The Nature Conservancy in Mississippi

08/28/2026

📰 The Nature Conservancy's Fall 2026 edition of Mississippi Nature is hitting members' mailboxes with the quarterly Nature Conservancy magazine. This issue highlights legacy projects that serve as our way of marking The Nature Conservancy's 75th anniversary. 🥂 Thanks to your support, it is our hope that generational efforts such as these will endure to secure a healthier planet for many years to come. 🌍 Take a look: https://nature.ly/4wRQ1jw

08/26/2026

We’re celebrating a HUGE milestone! 🦪 August marks *two years* since The Nature Conservancy officially launched Save Our Shells and we are excited to announce that we have collected 500,000 pounds of oyster shells during this time!

Because of the support of our restaurant partners and local communities, these shells have been given a second life and are helping retore the Mississippi Sound. 🌊 So far, the collected shells have contributed to three restoration projects, including two living shoreline projects in Harrison and Jackson counties in partnership with University of Southern Mississippi. The third project helped enhance the Tony Trapani reef in the Bay of St. Louis.

What was once considered waste is now creating valuable habitat! Thank you to everyone that has contributed towards making Save Our Shells possible! 👏 Learn more about this successful program: https://nature.ly/4pHloJf.

08/22/2026

❓We know that The Nature Conservancy collects and recycles oyster shells from local restaurants as part of Save Our Shells (SOS). But where do the oyster shells go after leaving the restaurant?

✔️ SOS saves the discarded shells from the landfill and transports them to a sun curing site, where they are carefully managed for up to 12 months. Naturally curing in the sun during this time allows debris, leftover food particles and bacteria to break down.

🦪 Once shells are clean and ready, they can return to the water as an important part of oyster reef restoration in the Mississippi Sound. Oyster shells provide valuable habitat where new oysters can settle and grow while also supporting fish, crabs and other marine life. 🍽️ ☀️ 🌊

08/19/2026

🌳We're celebrating one of our favorite Mississippi trees on this .

08/17/2026

🌲Longleaf conservation is powered by partnership.

America’s Longleaf 2025 Accomplishment Report highlights 1.95 million acres of longleaf management activities and record-setting land protection efforts across the longleaf range. As a partner of America's Longleaf Restoration Initiative (ALRI), TNC works alongside a broad network of partners to protect, restore and steward longleaf forests while advancing conservation priorities through the Longleaf Partnership Council
📍In Mississippi, partners reported 117,639 acres of longleaf management activities, including more than 79,000 acres treated with prescribed burning.

These efforts help provide clean air and water, support working forests and local economies, reduce wildfire risk and sustain the rich wildlife that depends on longleaf ecosystems. Read the report: https://nature.ly/45UClIA

08/17/2026

08/12/2026

Our staff hosted LSU Botanist Dr. Chris Reid at The Nature Conservancy's Talisheek Preserve in Louisiana. He was in search of a rare sedge—Curtiss’ beaksedge (Rhynchospora curtissii)—that is endemic only to the southern portions of Mississippi and Alabama, and the Florida panhandle. Although the sedge has never been found in Louisiana, he suspects that Talisheek’s routinely burned flatwoods savannas would be good habitat. Dr. Reid didn't find any on that day, but the group was treated to other great plants, including blooming Stokes’ aster (Stokesia laevis) and swamp azalea (Rhodoendron viscosum).

08/11/2026

Event Alert! 📆 Our own Dr. Bryan Piazza will be a featured speaker at this important panel discussion hosted by Gulf States Newsroom. This Aug. 20 event, "Katrina: The Next 20 Years” is free, but tickets are limited. Register today 👉 https://nature.ly/4wMQ0NR.

08/07/2026

Protecting wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region means protecting waterfowl, hunting traditions and rural economies throughout North America. The Nature Conservancy supports maintaining current wetland easement agreements that support healthy waterfowl populations throughout the Mississippi Flyway, which stretches across 14 U.S. states, including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, all the way up to Canada.

*Today* is the deadline for public comment on a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to alter conservation easement water management in the Prairie Pothole Region. Make your voice heard here 👉 https://nature.ly/4we69uC.

📷 Dorothy Rambin/TNC Photo Contest 2022