr. Hendrix is a new appointee. More information is available on the Council website at http://www.gulfcouncil.org/index.html .

Around the Nation . . .

In July, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the Caribbean Conservation Corporation launched an Internet site that monitors the progression of five loggerhead sea turtles as their movements are tracked by satellite. To determine dispersal patterns, migratory pathways and foraging habitat use of the sea turtles during the non-nesting period, five satellite tagged sea turtles from Cape Island in Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge were released. Their movements can be tracked by logging onto http://www.cccturtle.org .

Four albatross breeding sites in Australia have been added to the Register of Critical Habitat. The sites are the first listings under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of 1999, which came into effect in 2001. The seabird is considered vulnerable as a result of interactions with longline fisheries and feral animals and habitat disturbance. Environmental groups are pushing for habitat listings for the blue whale and six species of marine turtles. Listing of habitat sites permits the government to impose penalties on those who knowingly cause significant damage to an area.

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