Protecting Jackson’s Drinking Water

Wildlife Mississippi begins the Upper Pearl River At-Risk Species and Source Water Protection Project to protect private and tribal riparian forests through conservation easements and agreements. This will help protect native wildlife and water quality in the river and help maintain populations of two at-risk turtles, the federally threatened ringed sawback turtle and the Pearl River map turtle. The project area includes the last remaining portion of unprotected, privately owned land upstream of the state’s largest source of surface water used for drinking, which serves Jackson, Mississippi.