Bayou Pierre Conservation Initiative

Wildlife Mississippi owns 2,935 acres of land along the southwestern Mississippi waterway, thanks partly to a $5 million investment from Continental Tire.

Continental Tire

The company builds large truck and bus tires at a $1.4 billion manufacturing plant in Hinds County near Clinton, where up to 2,500 people will be employed.

Our partnership helps the company offset impacts to wetlands and streams during the plant’s construction. The Bayou Pierre property is being restored with native vegetation as part of Wildlife Mississippi’s statewide wetland and stream mitigation banking operations, which cover approximately 20,000 acres along some of the state’s most sensitive waterways.

The mitigation lands allow private companies, public agencies, and other entities to offset unavoidable wetland and stream impacts during building projects, road and bridge construction, and other development.

About Bayou Pierre

Bayou Pierre is a Mississippi River tributary running through Claiborne, Copiah, Hinds, and Lincoln counties. It is the world’s only home to the federally threatened bayou darter.

For its part, Wildlife Mississippi is working to improve the health and stability of Bayou Pierre and land along it. We have restored much of this land with native oaks. bald cypress, and common persimmon, after removing loblolly pines that had previously been planted for commercial harvest. All of Wildlife Mississippi’s land along Bayou Pierre will be permanently protected and managed for wildlife conservation, water quality protection, and outdoor recreation.

The Bayou Pierre Watershed Enhancement Group

Through a partnership of landowners and public conservation agencies called the Bayou Pierre Watershed Enhancement Group, Wildlife Mississippi is encouraging other landowners to take actions to stem erosion, protect water quality, and enhance wildlife habitat. Such actions include restoring native vegetation along cleared stream banks; keeping livestock and off-road vehicles out of streams; and enforcing restrictions on sand and gravel mining.

More than 65 species of fish have been documented in Bayou Pierre, which flows 90 miles from near Brookhaven to Port Gibson. Sport fishing for white bass is popular when the fish make spring spawning runs upstream from the Mississippi River to lay their eggs on gravel bars.