Landscape Bills Die in Mississippi

The trail and landscape upgrades at the Audubon Center along the scenic Pascagoula River (pictured is a damaged pier) will not get funded, nor will the thousands of hardwood trees lost to Katrina in South Mississippi be replaced any time soon.

On March 12, 2008, one day after being filed, two bills to help South Mississippi’s landscapes recover from Hurricane Katrina were given the boot.

Mississippi Senate Bill 3178, co-sponsored by Sen. Tommy Gollott, R-Biloxi, sought $800,000 to replace thousands of hardwood trees in South Mississippi that toppled during Katrina. The bill, like the trees, died—but in committee. The plan called for tapping into money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Services Program through the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The money would have gone to buying root-production method trees, a technique that helps trees reach maturity quickly.

A second bill, sponsored by Sen. Tommy Moffatt, R-Gautier, requested $1.7 million in state bonds to upgrade trails and landscapes at the Audubon Center along the scenic Pascagoula River. That bill also died in committee. The senate is apparently honoring Gov. Haley Barbour’s request that the state not increase bond debt unless it’s for job creation.