PROJECT FOCUS AREAS
HABITAT CONSERVATION, CONSERVATION EDUCATION, & OUTDOOR RECREATION
Urban green spaces, like the Fannye Cook Natural Area (FCNA), have many values. They allow us to get away from crowds and noise, provide homes and travel corridors for wildlife, protect drinking water supplies, and promote many forms of exercise and outdoor recreation that improve human health.
Soon, residents of the Jackson metropolitan area and beyond will have access to an urban forest that is three times the size of New York City’s Central Park. More than 800,000 people live within an hour’s drive of it.
About Fannye A. Cook
The site is named for Fannye A. Cook, a pioneering conservationist and scientist in Mississippi.
Cook was the driving force behind the creation of the Mississippi Game and Fish Commission (now called the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks). In 1932, Cook was named the first director of the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science.
Cook began the first comprehensive effort to collect and catalog the plants and animals of Mississippi in the 1920s and continued this work until her death in 1964.
Plans for the Natural Area
Wildlife Mississippi is designing trails, wildlife-viewing areas, hunting areas, boating access, a pavilion, and other facilities so the FCNA can be used for outdoor recreation and conservation education.
Part of the area is managed as wetland mitigation for the Mississippi Department of Transportation’s road and bridge projects in the Pearl River Basin.
What We Do
Wildlife Mississippi is raising funds for the area; constructing trails, boardwalks, and other public facilities; managing the land, and providing conservation education.
Importance to Wildlife & Natural Systems
Several imperiled animal species live on or near the site. These include the ringed map turtle, the Pearl River map turtle, and the Gulf sturgeon. You will commonly see bald eagles, many bird species, white-tailed deer, American alligators, and wild turkey in the area.
The Fannye Cook Natural Area is the largest protected, natural floodplain habitat in the Jackson area. It ranks in the top 20 largest urban natural areas east of the Mississippi River. Natural floodplains store floodwaters, reduce flood velocities, filter pollutants, protect drinking water, and promote groundwater recharge.
Project Updates
Fannye Cook Update SPRING 2025
Spring update on the progress at the Fannye Cook Natural Area in Flowood, MS
Conceptual Designs for the Fannye Cook Natural Area
Project Partners
Wildlife Mississippi has partnered with Federal Highway Administration, Mississippi Department of Transportation, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, and Entergy Mississippi.
SUPPORT OUR WORK
You can make a difference by helping conserve Mississippi’s natural areas for present and future generations. Together, we can make Mississippi a better place to live, work, and raise a family.
