great lakes dredge & dock biloxi mississippi

“One test came back positive for mustard gas,” Brown said, but it was tested again and no mustard was found. Decades later, when workers were being sent to the island to clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill, contractors came across the ruins of the testing facility and the chimney where the tested animals were incinerated, that contamination was discovered. ▪ Horn Island - The Horn Island Chemical Warfare Service Quarantine Station operated out on Horn Island, off the coast of Biloxi and Ocean Springs, during WWII, and Brown said botulinum toxin and ricin were known to have been tested there along with mustard gas.

The sediment eventually settles out and ultimately the fill will build up so that it can be planted with marsh grass to make the area more resilient for the bald eagles and other birds on the island. Each time the channel is dredged, the material is pumped into the lagoon instead of into open water, he said. “You can’t use it to build beaches, but it’s really good to build marshes,” he said. The material from the east access channel is all fine grain instead of sand. They are the guardians of the mainland, absorbing the first shock of waves and storm surge as tropical systems and hurricanes march ashore. All of the islands are moving to the west and north, some faster than others. Think of the barrier islands off the Mississippi coastline as a giant science project. “You’ll see a few birds.” Spend a day on the islands in the spring and fall, when the birds are migrating, and he said it’s an unforgettable experience.

“You can come and bird the beach,” Smith said of the South Mississippi mainland. “We saw probably 80 species,” Smith said, such as whimbrel, oystercatchers, reddish egret, terns, osprey, common loons and white and brown pelicans. On a recent 2-mile morning walk down the beach on Cat Island, Coast naturalist Mark LaSalle with LaSalle Consulting, and Robert Smith, coastal program coordinator for Wildlife Mississippi, discovered a treasure of seashells and dozens of different birds.

Experts go along on the trip to point out the birds they see.

Great lakes dredge & dock biloxi mississippi