Water Quality in the Mississippi Sound Estuary

Full Title: Structured-decision making to co-produce an actionable science plan in support of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama Coastal System Water Quality Management

Managers and scientists collaborated on a research plan to develop a science-based tool for quantifying and reducing critical uncertainties and supporting management of the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama Coastal System, especially with regard to water quality and oyster habitat.

Lead Investigator & Natural Resource Manager: George Ramseur, Mississippi Department of Marine Resources

Natural Resource Managers: Jon Hemming (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service); Justin McDonald (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers); Jim Pahl (Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority); Will Underwood (Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources) 

Project Team: Anna Linhoss (Auburn University); Soupy Dalyander and Mike Miner (The Water Institute of the Gulf); and Paul F. Mickle (Northern Gulf Institute)

Federal Program Officer/Point of Contact: Frank Parker (frank.parker@noaa.gov)

Award Amount: $126,646

Award Period: September 2021 – September 2023

Why it matters: Mississippi’s oyster fishery has been declining since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and was closed for five years between 2018 and 2024. The future of the oyster fishery is in jeopardy due to water quality concerns and impacts from  when the Bonnet Carré Spillway is opened and large amounts of freshwater from the Mississippi River is diverted into the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama Coastal System (LMACS). It is difficult to make decisions regarding the opening of the oyster fishery and there are limited mechanisms for collaboration among the agencies responsible for managing the LMACS. 

What the team did: The project team held six workshops with resource managers of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Park Service. In these workshops, resource managers used a structured-decision making approach to refine key objectives, the range of management alternatives, and uncertainties that complicate decision making. The project set up a framework for cross-agency collaboration to provide Mississippi resource managers with the tools and capacity to engage with Louisiana and Alabama. 

Summary of outcome: During the workshops, natural resource managers expressed their needs for a decision support and modeling framework to investigate the impacts of management actions and natural drivers on water quality in the LMACS. The team wrote a research and application plan with the goal of establishing a working group of natural resource managers to address near-term research priorities, while also providing the foundation for continued LMACS management in the long-term. In addition, participants at the workshops identified the impact of various management actions on water quality as a major uncertainty. These exercises guided the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources in identifying projects to pursue in support of improving water quality and habitat suitability for oysters.