Eco-tour of South Mississippi A Trip on the Pascagoula

ECO-Tour of ECO-Tour of South Mississippi South Mississippi

A Trip on the Pascagoula

Written by Andrew Barrett | Photos by Kathy Wilkinson

As each day passes, the sun’s journey from east to west is growing longer across our southern sky. Temperatures are rising and the winter’s chill is once again consignedto the wake of the changing seasons. The transition to daylight savings timehas occurred and spring has arrived.And with spring comes the insatiable need to be outdoors; basking in the sunlight, where the birds are singing andbees are buzzing, watching as the world turns greenone more time. I’ve seenthis repeatedly, but it somehow forever seems brand new, and I never grow weary of itsreturn. Spring is atime of rejuvenation, of rebirth; atime of promise and possibility when it feels like everything and everyone has achance to start anew.

s a Bay St. Louis, Mississippi native, I have always been blessed with easy access to several natural environments when the springtime beckons and nature’s wonders could no longer be contained. The quickest and most frequent meansto these adventures, as ayouth, came by bicycle but many days were spent traversing the woods, marshes and bayous in the Jordan and Pearl River basins by boat, canoe, kayak, or simply on foot, often with a fishing pole in tow. My reverence for nature can, in large part, be attributed tothe inherited passions of my parents. We were always doing something outside; whether it was cycling, hiking,swimming, birdwatching, fishing, or identifying wild plants, my childhood was largely spent outdoors. As a result, memories such as early morning trips with my father and brothers to wade-fish along the Hancock County shoreline are at the pinnacle of what I believe defines a quality lifestyle along our Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Eventually, those early life experiences would help shape an ideology of a sense of interconnectedness in all earthly affairs. As a young adult, I began to believe in a sort of preordained existence between nature and mankind where, ideally, we are meant to be in a state homogeneous continuation. We are not just observing nature, we are a part of the natural world. Practical applications of this seemed to continuously pop up: I enjoyed catching and eating fish, but success would depend on understanding the environment that the fish andIshared. Turns out simply catching a fish requires awealth of knowledge, including knowing the water temperature, tidal cycle and range, weather patterns, a fish’s diet, feeding grounds and migration habits. What time of year are these fish in the estuary? Will you find them betweenthe sandbars, in the grasses or over a natural oyster reef?Are they feeding on pogies? Do you see any shorebirds diving for baitfish? The greater the understanding, the more immersed in the natural patterns, the more likely you are to actually catch a fish. Around age 12 or 13, this was explained to me by a salty old-timer in much folksier terms at the local fishing pier when I asked, “How do you manage to catch so many fish?” “To catch a fish, you have to think like a fish”, he replied. I guess I’ve been thinking fishy thoughts ever since!

By no means would I consider myself a highly skilled naturalist and respect for nature and believe that our best existence within it requires a continuous absorption of knowledge at every stage of life. Granted, that connection with nature can get harder to maintain for most of us balancing a work and home life full of constant distractions and commitments that demand our time and attention, but to me, making the effort always seems to result in dividends that renew the spirt and remind me of my place in the cosmos.

With its atmosphere of renewal, Springtime is the time of year when nature’s pull on me feels the strongest and the need to make that effort has gathered its greatest momentum. This year was no different and I soon found myself looking for an outing that would reconnect me to nature and restore my weathered sense of serenity. I settled on a boating trip into the lower Pascagoula river system offered by a company out of Gautier, Mississippi called EcoTours of South Mississippi.

Eco-Tours of South Mississippi is a small, family-owned, nature-based-tourism company that specializes in providing a variety of tours in the lower Pascagoula River watershed. The renowned Pascagoula River is known for its pristine, natural beauty and unparalleled diversity in plant and animal life and happens to be the United States' longest unimpeded river by volume in the lower 48 states from its confluence to its mouth some 80 miles south on the Gulf of Mexico.

