Stats for the State of Mississippi Certified Signature Sanctuaries: 2

The Bridges Golf Club at Casino Magic
Located 50 miles east of New Orleans near the tiny town of Bay St. Louis, in Hancock County, Mississippi, this Arnold Palmer-designed 18-hole resort golf course lies adjacent to the Bay of St. Louis, which leads to the Mississippi Sound.  The 115-acre course, located in the Southern Coastal Plain natural region of the southeastern United States, includes 35 acres of wetlands and approximately 80 acres of irrigated turfgrass.  The property is considered an environmentally sensitive site, because: (1) it lies near coastal marsh lands, which surround the marina to the north, northwest, and east; and (2) the ground water is shallow, with the water table within 4-6 feet at most locations.  The Bridges was the first Signature member property where specially designed water collection devices were installed on four holes.  Each device consists of a box that can be tapped to test water quality and to evaluate the success of filtration in reducing excess pesticide runoff and drainage into ground water.  Recently planted at The Bridges were quantities of Polystichum acrostichoides and Hypericum myrtifolium, plant species of special concern, habitat for which has been disappearing in Mississippi.  They were planted at The Bridges because  it offered perfect habitat for their continued propagation.  Learn more about the first Certified Audubon International Signature Sanctuary in the State of Mississippi and the first resort course certified as a Silver Signature Sanctuary in the world at www.casinomagic.com.

The Preserve

Near Vancleave, Mississippi sits a stand-alone, 18-hole Jerry Pate-designed golf course called The Preserve.  The 245-acre property has 8-acres of lakes and 4,069 linear feet of naturalized shoreline plus Old Fort Bayou Mitigation Bank which hugs the east side  of the course and runs through the property.  The Nature Conservancy (TNC) land to the south, US Fish & Wildlife land to the west, Old Fort Bayou Mitigation Bank to the east and Cypress Bog to the north totals 1800-acres of dedicated nature preserve.   The savannahs on both the project property and the Natural Conservancy property include a mix of wet mesic and dry communities that include pitcher plant, yellow-eyed grass, bloodroot, and palmetto.  A non-migratory sandhill crane population inhabits the refuge adjacent to the Nature Conservancy property.  Prescribed burns for plant management have been conducted on several of the holes in conjunction with burns by the TNC.  The result has been an emergence of pitcher plants throughout the burned areas. On May 31, 2007, The Preserve became only the second Certified Silver Signature Sanctuary in the state of Mississippi.  To learn more about The Preserve, visit their website at www.preservegc.com