Fishing & Boating

Environmental Program

The MDWFP Environmental Program strives to protect, conserve, enhance, and restore native fish and wildlife populations and their habitats through consultation on environmental projects and permit reviews.

The following duties fall under the program:

• serve on the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Permit Board.
• comment on construction and development activities which may affect the state's native species and their habitats to minimize any harmful impacts.
• detect, monitor and control invasive species to minimize their impact on the state's native fish and wildlife resources and habitats necessary for healthy native plant and animal populations.
• report environmentally dangerous, harmful or illegal practices to the appropriate permitting and enforcement agencies.
• assist other agencies and organizations in establishing an in-stream flow standard that conserves viable stream fish populations and stream habitats.
• consult with other state agencies on fish kills and fish consumption advisories and the wise utilization of the state's Public Trust resources.

A critical aspect of this program is the maintenance of the Natural Heritage Program Database, which documents the presence of state and federally endangered or threatened species and also those species of special concern. Mississippi had one of the first such databases in the United States. Federal laws require that projects using Federal funds subjects such projects to an environmental review using the information contained in the Natural Heritage Program database.

To make a data request to the Natural Heritage Program click on the following link:  Natural Heritage Program Request

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