I met Captain Kathy Wilkinson, co-owner of Eco-Tours of South Mississippi with her husband Jeff, at the Gautier City Park boat launch and we set off for a three-hour tour of the lower Pascagoula watershed. Kathy and Jeff have been providing guided trips in the area since the spring of 2006. They both have amassed a wealth of knowledge and understanding about the Pascagoula River over the years and are happy to share that wisdom on their tours. Growing up with a father in the U.S. Navy, Kathy has spent her entire lifetime on the water and is naturally drawn to this type of work. Kathy and Jeff’s years of experience working on the Pascagoula River reinforces their belief that it is a system which demands purposeful conservation efforts to insure its health. They both have spent countless hours of their free time policing the river system for litter and debris or wrestling logjams from the channel of some remote section of the Pascagoula swamp. For Kathy and Jeff, being a steward of the environment is a role devoid of pretense and is more so an exercise in logic and pragmatism; a symbiotic relationship where if you take care of your environment, the environment will provide for you. Referring to the Pascagoula’s natural, unimpeded flow, Kathy declared, “Fresh water is the most valuable commodity on earth. If you think about it in those terms, why wouldn’t you want to conserve it?" A mindset I have always shared and one especially pertinent for any naturebased tourism business.

As we left the boat launch, Kathy captained the boat in and out of the Pascagoula’s main channel through a series of bayous and switchbacks: Mary-Walker Bayou, Lang Bayou, Swift Bayou, Buzzard’s Lake, Whiskey Bayou, Long Bayou, Créole Bayou, and finally back into the main Pascagoula channel. The views were breathtaking as Kathy explained the transitions from the estuarine bay to a salt-marsh system and finally to a swamp system on the northern

reach of our adventure. Kathy’s knowledge of the terrain was complimented by her understanding of the types of life seen flourishing in different areas and at what time of year you might spot a given species. Mud flats, marsh grasses and reeds giving way to cypress trees draped in Spanish moss with an underbrush of palmettos and wild irises, pelicans, eagles, osprey, kingfisher, dolphin, alligators, and manatee might all be seen on a cruise with Eco-Tours at different times of the year. Even the endangered Yellowblotched Sawback Turtle, found only in the Pascagoula River, can be found on an Eco-Tours trip.

In the middle of their second decade of operations, EcoTours has hosted trips for people from all 50 states, most of Europe, South Korea, New Zealand and beyond. Many of their trips are for repeat customers who have discovered the scenery and company provide for an unparalleled experience for nature lovers. Kathy and Jeff’s wealth of knowledge comes from their lifelong interest, curiosity, and awe of the natural world as well as from formal training such as the Master Naturalist Program offered through the National Audubon Society. Even so, Kathy is quick to point out that, when it comes to learning about nature and understanding the environment, “It’s a journey, not a destination”. Upon hearing that, I knew I had made a wise choice with an Eco-Tours trip. There is always more to learn. At the conclusion of our tour, I thanked Kathy for the experience and disembarked from the boat. Much later that evening, when I arrived at home, it dawned on me that, while on the water, not a single thought or concern of my daily life had entered my mind. I wasn’t thinking about work or paying bills or that it was well past time I changed the oil in my truck. I was simply enjoying what nature had to offer.

This was exactly the spring break I was looking for. Every bend in the bayou seemed to be teeming with more than the eye could assess. A sort of blissful sensory overload full of darting kingfishers and towering cypress trees. It was such a joy to be in the wilderness; feeling connected to the natural world. What’s funny is none of this was foreign to me. I spent most of my youth exploring the outdoors in South Mississippi. It was comfortable and familiar; like somewhere you know you belong but for some reason seldom seem to be. At least there’s some solace in knowing that a cure for even the most severe case of spring fever is available and it’s always nice when the medicine tastes so good.

Eco-Tours customers can book trips by kayak or motorboat to an array of habitats including estuarine bays and bayous, cypress swamps, saltwater marshes, and coastal Deer Island. 2,4- and 8-hour trips are available by motorboat and kayak trips are generally a 3-hour excursion. Trips can be customized to fit your need and Eco-Tours can accommodate groups as small as 2 and as large as 22. Sunset cruises, photography trips, or interpretive tours with a guide are all available options. All trips are by reservation only.

If you would like to schedule a trip with EcoTours of South Mississippi, you can call them at (228)-297-8687. You can also visit their website at ecotoursofsouthmississippi.com and book a trip via email at ecotours.ms@gmail.com or contact them through their Facebook page at facebook. com/EcoToursofSouthMississippi.