(soft music and birds singing) THE RIVER IS LIKE AN ARTERY OF LIFE TO SEE IT AND TO WATCH IT IS TO BE SO IMPRESSED BY ITS POWER (hoot of an owl) IT'S SO DARK AND QUIET.

IT'S ALL THE UNKNOWN AND POSSIBILITIES WHICH LIE OUT THERE.

I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT THE VERY FIRST TIME I HEARD THE SOUND OF THE PASCAGOULA-- THE SINGING RIVER.

Narrator: THERE IS A LEGEND THAT THIS RIVER SINGS.

FACED WITH CAPTURE, THE PASCAGOULA INDIANS CHOOSE INSTEAD TO LOCK ARMS AND WALK INTO THE RIVER SINGING AS THEY DISAPPEARED INTO ITS WATERS NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN.

TODAY THE RIVER THAT BEARS THEIR NAME REMAINS ALMOST AS IT WAS WHEN THEY DISAPPEARED INTO HISTORY.

A RESULT NOT OF SOME ROMANTIC MYTH BUT A COMPLEX MODERN DAY EFFORT TO PRESERVE ONE OF THE LARGEST PROTECTED RIVER CORRIDORS IN THE UNITED STATES.

THE PASCAGOULA WAS JUST DAYS AWAY FROM ANOTHER FATE.

NOW HOME TO SOME OF THE RAREST FOREST ENDANGERED BIRDS, AND RIVER LIFE IT IS SITUATED IN ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING REGIONS IN THE COUNTRY.

CO-EXISTING WITH MAJOR INDUSTRY AND EXPANDING HUMAN HABITAT.

MAJOR FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM WAS PROVIDED BY: (helicopter engine) (music playing) Narrator: THIS IS THE STORY OF THE PASCAGOULA ONE OF THE LAST SIGNIFICANT RIVERS IN THE UNITED STATES FREE TO FLOOD AND RECEDE WITH THE SEASONS.

IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE ALMOST ALL OTHER RIVERS IN THE COUNTRY HAVE BEEN ALTERED TO ONE DEGREE OR ANOTHER.

BUT HERE IN THE PASCAGOULA BASIN IS THE LARGEST RIVER REMAINING STILL POSSESSING ALL OF ITS MAJESTY ALL OF ITS BEAUTY, FORCE AND FRAGILITY.

ITS WATERS FLOWING WITH THE RHYTHMS OF NATURE.

(theme music playing) (low rumble of thunder) Narrator: THUNDER CLOUDS RISE ON THE HORIZON.

WATER EVAPORATES FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO AND THEN FALLS BACK AS RAIN ALONG THE BANKS OF THE PASCAGOULA.

RAIN, THEN FLOOD, AND THEN THE WATERS RECEDE.

IT IS A PART OF A VAST LIFE-CYCLE.

(soft rain & bird singing) AFTER SEVERAL DAYS OF HARD RAIN THE RIVER OVERFLOWS ITS BANKS.

THERE ARE NO LEVEES ON THE PASCAGOULA.

IT'S FREE TO FLOOD UNOBSTRUCTED THROUGHOUT THE FOREST BOTTOMLANDS.

THIS FLOODING IS A KEY TO THE NATURAL CYCLE OF THE RIVER.

FOR HUMAN HABITATION FLOODING CAN BE DEVASTATING.

BUT FOR A NATURAL ECOSYSTEM IT IS LIFE-GIVING.

THIS RAIN HAS GIVEN BIOLOGIST, DAN SMITH A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO EVALUATE THE ROLE OF FLOODS IN THE PASCAGOULA.

Smith: ONE OF THE UNIQUE THINGS ABOUT THIS RIVER IS IT IS A RIVER THAT IS RELATIVELY NATURAL IN TERMS OF ITS FLOODING REGIME.

THAT'S UNIQUE IN A SENSE IN MUCH OF THESE KINDS OF RIVERS BECAUSE MANY OF THEM HAVE BEEN ALTERED THROUGH ENGINEERING PRACTICES EITHER LEVEES BUILT THAT ESSENTIALLY ISOLATE THIS BACKSWAMP FROM THE RIVER CHANNEL OR THE CHANNEL, IN SOME CASES MAY BE CUT DEEPER AND WHEN YOU CUT THE CHANNEL DEEPER THE FLOODS DON'T GET OUT OF BANK AND DON'T COME BACK INTO THE RIVER.

THE TREES THAT WE SEE AROUND HERE, THE CYPRESS THE TUPELO, THE SWAMP WHITE OAK ARE ALL SPECIES THAT ARE ADAPTED TO LIVING IN CONDITIONS WHERE WATER IS PRESENT FOR A GOOD PORTION OF THE YEAR.

(hammering of woodpecker) WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU ALTER THIS RIVER AND WHAT'S HAPPENED TO MANY RIVERS IN THE UNITED STATES IS THE RIVER CHANNEL IS CUT OFF DE-COUPLED ESSENTIALLY FROM THE BACKSWAMP EITHER THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF LEVEES THROUGH CHANNELIZATION AND DEEPENING OF THE MAIN CHANNEL.

WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT CUTS OFF THE BACKSWAMP AND IT NO LONGER RECEIVES AN ANNUAL FLOOD WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT IN MAINTAINING THESE SYSTEMS NOT ONLY IN TERMS OF THE SPECIES THAT OCCUR HERE BUT IN TERMS OF THE IMPORT AND EXPORT OF NUTRIENTS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT FLOODING REGIME.

THE CAPABILITY OF FISH AND OTHER SPECIES TO ACTUALLY MOVE INTO THE FLOOD PLANE THE BACKSWAMP AND SPAWN AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE YEAR.

MANY, MANY PROCESSES THAT TAKE PLACE IN THIS BACKSWAMP SYSTEM ARE INTRICATELY AND INTIMATELY TIED WITH THIS ANNUAL FLOODING REGIME.

YOU TAKE THAT FLOODING REGIME AWAY AND THIS SYSTEM CHANGES TOTALLY.

Narrator: FOREST, WETLANDS AND WILDLIFE ALL DEPEND ON THIS NATURAL FLOODING CYCLE.

IN A MATTER OF DAYS THE RIVER LEVEL DROPS SIGNIFICANTLY ALLOWING BOTANIST, WILL McDEARMAN TO INVESTIGATE ONE OF THE MANY SAND BARS THAT WAS JUST A WEEK AGO UNDER SEVERAL FEET OF WATER.

THE ECOSYSTEMS DEPEND CRUCIALLY ON CYCLES OF FLOODING FROM WINTER RAINS, SPRING OVERFLOW AND DOWN INTO THE BOTTOMLAND HARDWOOD FOREST.

BECAUSE DURING A FLOOD CYCLE WHAT'S CURRENTLY LAND RIGHT NOW, DRY LAND IN A BOTTOMLAND HARDWOOD FOREST WHEN IT'S FLOODED IS LITERALLY THE BOTTOM OF THE RIVER.

Narrator: A NATURALLY FLOWING RIVER, LIKE THE PASCAGOULA IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING COURSE.

THE LANDSCAPE ALONG ITS BANKS CAN FLUCTUATE DRAMATICALLY WITH THE RISING AND FALLING RIVER.

THE RIVER ITSELF MOVES FROM PLACE TO PLACE CREATING NEW OXBOW LAKES, PLACES THAT WERE ONCE A PART OF THE RIVER BUT NOW ARE CUT OFF.

