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The Watersheds of the Upper Bay of St. Louis flow into the western and northern
reaches of the Bay of St. Louis. This watershed partnership area is part of the larger Bay
of St. Louis Watershed. The Upper Bay Partnership Area can be broken down further into smaller watersheds that include Bayou Bacon, Orphan Creek, Bayou Talla, and Cutoff Bayou which
drain to the Jourdan River. Bayou La Terre drains into Rotten Bayou which empties into
Jourdan River before that river meets the Bay of St. Louis. In addition, Lower Bayou and
Bayou LaCroix travel through the city of Bay St. Louis before meeting the Bay of St. Louis.
The Upper Bay Partnership Area also includes the community of Kiln. Outside the city limits,
the watershed is mostly rural with agricultural areas including livestock farms and timberlands.
Also included within the watershed is public Coastal Preserves owned and managed by the
MS Department of Marine Resources. These preserves are mostly coastal marsh, wet pine
savanna, and maritime forests.

Jourdan River Coastal Preserve

Small streams and wetlands trap excess sediment, which is the single greatest
contributor to poor water quality. Preserving forests, riparian buffers and other vegetative
cover dramatically reduces sedimentation. A reduction in sedimentation and other storm-water
run-off protects water quality and ultimately saves money. Conservation options are cost-
effective measures that benefit everyone.

Prior to Hurricane Katrina, the Hancock County Greenways project hosted by the
Hancock County Chamber of Commerce and Board of Supervisors conducted several public
forums and surveyed the community. Water quality concerns were the number one issue for
both citizens and local governments. Most of the concern was focused on fecal coliform
contamination in the waters caused by faulty septic and wastewater systems, especially
after heavy rain events. Currently, the county is working to install new water and sewer
systems; however, many rural residents are concerned that this will generate more
development outside of the cities thereby increasing water quality issues, decreasing the
quality of life in the rural setting and creating addition loss of wildlife habitat and green space.

Bayhead swamp in pine flatwoods.

The watersheds of the Upper Bay of St. Louis Partnership Area are:

Bayou Bacon Watershed covers
@42 square miles and is 8.56 miles long
*Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC): 031700090906

Jourdan River/Bayou Talla Watershed
covers @27 sq. miles and is 12.07 miles long
*Hydrologic Unit Code: 031700091001

Jourdan River/Cutoff Bayou Watershed
covers @19 sq miles and is 4.31 miles long
*Hydrologic Unit Code: 031700091004

Rotten Bayou Watershed covers
@35 square miles and is 12.84 miles long
*Hydrologic Unit Code: 03170091002

Bayou La Terre Watershed covers
@24 sq. miles and is 10.73 miles long
*Hydrologic Unit code: 03170091003

Lower Bayou/LaCroix Watershed covers
@21 sq. miles and is 7.30 miles long
*Hydrologic Unit Code: 03170091102

The Land Trust’s efforts to build a partnership for Upper Bay of St. Louis began
in November of 2006 with Alison Anderson and Chris Lagarde agreeing to co-chair community
watershed forums. The first roundtable discussion was held at the Kiln public library on
January 18, 2007. The second roundtable discussion was held at the Hancock County
EOC on March 29, 2007. We have learned much from the participants and are very
appreciative of their participation.

Hancock County was ground zero for this country’s greatest natural disaster, Hurricane
Katrina. We feel that it is important to respect that citizens are working hard to rebuild
and recover and that any individual’s time to participate in long-term watershed planning
is limited. The Land Trust will continue to support the development of a watershed
partnership for the Upper Bay of St. Louis, seeking financial and other resources to help
the community accomplish some of the actions identified to address their concerns for
the waterways of Hancock County.

This document is written to provide a strategic approach to watershed planning with
particular focus on private sector participation in the process. We want to provide context
and a brief overview of the ecological, cultural and scenic significance of streams as they flow
to the Bay of St. Louis in Hancock County. This is a record of our planning efforts and an
accounting of actions identified to address watershed concerns. The hope of those involved
in this planning is to foster better stewardship of the natural resources of the watershed.

Forum participants were asked, “What’s so special about this place? Is there anything
in the watershed in its present state that you want to protect?” They responded with a clear understanding of their natural heritage and a strong vision of the qualities that they want to
restore and protect:

4. Incredible beauty of our water: clean, clear water that provides opportunities for people to swim, fish and hunt

From the impacts of storm debris and tree loss to the threats of failing septic tanks
and accelerated erosion in streams, participants clearly have a passion to restore, protect
and educate. Failing septic tanks, head cutting, down cutting, deforestation and contaminated
runoff are sources of stress that contribute to increased sedimentation, nutrient and bacteria
loading. Forum participants also identified the need for increased understanding about the
impact of motorized vehicles on stream banks, stream beds and sandbars and for increased
enforcement of public waterway laws. Residents discussed the need to keep regular prescribed
fire as a primary tool for natural lands management; limit development and create setback
requirements in the floodplain through local zoning action; reforest stream banks and protect
headwater streams and tributaries. There is a great need to educate the local citizenry and
to develop pride in place so that littering and dumping can be minimized, streamside management
can be better understood and implemented, and appropriate public policy can be implemented as
the population grows.

The goal of the Upper Bay of St. Louis Watershed Partnership is to develop and implement
a solution-oriented, action plan. We have two primary objectives: (1) Research, identify and
implement watershed protection and education strategies in the Upper Bay of St. Louis Partnership
Area; (2) Research, design and implement watershed restoration and education strategies in the
Upper Bay of St. Louis Partnership.

Protection is defined as defending the existing natural and cultural resources of the
Watershed from further degradation caused by encroachment, abuse or neglect. Restoration
is defined as actively initiating or accelerating the recovery of the ecological and cultural health,
integrity and sustainability of the watershed that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed.