There are two types of natural heritage information requests:
Environmental reviews of proposed projects, documenting impacts to rare, threatened, and endangered species known from our database.
Spatial data requests (in Shapefile format) of rare, threatened, or endangered species in a delimited location.
Environmental Reviews
The Mississippi Natural Heritage Program will review a proposed project for impacts to rare, threatened, and endangered species known from our database. Our official response includes a list of species found with a 2-mile buffer of the project, as well as an assessment of project impacts (if applicable) to those species and their habitats.
Note: We will no longer accept email or paper requests effective March 31, 2019. We appreciate your cooperation and welcome your feedback at (601) 576-6000.
Please mail checks to: Mississippi Natural Heritage Program Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, & Parks 2148 Riverside Drive Jackson, MS 39202
Submit a Request
Log in to the Mississippi Natural Heritage Program and submit an environmental review request.
The dusky gopher frog, one of the rarest vertebrates in the state, is now only found at three breeding ponds in southeastern Mississippi.
To request spatial data (in Shapefile format), please email MNHP@mmns.ms.gov and include "Heritage Spatial Data Request" in the subject line. Please note that you must own the property for which you are requesting spatial data. If you do not own the property, you must obtain a signed letter from the landowner stating that you have permission to receive such data.
Please include the following information in the email body:
Name and address of user and/or organization
Information on the type of data needed
Explanation of how the information will be used
Exact boundaries of the area of concern. You can choose between:
A zipped folder (.zip) containing the boundaries Shapefile (preferred)
A topographic map (.pdf) clearly describing those boundaries
Time Frame for Response
Environmental reviews and spatial data requests are processed in the order in which they are received. The response time depends on the backlog at the time your request is received; however, requests are usually filled within 14 business days.
Fees
The Florida harvester ant, a rare ant restricted to sandhills in south Mississippi, decorates its mounds with charcoal, seed husks, and small pebbles.
Fees are charged to cover the cost of providing Natural Heritage information services. Both environmental reviews and spatial data requests will be charged at $45/quad. An invoice will be sent, and payment should be made by check or money order payable to "Mississippi Natural Heritage Program". Natural Heritage information will only be released after payment is received.
Please mail checks to: Mississippi Natural Heritage Program Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, & Parks 2148 Riverside Drive Jackson, MS 39202
How to Contribute Data
The people of Mississippi are the caretakers of their state's natural heritage. Everyone's support is needed to safeguard our treasury of natural lands and the species that they harbor for future generations.
The Mississippi Natural Heritage Program relies on information from a wide variety of sources to develop and sustain its ongoing inventory. Perhaps you can offer such information. Do you know the location of an undisturbed plant community, an important aquatic or marine environment, or the habitat of an endangered species? If so, please contact the heritage program so that the data can be verified and incorporated into the database.