THESE SOUTHERN LOW GRADIENT RIVERS HAVE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS MIGRATED BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE FLOOD PLAIN.

THAT'S HOW THEY EQUALIZE THEIR ENERGY THROUGH THIS SERIES OF MEANDERS.

THAT'S WHAT FORMS THESE OXBOWS THAT WE SEE OUT HERE IN THE FLOOD PLAIN.

IT'S THE OLD RIVER CHANNELS.

PEOPLE TALK ABOUT RIVERS ERODING AND GOING BACK AND FORTH.

LATERAL EROSION IS VERY NATURAL IN THESE FLOOD PLAINS.

BUT HERE YOU CAN SEE A NATURAL MEANDER AND MIGRATION OF THE RIVER AS IT MOVES OVER THIS WAY, TO THE WEST.

ON THE EAST SIDE THERE IT'S DEPOSITING LAND SO NO LAND IS BEING LOST.

Narrator: WHAT HARTFIELD IS DESCRIBING IS KEY TO THE PASCAGOULA'S ECOSYSTEM.

ITS MEANDERING COURSE KEEPS ITS WATER RELATIVELY SLOW FLOWING.

THIS KEEPS THE RIVER FROM SCOURING OUT A DEEP CHANNEL THAT CHARACTERIZES FASTER WATER.

FASTER WATER MEANS THAT THE RIVER DOES NOT NOURISH THE WETLANDS AND SWAMPS, BAYOUS AND FOREST.

THE PASCAGOULA IS REMARKABLE BECAUSE IT FLOWS NATURALLY AT ITS OWN SPEED AND WITH THE FREEDOM TO ROAM AT WILL.

(birds singing) (cicadas buzzing) (water rippling) Narrator: THE PASCAGOULA'S WATERS ARE NOURISHED FROM HUNDREDS OF TRIBUTARIES THAT FLOW FROM THE MISSISSIPPI HILLS DOWN INTO THE CHICKASAWHAY AND LEAF RIVERS.

WHERE THOSE RIVERS CONVERGE, THE PASCAGOULA BEGINS.

THIS CONVERGENCE OF MANY CHANNELS FLOWING DOWN FROM AN EXPANSE OF ELEVATED LAND TOWARDS A LARGE BODY OF WATER IS REFERRED TO AS A WATERSHED.

IT IS A TERRIFIC LIFE-CREATING ENGINE.

A LARGE PART OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES IS JUST SUCH A WATERSHED.

THE PASCAGOULA WATERSHED MADE UP OF MANY STREAMS OXBOW LAKES, SPRINGS, FRESHWATER SWAMPS BAYOUS AND SALT WATER MARSHES IS ONE OF THE MANY THAT DRAIN THE CENTRAL REGION OF THE COUNTRY INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO.

THERE IS AN ENORMOUS EXCHANGE OF ENERGY THAT TAKES PLACE THAT RESULTS IN THE REGION BEING THE MOST BIOLOGICALLY DIVERSE IN THE COUNTRY.

McDearman: HERE IN THE PASCAGOULA RIVER SYSTEM IN THE BOTTOMLAND HARDWOOD FOREST YOU SEE A VERY COMPLEX STRUCTURAL SYSTEM.

THESE SPECIES ARE BROAD-LEAVED AND THEY'RE DECIDUOUS IN A FOREST THAT IS VERTICALLY STRATIFIED.

WE HAVE AN UPPER CANOPY WE HAVE TREES IN A SUB-CANOPY BENEATH THAT WE HAVE SAPLINGS GROWING UP AND EMERGING INTO THE CANOPY, AND WE HAVE A SHRUB LAYER BENEATH IT.

IT'S A VERY COMPLEX FOREST IN COMPARISON TO SAY A NORTHERN MUCH MORE COLDER BOREAL FOREST WHERE THERE MAY BE JUST TWO OR THREE SPECIES OF PINE OR SPRUCE AND THE FOREST IS VERY OPEN IN THE UNDER STORY.

THESE TYPES OF STRUCTURALLY COMPLEX FORESTS ARE SIMILAR IN SOME REGARDS TO THE SUBTROPICAL AND TROPICAL REGIONS.

YOU CAN STILL COME IN THE PASCAGOULA RIVER SYSTEM HERE TODAY AND SEE THE STRUCTURAL BROAD LEAF COMPLEXITY PEOPLE LIKE AUDUBON SAW IN THE EARLY DAYS.

Narrator: JOHN JAMES AUDUBON WAS JUST ONE OF MANY NATURALISTS TO EXPLORE THE PASCAGOULA.

THIS UNIQUE ECOSYSTEM CONTINUES TO DRAW ARTISTS ENVIRONMENTALISTS AND SCIENTISTS ALIKE.

THE PASCAGOULA BASIN AT LARGE, REALLY THE SOUTHEASTERN QUADRANT OF THE STATE IS HOME TO MORE THAN 300 SPECIES OF BIRDS THAT HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED ALL DURING THE YEAR.

SOME ARE JUST PASSING THROUGH AND SOME ARE HERE ALL YEAR.

SOME COME HERE FROM THE TROPICS AND NEST AND GO BACK.

I THINK THAT'S A GREY CRESTED FLY CATCHER.

Narrator: BRUCE REID, AN AVID BIRD ENTHUSIAST LEADS TOURS INTO THE PASCAGOULA TO STUDY THE CRUCIAL ROLE THE RIVER PLAYS FOR MIGRATING BIRDS.

IT REALLY IS A PLACE THAT IS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE TO ABOUT 80 PERCENT OF THE BIRD LIFE THAT OCCURS IN MISSISSIPPI.

THERE ARE BIRDS IN ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF HABITATS FROM THE BOTTOMLAND FOREST WE'RE IN NOW TO THE LONG LEAF PINE RIDGES TO THE MORE UPLAND FOREST AND THE ACTUAL RIVER BOTTOM ITSELF.

Reid: THE PASCAGOULA RIVER IS REALLY LIKE AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY FOR MIGRATORY BIRDS.

IT'S A LARGE THROUGHWAY WITH A LARGE BLOCK OF FOREST RUNNING NORTH AND SOUTH.

IN THIS TIME OF YEAR IN THE SPRING THEY'RE COMING OFF OF A LONG DIFFICULT FLIGHT OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO, 20 HOURS, 600 MILES.

THEY NEED A PLACE TO STOP, LAND FEED AND GO ON, ALL THE WAY UP TO THE NORTHERN REACHES OF NORTH AMERICA.

IT NEEDS TO BE A SAFE AND EFFICIENT HIGHWAY JUST LIKE A ROAD NEEDS TO BE MAINTAINED.

BASICALLY WE HAVE AN 80 MILE LONG FOREST AND WE CAN SEE THE BIRDS USING THAT FOREST ON RADAR.

RADAR CAN DETECT MIGRATORY BIRDS JUST LIKE RAINDROPS AND WE CAN SEE A TREMENDOUS IMAGE OF INTENSITY OF BIRDS USING THE PASCAGOULA RIVER AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE YEAR.

Narrator: THE PASCAGOULA HAS RISEN DRAMATICALLY FOLLOWING A TROPICAL STORM.

DESPITE THE TREACHEROUS WATERS CHARLES DUNCAN, AND A GROUP OF SCIENTISTS SEARCH FOR BIRDS THAT HAVE MIGRATED TO THESE WETLANDS FROM THE NORTHERN REGIONS OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA.

OVER ABOUT THE LAST 20 YEARS SCIENTISTS HAVE REALIZED THAT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF MIGRATORY BIRDS THAT ARE AT RISK WHERE WE SEE POPULATION DECLINES.

AND AT FIRST THAT WAS BLAMED ON ACID RAIN AND HABITAT LOSS IN THE NORTHERN FOREST.

AND THEN AS PEOPLE TURNED THEIR ATTENTION TO LATIN AMERICA, THERE WAS WORRY ABOUT DESTRUCTION OF RAIN FOREST.

OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING REALIZES THAT THE PLACES IN BETWEEN THE PLACES THE BIRDS NEED TO REST ON MIGRATION MAY BE AS CRITICAL TO THEIR SURVIVAL AS SOME OF THESE OTHER PLACES.

THESE PLACES LIKE THE PASCAGOULA THESE HUGE BEAUTIFUL BOTTOMLAND HARDWOODS THAT A MIGRATORY BIRD THAT MAY HAVE BRED IN MY STATE OF MAINE, NEEDS ON ITS WAY TO ITS WINTERING GROUNDS.

IT'S NEVER BEEN HERE BEFORE.

IT'S NEVER SEEN THIS PLACE BUT IT CRUCIALLY NEEDS TO GATHER FOOD AND RESOURCES SO IT CAN CONTINUE ITS MIGRATION.

BOTH THIS TIME OF YEAR AS IT MOVES SOUTH IN AUTUMN AND IN THE SPRING AS IT MOVES NORTH TOWARD THE BREEDING GROUND.

THAT'S A YELLOW BILLED CUCKOO THAT'S ONE OF THE BIRDS THAT HAS REALLY SHOWN BIG DECLINES OVER THE LAST 20 OR 30 YEARS.

AMONG THE STEEPEST OF ANY.

WE DIVIDE THESE STOP OVER HABITAT TYPES INTO THREE CATEGORIES.

THOSE THAT BIRDS USE UNDER EMERGENCY CIRCUMSTANCES WHEN THEY'VE HAD A WIND IN THEIR FACE ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE GULF OF MEXICO.

WE CALL THOSE FIRE ESCAPE HABITAT STOPS.

THERE'S SOME THAT ARE LOCATED ALONG MIGRATORY ROUTES AND PROVIDE LOW QUALITY RESOURCES BUT AT LEAST GET THE BIRD TO THE NEXT PLACE.

WE CALL THOSE CONVENIENCE STORES THE WAY HUMANS HAVE CONVENIENCE STORES ALONG MIGRATORY ROUTES.

PASCAGOULA IS WHAT WE CALL A FULL-SERVICE HOTEL.

THIS IS A PLACE THAT A BIRD MAY COME SPEND SEVERAL DAYS.

THERE'S SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT SPECIES WILL FIND THEIR OWN HABITAT NICHE HERE.

Narrator: WITHOUT THIS REST STOP MANY MORE BIRDS QUITE SIMPLY WOULD DIE DURING MIGRATION FROM STRESS OR STARVATION.

Duncan: ONE OF THE MOST CHARISMATIC BIRD SPECIES IS THE SWALLOW TAIL KITE.

IT'S A LARGE SPECIES ABOUT AS BIG AS AN OSPREY 50 INCH WING SPAN OR SO.

MIGRATES UP IN THE TROPICS AND THE PASCAGOULA IS ONE OF THE NATIONAL RECOVERY AREAS FOR THE SWALLOW TAIL KITE.

THIS BIRD NEEDS HUGE BLOCKS OF FOREST TO SURVIVE.

THEY ARE AN ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS BIRD.

THEY'RE UPWARDS OF ABOUT 200 INDIVIDUAL KITES EACH BREEDING SEASON AFTER THE NESTING PERIOD.

SO THE PASCAGOULA IS OF GREAT REGIONAL IMPORTANCE TO THAT SPECIES.

ITS NUMBERS ARE LOW ENOUGH WHERE THERE'S CONCERN ALL OVER ITS RANGE.

THE SMALLER BIRDS, SONGBIRDS LIKE WARBLERS AND THRUSHES AND ORIOLES AND VERIOS JUST ABOUT ALL OF THEM ARE UNDER SOME SORT OF THREAT ACROSS THEIR RANGE THROUGHOUT NORTH AMERICA AND THEN THEIR WINTER RANGE IN THE TROPICS.

AND THEY NEED HELP IN TERMS OF WHERE WE CAN SAVE LARGE PIECES OF HABITAT PLACES WHERE THEY CAN STOP AND FEED AND REST AS WELL AS PLACES WHERE THEY CAN NEST.

(flute playing softly) Narrator: BESIDES SUPPORTING BIRDS IN DECLINE AND PROVIDING A VITAL RESTING STOP THE PASCAGOULA'S FORESTS AND ESTUARIES SUPPORT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF OTHER LIFE FORMS.

MANY OF THEM LIKE THE YELLOW BLOTCHED SAWBACK TURTLE CAN ONLY BE FOUND IN THIS BASIN.

Hartfield: THE PASCAGOULA RIVER ESPECIALLY THE LOWER PART OF THE BASIN IS ONE OF THE LARGEST PROTECTED NATURAL AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS IN THE UNITED STATES AND PROBABLY IN TERMS OF PROTECTION ONE OF THE LARGEST IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.

Narrator: FINDING RELIEF FROM THE SEARING HEAT AND HUMIDITY AQUATIC BIOLOGIST, PAUL HARTFIELD SEARCHES FOR SPECIMENS IN THE COOLER WATERS OF STREAMS LIKE BLACK CREEK ONE OF THE MANY TRIBUTARIES OF THE PASCAGOULA.

Hartfield: OH, GOOD-- FISHING SPIDER.

THEY'RE CALLED FISHING SPIDERS BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY WILL CATCH MINNOWS.

THIS GUY WILL GET ALMOST AS BIG AS MY HAND.

IF YOU LOOK AROUND HERE THIS IS ON A PAR WITH SOME OF THE SWAMPLANDS IN BELIZE OR THE CARIBBEAN COASTAL LAND OF COSTA RICA.

THIS TIME OF YEAR YOU CAN BARELY TELL IT APART.

YOU'VE GOT THESE HUGE DECIDUOUS TREES.

IT'S JUST AS JUNGLY AS IT CAN BE.

AND THE AQUATIC LIFE IS EVEN MORE DIVERSE THAN IT IS IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA.

IT'S AN INCREDIBLE PLACE.

Narrator: THE STORY OF THE LAND ACQUISITION THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THE PRESERVATION OF THE PASCAGOULA IS ALMOST AS INCREDIBLE AS THE RIVER ITSELF.

THE PASCAGOULA IS ONE OF THE LARGEST PROTECTED RIVER CORRIDORS IN THE UNITED STATES.

BUT IT WAS JUST A FEW DAYS AWAY FROM A MUCH DIFFERENT FATE.

THE RESCUE IS THE RESULT OF A CHANCE ENCOUNTER BETWEEN TWO MEN WHO HAD LITTLE IN COMMON AT THE TIME.

GRAHAM WISNER, A CHILD OF MISSISSIPPI WEALTH AND PRIVILEGE.

Wisner: FOR ME IT FELT LIKE IT WAS MY SWAMP AND MY WILDERNESS.

BECAUSE MY FAMILY HAD NOT CUT IT IT FELT PRIMEVAL, POWERFUL, SILENT AND I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT I THINK THE FIRST DAY I WENT THERE.

