Horn Island Preserve on the Land Conservation Assistance Network

Horn Island Preserve
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last updated: February 2024

The primary boundary of this 2,763-acre preserve is one mile North and South of the island and is bounded on the East and West by the Alabama state line and the Gulfport Mississippi shipping channel. This large barrier island is made up of subtidal estuarine habitat near shore, barrier island marsh/pond/lagoon complex with pine-oak maritime woodland inland, and sea grass beds and mollusk reef off shore. This unique location provides excellent feeding, resting, and wintering habitat for numerous types of neotropical migrants and wintering waterfowl species, and is also known to be a rookery and nesting area (see below). Lands within this Coastal Preserve are federally owned. The island is part of the Gulf Island National Seashore and managed by the National Park Service.

Rare/Endangered Species:

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos American White Pelican
P. occidentalis Brown Pelican
Phalacrocorax auritus Double-Crested Cormorant
Egretta rufescens Reddish Egret
Nycticorax nycticorax Black-Crowned Night-Heron
Panion haliaetus Osprey
Halilaeetus leucocephalus Bald Eagle
Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier
Falco sparverius American Kestrel
F. peregrinus Peregrine Falcon
Latrerallus jamaicensis Black Rail
Charadrius alexandrinus Snowy Plover
Sterna nilotica Gull-Billed Tern
S. maxima Royal Tern
S. antillerum Least Tern
Tyto alba Common Barn-Owl
Tyrannus dominicensis Gray Kingbird
Lanius ludovicianus Loggerhead Shrike
Lepidochelys kempi Atlantic Ridley Turtle
Caretta caretta Atlantic Loggerhead Sea Turtle
Chelonia mydas Green Turtle
Pseudemys sp.1 Mississippi Redbelly Turtle
Alligator mississippiensis American Alligator
Nerodia clarkii clarkii Gulf Salt Marsh Snake
Lilaeopsis carolinensis Carolina Lilaeopsis
Helenium drummondii Drummond’s Sneezeweed
Paronychia erecta Gulf Rockrose
Helianthemum arenicola Gulf Rockrose
Ipomoea pes-caprae Railroad Vine
Polanisia tenifolia Slender-Leaved Clammy-Weed
Conradina canescens Seaside Balm
Andropogon capillipes A Bluestem Grass
Aristida spiciformis Pine Barren Three-Awned Grass
Xyris flabelliformis Fan-Shaped Yellow-Eyed Grass

Breeding/Nursery Area:

Least Tern Rookery
Royal Tern Rookery
Sandwich Tern Rookery
Black Skimmer Rookery
Bald Eagle Rookery
Osprey Rookery
Great Blue Heron Rookery
Atlantic Loggerhead Turtle Nesting

(Sources of Information: Boyd, J.L., et. al., 1995. An inventory of pond fauna of the Gulf Islands National Seashore with parasitological and trophic observations. Unpublished Report to the National Parks Service.)

For Comments and/or Additional Information on the Horn Island Preserve: Superintendent, Gulf Islands National Seashore, 3500 Park Road, Ocean Springs MS 39564

Contact Horn Island Preserve

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Horn Island Preserve is not employed by or affiliated with the Land Conservation Assistance Network, and the Network does not certify or guarantee their services. The reader must perform their own due diligence and use their own judgment in the selection of any professional.