A project of the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain

Watershed Description

          The entire drainage area of Red Creek is over 400 square miles. Red Creek flows through Lamar,
Stone, George, and Jackson Counties. It also touches Pearl River, Lamar, and Forrest Counties. It
is an important sub-basin of the Pascagoula River Watershed, a nationally significant eco-system
with the largest unimpeded river in the continental United States.

         Red Creek is in the Pascagoula River Basin in southeastern Mississippi. The Friends
of Red Creek partnership area includes all of Red Creek as it flows through Stone County. The
area under consideration for specific action through a MDEQ 319 project includes stream
sections located between City Bridge Road and Highway 15 at Ramsey Springs in Stone County.

          Red Creek is a coastal blackwater stream that forms near Lumberton in Lamar County and ends
when it meets Black Creek near the Pascagoula River in Jackson County. It gets its name from
the reddish stain that naturally-occurring tannins impart to the water. In 2004, the watershed was
documented as 66% forested with a 100 foot, well-forested riparian zone extending from
Highway 26 (west of Wiggins) to its confluence with Black Creek. This section of Red Creek is
a public waterway and, according to Ernest Herndon's Canoeing Mississippi, is a beautiful float
trip. The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science has documented 61 species of freshwater and
diadromous fishes with a recreational fishery for at least 5 species.

          Red Creek is in the East Gulf Coastal Plain Ecoregion and is a major tributary in the Pascagoula
River watershed.
 

Watershed Partnership

          LTMCP, together with the Red Creek steering committee, hosted two community forums in the
fall of 2006. The purpose of the first forum was to talk with residents and other stakeholders of the
Red Creek community to get their thoughts on the status of the watershed, any issues and concerns
they have, and their vision for the future of the watershed. At the second forum, the steering
committee and LTMCP shared the results of this first facilitated discussion and provided experts to
answer specific questions from the first forum.

 
At the community forum, County Engineer Jon Bond and Supervisor Duncan Hatten
look at the Red Creek watershed map.

          After these important community discussions, the steering committee took the results of the
forums and prioritized these topics into specific action items and formalized the organization by taking
the name Friends of Red Creek (FORC). LTMCP is also working with FORC and the Mississippi Department
of Environmental Quality to fund many of these action items through the 319 Nonpoint Source Pollution
Grant program.

          These are exciting times for the FORC! The first Adopt-A-Stream training was held in April, 2007 and
many volunteers have signed on to monitor the health of Red Creek for the next 3 years. There are many opportunities for you to become involved with the Red Creek Watershed Partnership through FORC or LTMCP.
If you would like more information, contact Judy Steckler, LTMCP director, 228-435-9191 or judysteckler@aol.com.

FORC Steering Committee Members

Jon Bond

Liz Cox

Robin Lott

Nell Murray

Julia O’Neal

Dorlean Spiers

Judy Steckler, LTMCP Director

Sam LaRosa, LTMCP Board Member

Cynthia Ramseur, coordinator

FORC members assess the health of Red Creek.

Swimming hole in Red Creek.