Murrah: MY DADDY WAS A COMMERCIAL FISHERMAN.

Narrator: AND HERMAN MURRAH, AN OLD TIMER WHO MADE HIS LIVING ON THE RIVER AS HIS FAMILY HAD FOR GENERATIONS.

I TOLD HIM THAT I WAS GETTING REAL CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THIS SWAMP BECAUSE IT TOOK HUNDREDS OF YEARS TO GROW THIS KIND OF TIMBER.

Narrator: WISNER'S FAMILY OPERATED THE PASCAGOULA HARDWOOD COMPANY THAT CONTROLLED A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THE PASCAGOULA BASIN.

HOWEVER, THE 50,000 ACRE TRACT OF LAND WENT LARGELY UN-HARVESTED DUE TO A FAMILY DISAGREEMENT OVER ITS USE.

Wisner: MY UNCLE BELIEVED THAT BY LEAVING THE FOREST ALONE IT WOULD ONLY APPRECIATE IN VALUE.

SO THROUGH THE YEARS, FROM 1921 WHEN WE FIRST PURCHASED IT UNTIL THE TIME I ARRIVED IN 1972 VERY LITTLE HAD BEEN CUT.

IT WAS, IF NOT A PRIMEVAL FOREST IT WAS A VERY, VERY OLD GROWTH FOREST.

Narrator: IN THE EARLY 70s, GRAHAM VISITED THE UNTOUCHED SWAMPLAND DURING SUMMER BREAKS FROM COLLEGE.

IT WAS THERE THAT HE MET HERMAN MURRAH.

Murrah: AND AN OLD HIPPY, I CALLED HIM, GRAHAM WISNER COME DOWN HERE WITH LONG HAIR AND SANDALS AND BEADS AND WHAT HAVE YOU.

WE WERE JUST SITTING OVER ON THE RIVER BANK ONE AFTERNOON JUST TALKING-- EVERY LARGE PAPER COMPANY IN THE SOUTH WAS TRYING TO BUY IT.

IT WAS FOR SALE.

AND IF WE DIDN'T MOVE QUICKLY TO TRY TO SAVE IT IT WOULD ALL BE LOST.

BECAUSE THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN TIMBER THAT LAND IS TO CLEAR CUT IT AND HERMAN WAS ALWAYS TERRIFIED OF WHAT CLEAR CUTTING MEANT TO HIS SWAMP.

I THOUGHT ANYTHING COULD BE DONE IN THOSE DAYS.

THE COUNTRY SEEMED LIKE IT WAS CHANGING AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT WHICH WAS STILL VERY, VERY YOUNG WAS COMING OF AGE.

I WAS FULL OF IDEALISM... CRAZY IDEALISM.

Narrator: THOUGH THE PLAN MAY HAVE SEEMED FOOLHARDY THEN GRAHAM'S UNWAVERING DEDICATION PUSHED HIM TO CONFRONT THE PREVAILING ENVIRONMENTAL MINDSET OF THE TIME.

Wisner: THERE REALLY WASN'T AN ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT AT ALL.

MOST MISSISSIPPIANS LOVED THEIR NATURAL HERITAGE BUT THEY THOUGHT THE WORD ENVIRONMENTALIST WAS ALMOST THE SAME AS BEING A COMMUNIST.

SO WHEN I GOT DOWN THERE AND STARTED TALKING ABOUT THE NEED TO PRESERVE THIS PARTICULAR WILDERNESS PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT I WAS HALF CRAZY.

Murrah: HE SAID, "WHY DON'T YOUR AGENCY BUY IT?

YOU KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO SELL IT."

AND I LAUGHED AND SAID, "MY LORD "THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI WOULDN'T EVER BUY NOTHING LIKE THIS."

Wisner: SHORTLY THEREAFTER, AFTER MEETING HERMAN I TRAVELED BACK TO WASHINGTON TO TALK TO VARIOUS LEADERS IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT TO SEE IF I COULD GET ANYBODY INTERESTED IN PRESERVING THE WILDERNESS.

I KNEW I JUST HAD A MATTER OF DAYS BEFORE THE CONTRACT WOULD BE SIGNED AND WE WOULD HAVE LOST IT FOREVER.

I KNEW I HAD TO MOVE QUICKLY AND I KNEW THAT THE KEY TO IT LAY IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

IT WAS THERE THAT I WENT TO THE NATURE CONSERVANCY.

Narrator: IT WAS A PLAN THAT WOULD CHANGE THE COURSE OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS IN MISSISSIPPI, AND AMERICA, TO THIS DAY.

TWO-THIRDS OF THE PASCAGOULA HARDWOOD COMPANY LAND WAS PURCHASED BY THE NATURE CONSERVANCY AND THEN SOLD TO THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.

THE LARGEST LAND ACQUISITION FOR CONSERVATION AND PRESERVATION IN U.S. HISTORY AT THE TIME.

- ONE OF THE LEADING NEWSPAPERS IN NEW YORK CITY CARRIED IT ON THE FRONT PAGE.

"UNBELIEVABLE, MISSISSIPPI GETS 32,000 ACRES FOR CONSERVATION-- THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI."

FOR YEARS, THE NATURE CONSERVANCY PEOPLE WOULD GO TO CALIFORNIA OR THEY WOULD GO TO MICHIGAN SOME OTHER STATE, AND SAY "LOOK, MISSISSIPPI, SPENT $15 MILLION AND GOT 32,000 ACRES OF LAND.

IF MISSISSIPPI CAN DO IT, WE KNOW YOU CAN."

IT'S SORT OF A BACK-HANDED COMPLIMENT BUT THEY WILL ALL TELL YOU THAT IT WAS THE START OF THE COORDINATION OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC FUNDS FOR CONSERVATION.

- I THINK AS THE YEARS GO ON, THE PASCAGOULA TRACT WILL BE RECOGNIZED MORE AND MORE FOR ITS IMPORTANCE AND SIGNIFICANCE BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT IT IS REMAINING FAIRLY STABLE IN ITS BOTTOMLAND ENVIRONMENT IN ITS DIVERSITY WHERE SO MUCH OF THE PROPERTY AROUND IT IS CONVERTING TO THE MONOCULTURE.

SO, PROPERLY MANAGED, THE PASCAGOULA TRACT WILL ONLY BECOME MORE VALUABLE AS THE YEARS GO ON FROM A RECREATIONAL STANDPOINT FROM AN AESTHETIC STANDPOINT FROM A SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH STANDPOINT YOU NAME IT.

Narrator: THIS UNLIKELY CHAIN OF EVENTS ASSURED THAT A LARGE PORTION OF THE PASCAGOULA RIVER BASIN REMAINED INTACT.

(birds singing) (soft music playing) Narrator: IT IS A PLACE NOT JUST OF ONE KIND OF HABITAT.

IT IS SWAMPLAND, FRESHWATER MARSH, RIVER, FOREST AND BAYOU.

THE BAYOUS OF MISSISSIPPI AND LOUISIANA ARE LEGENDARY.

FORMED AS INLETS FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO THE BAYOUS AND MARSHES ARE FILLED WITH WATER THAT SEEMS MOTIONLESS.

THIS IS ONE OF THE KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS PART OF THE ECOSYSTEM, VERY SLOW-MOVING WATER.

SO SLOW, THAT ONLY AN ALLIGATOR THAT GLIDES OVER THE WATER SEEMS IN MOTION.

