ABSTRACT
The endangered Mississippi sandhill crane (Grus canadensis pulla) occupies a designated critical habitat area of 10,500 ha in southeast Mississippi. The Ocean Springs Regional Land Treatment site is located 9.7 km north of Ocean Springs in Jackson County, Mississippi along the northern edge of the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge. Following lengthy feasibility reviews, coordination with concerned agencies and groups, and evaluation of environmental and endangered species impacts, in 1983 the US Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) and the Mississippi Gulf Coast Regional Wastewater Authority (“Authority”) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to allow land treatment of primary-treated effluent on the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge. An amendment to the original MOU signed in 1986 granted the Service access and management control of 235 ha owned and used by the Authority for land treatment of primary wastewater.
