Watershed
Description
Turkey Creek is in the Coastal Basin Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC)
031700090702 in
southeastern Mississippi. It flows approximately 12.9 miles in
a southeastern
direction from its headwaters until its confluence with Bernard
Bayou. Turkey Creek
headwaters are located just north of Interstate 10 and west of
Highway 49. The drainage
area is approximately 11,000 acres and lies within Harrison County.
The watershed is rural
but includes some urban areas, those portions located within the
city limits of Gulfport and
Long Beach. The historic Turkey Creek community is surrounded by
large urban
developments: the airport lies to the south, highway 49 lies to
the west and the industrial
seaway lies to the north. Outside the city limits, open land (wet-pine
savannas and forests) is
the dominant landuse within the watershed.
The historic communities of Turkey Creek, North Gulfport and Forrest
Heights are located at
the lower end of the Turkey Creek watershed. The lower reaches
of the Creek are navigable
from west of the North Gulfport Middle School to Bernard Bayou.
It is a popular waterway for
fishing, swimming and canoeing and contributes to the culture and
quality of life of the
residents.
The watershed
is located in the East Gulf Coastal Plain ecoregion of the southeastern
U.S.
and is part of the Mississippi Coastal Basin and Streams. Native
vegetation in the watershed
includes those species found in coastal wet pine savannas, mixed
southern forests, bayhead
swamps and bottomland hardwood forests. The topography of the watershed
is relatively flat
creating a slow-moving coastal stream and tidal creek.
Canoeing the creek.
Great blue heron on Turkey Creek.
In 1866,
a group of emancipated African-Americans exercised their newly
acquired rights to
purchase and settle 320 acres in Harrison County Mississippi. Land
records listed this area as
uninhabited “Swamp Land”. Now known as Turkey Creek, the land encompasses
bottomland
and coastal maritime forests, freshwater marsh and scrub-shrub
habitats. The settlers created
arable land to practice sustainable agriculture and supplemented
their diet with fish, plants
and wildlife from the forests and streams. They developed a viable,
self-sufficient community
bound together by culture and ecology.
Until the mid 1980s, Turkey Creek’s community institutions and
land use remained remarkably
unchanged as land was passed from generation to generation. Since
then however, this piece
of American heritage has been critically threatened by airport
expansion, municipal annexation,
land speculation, deforestation, wetland destruction, commercial
sprawl, spot zoning and political
isolation. As a result, in 2001, the Mississippi Heritage Trust
listed the entire community as one of
the state’s Ten Most Endangered Historical Places.
Watershed Partnership
After Hurricane Katrina, the LTMCP wanted to build on the work
of the Turkey Creek Greenway
(see figure below) coalition and further develop a unique, engaged
watershed partnership with
the Turkey Creek community. Preparation for the Turkey Creek Watershed
Implementation Plan
began in October 2005 with funding assistance from the EPA. This
partnership is intended to
foster a more sustainable future for residents, businesses and
community institutions by
addressing natural and cultural resource concerns in a comprehensive
plan. The Turkey
Creek
Watershed Implementation Plan was developed to serve as overall
guidance for improving water
quality in Turkey Creek. The LTMCP and its partners believe that
citizens and private sector
stakeholders can best achieve this goal by (1) creating a community
greenway with public
access to the creek; (2) prioritizing ecological restoration projects
and environmental
education programs and (3) developing partnerships to implement
watershed projects.
In January
2006, the Turkey Creek-North Gulfport Neighborhood’s identified
five primary
conservation goals:
1.
Protect Existing Resources
2. Educate and Empower the Community
3. Restore Ecological Functions and Natural Connections to System
Headwaters
4. Increase Non-vehicular Connectivity between schools, parks,
community centers,
homes,
businesses and neighborhoods
5. Coordinate funding so that public projects are well leveraged
to maximize public benefit
The Plan is divided into two parts: protection and restoration
strategies that the community
wants to see accomplished within the next few years.
(1) PROTECTION GOAL: To defend the
existing natural and cultural resources of the Turkey
Creek Watershed from further degradation caused by encroachment,
abuse or neglect. The
Plan includes 8 management strategies and 15 education strategies
to help meet the
protection goal.
(2) RESTORATION GOAL: To actively initiate or accelerate the recovery
of the ecological and
cultural health, integrity and sustainability of the Turkey Creek
Watershed wherever it has
been degraded, damaged or destroyed. The Plan includes 15 management
strategies and 8
education strategies to help meet the restoration goal.
Turkey Creek Watershed Partnership Steering Committee
meeting.
Turkey Creek Watershed Partnership Steering Committee Members
Derrick Evans, Turkey Creek
Community Initiatives (TCCI)
Rose Johnson, North Gulfport Community Land Conservancy (NGCC) &
Sierra Club
Mark LaSalle, Audubon Mississippi
Buck Lawrence, Land Trust for Mississippi Coastal Plain
Judy Steckler, Land Trust
for Mississippi Coastal Plain
Flowers White, Eulice N. White Civic Organization and Mt. Pleasant
UMC
Lettie Evans-Caldwell, Mt. Pleasant UMC Environmental Ministry
Cynthia
Ramseur, coordinator |