(blues guitar playing) - IT'S A SPOT ON THIS EARTH THAT MAN HAS NOT YET BEEN ABLE TO MESS IT UP.

Narrator: JOHN HUDSON RAISES ALLIGATORS IN THE PASCAGOULA BASIN.

HE HAS COME TO RESPECT THE DANGERS AND THE UNIQUE NATURE OF THE MARSH.

- I THINK THE MARSH IS THE LAST FRONTIER OF UNSPOILED DOMAIN OF MAN BECAUSE IT'S SO HARD FOR HIM TO DO IT.

IT'S SO HARD TO GET A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT OUT HERE.

ANYTHING THAT'S HEAVY ENOUGH TO TEAR UP THE GROUND WOULD JUST GET STUCK.

THERE'S MUCKHOLES HERE THAT IF YOU WERE TO GET OFF AND START WALKING ACROSS HERE-- THERE WOULD BE PLACES ONLY SIX INCHES DEEP AND THE GROUND IS NICE AND HARD.

AND YOU MIGHT MAKE 50 STEPS LIKE THAT AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU'D BETTER LAY DOWN ON YOUR STOMACH BECAUSE YOU'VE STEPPED OFF IN WHAT WE CALL A MUCKHOLE.

AND YOU WOULD JUST KEEP ON GOING DOWN.

IT'S NOT LIKE QUICKSAND IT WOULD NOT PULL YOU DOWN BUT IT IS SO SOFT THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TO GO ACROSS THAT MUCKHOLE LIKE THE ALLIGATOR GOES ACROSS.

DRAGGING YOUR STOMACH DRAGGING YOUR BELLY ON THE MUD AND PULLING WITH YOUR HANDS AND PUSHING WITH YOUR FEET.

JUST LIKE THE OLD ALLIGATOR GETS ACROSS IT.

- ONE OF THE INDICATORS THAT THIS IS A UNIQUE ECOSYSTEM IS THE NUMBER OF ENDEMIC SPECIES.

WE HAVE SEVERAL DIFFERENT SPECIES OF TURTLE THAT ARE FOUND ONLY IN THE PASCAGOULA RIVER SYSTEM.

THEN THERE ARE OTHER SPECIES THAT ARE RARE OUTSIDE THIS ECOSYSTEM.

THE FACT THAT THIS IS A FUNCTIONING HABITAT AND THAT THESE SPECIES ARE ABLE TO SURVIVE HAVE VIABLE POPULATIONS HERE WHERE IN OTHER PLACES THEY'VE DISSAPEARED SHOWS THAT THIS IS A FUNCTIONING ECOSYSTEM THAT IS STILL HEALTHY, IS STILL LARGE ENOUGH TO PROVIDE ALL THE NEEDS OF THOSE ANIMALS.

(tribal drums and flute playing) (frogs chirpping) THE PASCAGOULA RIVER BASIN IS A VERY LARGE BASIN.

WHAT HAPPENS UPSTREAM, OF COURSE EVENTUALLY AFFECTS THESE MARSHES.

(helicopter engine) Narrator: NO ECOSYSTEM IS SELF-CONTAINED.

THEY EXIST IN RELATION TO ONE ANOTHER EVEN IF THEIR HABITATS APPEAR VERY DIFFERENT.

THE FRESH WATER FROM THE RIVER AFFECTS THE BAYOU AS DOES THE GULF AND ITS SALT WATER.

Clark: THESE AREAS ARE TIDALLY-INFLUENCED AREAS AND YOU HAVE THAT SALT WATER THAT MOVES IN DAILY WITH THE TIDE.

AND IT'S ALSO AFFECTED BY THE SEASONS.

IN YOUR WET SEASON, YOU HAVE A LOT OF FRESH WATER COMING DOWN AND THAT INFLUENCES THE PLANT COMMUNITIES.

IT'S A REAL DYNAMIC SYSTEM THERE IN TERMS OF THE PLANT COMMUNITIES.

IT SHIFTS WITH THE SHIFTING INFLUENCES OF SALT.

Narrator: THE GULF OF MEXICO HAS INFLUENCED THE REGION IN MUCH LARGER WAYS IN THE PAST.

THE GEOLOGICAL RECORD SHOWS THAT THE GULF HAS COVERED HUGE AMOUNTS OF THE LAND OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS.

UPSTREAM, ON ONE OF THE PASCAGOULA'S MAIN TRIBUTARIES DAVID DOCKERY STUDIES ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND THE FLOW OF THIS NATURAL RIVER SYSTEM FROM A GEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE.

- WE'RE ON THE CHICKASAWHAY RIVER ABOUT 100 MILES NORTH OF THE PASCAGOULA MAYBE 150 MILES NORTH OF THE GULF COAST.

AND YET THIS AREA OF MISSISSIPPI WAS COVERED BY AN OCEAN, A TROPICAL SEA ABOUT 30 MILLION YEARS AGO AND WE'RE HERE TO LOOK FOR EVIDENCE OF THAT OLD OCEAN.

THIS IS A CONTACT OF ABOUT 60 FEET OF LIMESTONE ABOVE US WHICH IS IN THE COOK MOUNTAIN FORMATION AND SOME 200 FEET OF SAND AND CLAY WHICH IS IN THE KOSCIUSKO FORMATION.

THIS IS A POINT AT WHICH THE OCEAN COVERED THE DELTA.

HERE WE HAVE DARK ORGANIC CLAYS THAT HAVE A LOT OF ORGANIC MATERIAL IN THEM THAT'S PART OF THE DELTA.

AND ABOVE US IS THE LIMESTONE THAT WAS PART OF THE SEA FLOOR.

AGAIN, THIS CONTACT WHEN THE OCEAN COVERED THIS AREA HAPPENED ABOUT 41 MILLION YEARS AGO.

SO MISSISSIPPI HAS A HISTORY OF BEING FLOODED BY THE OCEAN AND BEDS DEPOSITED IN THE OCEAN LIKE THIS LIMESTONE.

AND THEN WHEN THE SEA RECEDES WE HAVE DELTAS AND RIVERS THAT DEPOSIT SANDS AND CLAYS.

THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF FEET OF SEDIMENT THAT ARE JUST ALTERNATING SECTIONS OF MARINE BEDS AND DELTAIC DEPOSITS.

Narrator: JUST AS THE GULF OF MEXICO INFLUENCES THE PASCAGOULA SO THE PASCAGOULA IMPACTS THE GULF.

- WE'RE STANDING HERE AT THE DOCK FACILITY OF THE NATIONAL FISHERIES SERVICE PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI LABORATORY.

WE'RE LOCATED AT THE LOWER END OF THE PASCAGOULA RIVER AS IT ENTERS INTO THE MISSISSIPPI SOUND.

WE'LL BE TAKING A BOAT OUT SHORTLY AND GOING FROM THE RIVER INTO THE SOUND AND OUT INTO THE GULF.

SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THE INFLUENCE THAT THE PASCAGOULA RIVER HAS ON THOSE BODIES OF WATER.

Narrator: RIVERS HAVE A PROFOUND IMPACT ON THE OCEANS INTO WHICH THEY FLOW.

WHEN THEY ARE HEALTHY, THEY CONTRIBUTE TO THE ABUNDANCE OF WILDLIFE LIVING IN COASTAL HABITATS.

IAN WORKMAN IS A SCIENTIST WHO STUDIES THE IMPACT OF FRESH WATER ON THE GULF COAST ECOSYSTEMS.

