Nature Conservancy relocates to USM Gulf Coast Campus

Research scientists at the University of Southern Miss Gulf Coast Campus make room for the Nature Conservancy.

The nonprofit organization’s partnership with Southern Miss Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs brings the two departments even closer to one another as the Nature Conservancy continues to foster and preserve the Coast’s landscape and ecosystem.

The conservancy works in all 50 states and over 70 countries worldwide focusing on conservation work. Some of the projects include building a 20-acre high vertical relief oyster reef in Bay St. Louis and Conservation along the Pascagoula River.

Kelly Darnell, director of the GCRL, and Thomas Mohrman, director of marine programs for the nature conservancy, share the benefit of them being on the Coast. Darnell said, “The close proximity of having the Nature Conservancy here really is fantastic for strengthening collaborations and partnerships in the impactful work that we do.”

Mohrman said, “Being here in Ocean Springs puts us in close proximity to a lot of partners and stakeholders that we’re going to be working with in the next couple of years.”

The Department is located in the oceanography building on the USM’s Gulf Coast Campus in Ocean Springs.