Workman: WE HAVE SOME INDICATION OF HOW THE RIVER HAS AN EFFECT.

WE HAVE A PLANKTON BLOOM THAT WE JUST ENCOUNTERED.

THOSE OFTEN TIMES ARE CAUSED BY THE NUTRIENTS COMING OUT OF THE RIVERS.

AND THE PASCAGOULA RIVER, OF COURSE DOES CARRY NUTRIENTS OUT INTO THE GULF.

THESE ARE GOOD THINGS BECAUSE THEY PROVIDE A LOT OF FEED FOR THE MARINE LIFE OUT HERE.

Narrator: THE HEALTHY CONDITION OF THE PASCAGOULA RIVER CONTRIBUTES TO THE HEALTH OF THIS REGION OF THE GULF SO MUCH SO, IN FACT THAT FISH SPECIES THAT HAVE DISAPPEARED FROM OTHER AREAS OF THE GULF CONTINUE TO EXIST HERE.

UPRIVER, ANOTHER PART OF THE ECOLOGICAL DRAMA IS BEING PLAYED OUT.

DOCTOR STEPHEN ROSS AND HIS TEAM STRETCH NETS ACROSS THE WATER.

HERE THEY'LL TAG AND RECORD DATA ON ONE OF THE RAREST FISH IN THE WORLD: THE ENDANGERED GULF STURGEON.

THESE STURGEON ONCE ROAMED THE GULF COAST FROM FLORIDA TO LOUISIANA.

BUT BECAUSE OF OVER-FISHING, DAMS DEVELOPMENT AND POLLUTION, THEY NOW EXIST IN ONLY A HANDFUL OF RIVERS.

HERE, WITH CONTINUED CARE AND PROTECTION OF THE RIVER THEY MAY HAVE A CHANCE TO PROSPER ONCE AGAIN.

- SINCE 1997 MY RESEARCH GROUP HAS BEEN STUDYING GULF STURGEON IN THE PASCAGOULA RIVER BASICALLY TRYING TO COLLECT FISH PUT SONIC AND RADIO TAGS ON THEM AND TRACK THEM TO SEE WHERE THEY'RE GOING WHAT KIND OF HABITAT THEY'RE USING.

FAIRLY EARLY ON, WE WERE ABLE TO DOCUMENT A SPAWNING AREA IN THE BOUIE RIVER WHICH IS ACTUALLY WITHIN THE HATTIESBURG CITY LIMITS.

THAT'S OVER 200 KILOMETERS UPSTREAM FROM THE GULF.

SO THE FISH COME INTO THE PASCAGOULA RIVER IN LATE FEBURARY, EARLY MARCH.

THOSE THAT SPAWN ACTUALLY TRAVEL ALL THE WAY UP THE PASCAGOULA THROUGH THE LEAF RIVER INTO THE BOUIE RIVER.

THEY GET UP TO THE BOUIE RIVER AROUND EARLY APRIL, FIRST OR SECOND WEEK IN APRIL.

NORMALLY AFTER SPAWNING, THEN THEY'LL MOVE BACK DOWN TO WHAT WE CALL A SUMMER HOLDING AREA THAT'S ABOUT 40 TO 50 KILOMETERS FROM THE GULF.

THE FISH WILL STAY THERE INTO SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER.

THEN WILL MOVE OUT INTO THE GULF.

SEVENTY-THREE POUNDS.

(machine beeps) THERE WE GO.

ISN'T THAT IT TRYING TO COME OUT?

THAT'S IT.

THIS ONE'S BEEN PROCESSED BEFORE.

SHE'S A RECAPTURE.

AND THAT WAS THE PIT TAG THAT WE WERE SCANNING FOR.

TOTAL LENGTH: 164 1/2.

THIS WILL ALLOW US TO FOLLOW THIS STURGEON ONCE IT GOES INTO THE MISSISSIPPI SOUND AND MAYBE INTO THE GULF.

TAKING A SMALL CROSS-SECTION OUT OF THE LEADING RAY ON THE FIN.

WE CAN GRIND THAT DOWN AND EXAMINE THE GROWTH RINGS ON IT SIMILAR TO THE WAY YOU WOULD AGE A TREE.

Dr. Ross: ANOTHER COMPONENT OF OUR STUDY HAS BEEN TO TRY AND DETERMINE WHERE THESE FISH GO ONCE THEY LEAVE THE RIVER.

SO WE HAVE, IN THIS CASE, USED SONIC TAGS TAGS THAT EMIT A SOUND, A LITTLE BEEP AND WE TRACK THEM OUT IN THE GULF.

WHAT WE'VE LEARNED IS THAT THESE FISH ACTUALLY MOVE OUT AROUND THE BARRIER ISLANDS AND CONGREGATE IN THE PASSES.

PASSES HAVE FAIRLY CLEAN SAND BECAUSE OF CURRENT MOVEMENTS.

THEY FEED HEAVILY WHILE THEY'RE IN THE GULF.

THEN MOST OF THEM WILL MOVE BACK INTO FRESH WATER AGAIN IN THE FOLLOWING FEBRUARY.

Narrator: GULF STURGEON RESPOND TO THE NATURAL RISE AND FALL OF THE RIVER THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AS CUES FOR MOVEMENT AND SPAWNING.

THESE RHYTHMS OF NATURE FOLLOW THE SEASONAL CHANGES IN TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL.

THE PASCAGOULA'S BEAUTY HAS DRAWN MANY TO IT FOR RECREATION AND PLAY.

THE EARLIEST INHABITANTS, THOUGH DEPENDED ON THE RIVER FOR THEIR VERY EXISTENCE.

- HERE AND ALONG THE LITTLE CHUNKY AND A LOT OF THE TRIBUTARIES UP IN THIS AREA THE HEADWATERS OF THE PASCAGOULA TREMENDOUS NUMBERS OF INDIAN SITES.

AND THERE'S PROBABLY MANY REASONS FOR THAT.

YOU GOT IDEAL WOODS FOR HUNTING AND CREEKS AND RIVERS FOR FISHING.

BUT YOU ALSO HAD AN OUTCROP OF THIS TALLAHALLA QUARTZITE WHICH IS THIS MATERIAL THAT THEY NEED TO MAKE THEIR TOOLS WITH.

Narrator: NATURALIST, TERRY MAJURE IS INTRIGUED BY EVIDENCE LEFT BEHIND BY THE FIRST PEOPLES OF MISSISSIPPI.

- THERE YOU GO.

THAT'S A PIECE OF TALLAHALLA QUARTZITE.

THEY WOULD SHARPEN STICKS AND THINGS LIKE THAT BUT THIS WAS A KNIFE OR THIS WAS AN ARROWHEAD OR SPEARHEAD.

I ALWAYS LOOK IN THESE POTHOLES.

A LOT OF THE HEAVY MATERIAL SETTLES OUT.

LOOK THERE!

THAT'S A HAMMER STONE RIGHT THERE.

THAT'S QUARTZITE.

THAT'S AN IMPORTED ROCK.

WELL THAT LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER HAMMER STONE OR A GRINDING STONE.

THE WOODS WERE DIVERSE, FULL OF HARDWOOD AND ALL KINDS OF UNDER STORY PLANTS.

SOME OF THEM HAD MEDICINAL VALUE SOME OF THEM WERE FOOD, SOME OF THEM WERE FOR THEIR PARTICULAR GAME THAT LIVED IN THEM.

SO THIS WAS A VERY UNIQUE AND SPECIAL AREA TO THE NATIVE AMERICANS.

- THE FIRST ANCESTORS OF THE NATIVE AMERICANS GOT TO MISSISSIPPI PROBABLY 12,000 OR 15,000 YEARS AGO THE TAIL END OF THE LAST ICE AGE.

AT THE TIME OF EUROPEAN CONTACT THERE WERE BASICALLY THREE TRIBES LIVING ON THE PASCAGOULA.

THE CHOCTAW WERE LIVING ON THE CENTRAL AND UPPER PASCAGOULA, AND NEAR THE COAST.

ALONG THE COAST YOU HAD THE PASCAGOULA THEMSELVES AND THE BILOXI.

THE PASCAGOULA PRETTY MUCH SORT OF JUST DISAPPEAR.

WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM.

Narrator: HERE, THE SWAMP LORE IS AS STRANGE AND MYSTERIOUS AS THE BACKWATERS THEMSELVES.

SOME LOCAL RESIDENTS CLAIM THAT THEY HEAR STRANGE SOUNDS ON THE RIVER.

- HERE WHERE THE BIG BLACK RUNS INTO THE PASCAGOULA RIVER IS WHERE THE SOUND IS MADE.

THE LEGEND OF THE INDIANS WALKING OFF INTO THE RIVER TO PREVENT BEING CAPTURED.

WE'LL SEE IF WE CAN EASE DOWN THERE AND SEE IF WE JUST SIT AROUND AND MAYBE WE CAN HEAR THAT SOUND.

IT'S A DEFINITE SOUND.

I'VE HEARD IT FIVE DIFFERENT TIMES.

HOPEFULLY WE CAN MAYBE CAPTURE IT THIS TIME.

I'VE GOT SOMETHING WE CAN GET IT ON.

SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN CAPTURE THAT SOUND.

IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S DIFFERENT.

IT'S A LEGEND...

BUT THE SOUND IS ACTUALLY THERE.

THIS IS NO LYING ABOUT THAT PART OF IT.

IT'S THERE.

IT SOUNDS SOMETHING SIMILAR TO: (low, mournful wail) (Native American chanting) Narrator: ALTHOUGH THE LEGEND REMAINS THE REALITY OF IT IS MUCH LIKE SEARCHING FOR A GHOST.

THESE GHOST-BUSTERS HAVE YET TO RECORD THE SOUND SUCCESSFULLY.

BUT LIKE A GHOST, THE LEGEND WILL NOT DIE AND LOCALLY THE PASCAGOULA IS STILL REFERRED TO AS "THE SINGING RIVER."

SINCE THE MAJORITY OF THE PASCAGOULA BASIN REMAINS INTACT AND UNDISTURBED, IT HOLDS A WEALTH OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL DATA PRESERVED AND UNDISCOVERED.

SCIENTISTS FROM THE WORLD OVER CONDUCT RESEARCH HERE ON PRE-EUROPEAN AND NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURES AND HABITATS-- ANOTHER BENEFIT OF THE PASCAGOULA'S NATURAL CONDITION.

Woman: HERE'S A FEW SHELLS.

Man: THERE'S SOME SHELLS DOWN HERE.

Narrator: BECKY AND REED STOWE ARE A HUSBAND AND WIFE ARCHEOLOGY TEAM WHOSE PASSION IS SEARCHING FOR NATIVE AMERICAN SETTLEMENTS EXPOSED DURING LOW TIDE.

Becky: SOME POTTERY AND ANIMAL BONE... Reed: AND FISH BONE AS WELL.

Becky: AND THAT TELLS US WHAT INDIANS LIVED HERE.

THERE'S A FEW OTHER POT SHARDS THAT ARE JUST PLAIN, JUST UTILITARIAN POTS.

AND OF COURSE WHAT THEY ATE WAS THE RANCHIA, THESE CLAMS.

AND HERE'S ANOTHER PIECE OF POTTERY WITH THE INCISE LINE ON IT, MORE DECORATION.

AND THERE'S ALSO SOME DEER BONE ON THIS SITE AND THIS DEER BONE HAS BEEN SPLIT OPEN TO OBTAIN THE MARROW OUT OF THE CENTER.

THE MARROW WAS CONSIDERED A DELICACY REALLY UNTIL RECENTLY.

Reed: THERE WEREN'T SEDENTARY.

THEY WOULD MOVE AROUND SEASONALLY AS VARIOUS TYPES OF FOODS BECAME AVAILABLE AND DIFFERENT CONDITIONS WOULD MAKE THEM MOVE FROM AREA TO AREA: HURRICANES ON THE COAST DURING FALL MONTHS RIVER FLOODING DURING ANOTHER TIME OF THE YEAR.

THEY WERE HARD-PRESSED TO STAY PUT.

THIS IS ONE OF THE RICHEST AREAS ARCHAEOLOGICALLY IN ALL OF NORTH AMERICA.

I GUESS THERE ARE AT LEAST HUNDREDS OR PERHAPS EVEN 1000 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES OUT HERE IN THE PASCAGOULA DELTA.

Narrator: TODAY, PEOPLE CONTINUE TO INHABIT AND UTILIZE THE AREAS ONCE OCCUPIED BY NATIVE AMERICANS.

FLOATING COMMUNITIES LIKE POTICAW ARE PART OF A SWAMP CULTURE THAT EMERGED AFTER THE CIVIL WAR.

THESE RIVER BOAT-LIKE DWELLINGS RISE AND FALL WITH THE RIVER AND ARE MOORED TO THE FEW REMAINING PRIVATE LAND HOLDINGS.

ALTHOUGH THERE ARE A FEW PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE FULL TIME MOST OF THESE FLOATING COTTAGES ARE WEEKEND AND HOLIDAY GETAWAYS TO ACCESS THE RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND TRANQUILITY OF THE RIVER.

BECAUSE THERE ARE NO DAMS, LEVEES OR IMPEDIMENTS THE PASCAGOULA IS AN IDEAL ENVIRONMENT FOR SCIENTIFIC STUDY.

LIBBY AND PAUL HARTFIELD MONITOR VARIATIONS IN THE REGION'S COMPLEX ECOSYSTEM.

- IT'S A WONDERFUL LABORATORY FOR RESEARCHERS TO COME AND STUDY THE WAY SYSTEMS OPERATE IN A NATURAL SETTING.

AND WE CAN USE THAT KNOWLEDGE SOMETIMES TO HELP US WITH THOSE ECOSYSTEMS THAT WE HAVE TO MANAGE BECAUSE WE LIVE MORE CLOSELY HERE.

- MUSSELS ARE ONE OF THE MOST ENDANGERED FAUNA GROUPS IN THE WORLD.

THEY'RE GREAT INDICATORS OF THE FISH FAUNA.

IF THE FISH FAUNA IS GOOD, THESE SHOULD BE GOOD.

THEY'RE GOOD INDICATORS OF STABILITY.

IF THE RIVER SYSTEM IS STABLE THEY'LL BE THERE.

THE BLACK CLIMBER...

I ONLY PICKED UP A COUPLE OF THEM.

BUT YOU NEED TO PUT DOWN THAT THEY'RE VERY COMMON HERE.

I PROBABLY THREW BACK TWO OR THREE DOZEN FROM JUST THAT SHORT SAMPLE THAT WE DID.

Narrator: EVEN THE SLIGHTEST CHANGES ARE RECORDED TO MAINTAIN A DATABASE THAT WILL INDICATE WHEN PROBLEMS MAY BE OCCURRING.

A SMALL CREATURE SUCH AS A MUSSEL MAY TELL THE STORY OF THE HEALTH OF THE ENTIRE BASIN.

(frogs croaking) (owl hooting) Paul: ONE OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS ABOUT THE PASCAGOULA THE INTACT ECOSYSTEM THAT IT IS IS THAT IT OFFERS A REFUGE TO SO MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF SPECIES.

OVER HALF OF ALL ENDANGERED AND THREATENED ANIMAL SPECIES IN THE UNITED STATES THE ONES LISTED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ARE AQUATIC SPECIES.

THEY CAME FROM HABITATS LIKE THIS.

THE REASON WHY THERE'S SO MANY OF THEM IS BECAUSE AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS HAVE BEEN DAMMED, FRAGMENTED, SEPARATED, ISOLATED AND SO WE'RE LEFT WITH LITTLE TINY REMNANTS LITTLE TINY POCKETS OF THINGS HOLDING ON.

HERE WE'VE GOT AN INTACT SYSTEM A PLACE THAT WE CAN STUDY A PLACE THAT WE CAN MANAGE.

WE'RE ONE STEP AHEAD HERE OF PROTECTING ANIMALS WHERE AS IN OTHER LOCATIONS, IT'S MUCH WORSE.

Narrator: PON DIXSON, A WILDLIFE MANAGER MONITORS THE POPULATION OF SPECIES ON COASTAL PRESERVES.

- DIVERSITY IS REALLY IMPORTANT HERE.

THIS IS A LARGELY UNDISTURBED RIVER SYSTEM WHICH IS KIND OF UNUSUAL WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST.

THIS RIVER SYSTEM HAS BASICALLY REMAINED PRISTINE.

TO ME THAT'S SPECIAL BECAUSE WILDLIFE SUCH AS SAND HILL CRANES, THE OSPREY AND OTHER SPECIES HAVE A CHANCE TO MAKE IT.

(pastoral music begins) Narrator: SOME CREATURES ON THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION 50 YEARS AGO, ARE TODAY ON THE VERGE OF RECOVERY.

THE SOUTHERN BALD EAGLE... OSPREY... BLACK BEAR... AND PERHAPS MOST SIGNIFICANTLY THE MISSISSIPPI SAND HILL CRANE HAVE RETURNED TO THEIR NATIVE HAUNTS.

(bird's rattle-like calls) - THE MISSISSIPPI SAND HILL CRANE IS A VERY VISIBLE COMPONENT OF THE ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM OF THE WATERSHED ITSELF.

IT'S A REMNANT OF THE WET PINE SAVANNAH HABITAT.

THERE USED TO BE A LOT MORE CRANES AND THERE USED TO BE A LOT MORE SAVANNAH IN THE AREA.

THE LONGLEAF PINE AND WET PINE SAVANNAH ARE A PART OF THE ENTIRE WATERSHED.

THE GRASSLAND HABITAT THROUGHOUT NORTH AMERICA IS JUST ABOUT GONE AND THE CRANES ARE A PART OF THAT SYSTEM.

(bird calls continue) - WE HAVE ABOUT 120 BIRDS ON THIS STATION AND THAT IS THE ENTIRE POPULATION IN THE WORLD OF MISSISSIPPI SAND HILL CRANES.

WE WERE DOWN TO MAYBE 20 OR 30 BIRDS IN THIS AREA.

IT WAS AN ISOLATED POPULATION.

AND THRU CAPTIVE BREEDING AND REINTRODUCTIONS AND BREEDING SUCCESSES HERE, THE POPULATION HAS RISEN TO ITS PRESENT LEVEL OF ABOUT 120 BIRDS.

THE ADJACENT AREAS THAT THEY VISIT AND FORAGE IN ARE VERY IMPORTANT.

AND THE PASCAGOULA RIVER BASIN IN ITSELF IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR A LOT OF OTHER SPECIES.

A LOT OF MIGRATORY BIRDS USE IT AS A TRAVEL CORRIDOR.

SO EVERYTHING KIND OF JOINS TOGETHER.

THEY LINK THE AREAS AND MAKE PLACES A LOT OF ANIMALS USE AS A STOP-OVER AND TRAVEL.

Narrator: THE PASCAGOULA IS BY ALL ACCOUNTS A STORY OF GREAT SUCCESS.

HOWEVER, IN NEARBY AREAS, LOGGING AND DEVELOPMENT AND THE BREAKING OF THE NATURAL RIVER CYCLE HAS DEVASTATED ECOSYSTEMS AND RESULTED IN SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF SPECIES.

PRIOR TO THE 1990'S, WATER QUALITY OF THE PASCAGOULA RIVER WAS IMPAIRED WITH IMPROPERLY TREATED DISCHARGES FROM INDUSTRIES AND TOWNS IN THE BASIN.

IT TOOK SIGNIFICANT EFFORTS BY THE STATE TO ELIMINATE THE MAJOR SOURCES OF POLLUTION.

TODAY, THOUGH THE WATER QUALITY OF THE RIVER IS HEALTHY, MUCH REMAINS UNPROTECTED AND THE ENTIRE REGION HANGS IN A PRECARIOUS BALANCE.

- THIS IS REALLY THE KIND OF THING WE WANT TO MINIMIZE AT LEAST RIGHT HERE IN THE MAIN RIPARIAN AREAS OF THE RIVER.

THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A SUPER EMERGENT TREE IN THIS FOREST.

WE TRIED TO RAISE MONEY TO PURCHASE THIS TRACT A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, BUT WE COULDN'T GET ENOUGH FUNDING TOGETHER TO PURCHASE IT OUT RIGHT.

SINCE THAT TIME, THE TRACT HAS BEEN LOGGED AND IT HAS SUSTAINED A FAIR BIT OF DAMAGE IN THAT PROCESS.

THERE'S A LOT WE CAN DO REAL QUICKLY TO HELP STEM THE TIDE OF INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES INVASIVE WEEDS AND WORK TO GET THE HYDROLOGY IN BETTER SHAPE.

Narrator: CHALLENGES REMAIN AND WILL CONTINUE.

IN THE PASCAGOULA BASIN, COMMUNITIES ARE FORGING ALLIANCES TO ENSURE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT DOESN'T COMPROMISE HABITAT ALONG TRIBUTARIES UPSTREAM OR IN MARSHES AND BOTTOMLANDS DOWNSTREAM.

(upbeat music with bird calls) - I THINK WE HAVE LEARNED FROM OUR MISTAKES.

THERE'S NOW ADEQUATE INFORMATION AND ADEQUATE INTEREST THAT EVEN IN MISSISSIPPI PEOPLE ARE PAYING ATTENTION AND PEOPLE ARE BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE WHAT IS HERE AND THEREFORE THE ABILITY TO MAKE DECISIONS WHICH WILL HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE FUTURE.

Smith: THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR RECREATION ARE INCREDIBLY DIVERSE AND VARIED IN THIS SYSTEM.

YOU CAN GO ALL THE WAY TO A VERY SMALL HEADWATER STREAM AND TAKE A CANOE AND FLOAT DOWN THE ENTIRE RIVER TO THE OCEAN.

THAT'S A RARE AND UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY IN THE UNITED STATES.

BUT IT'S ONE OF THE FEW PLACES IT PROBABLY IS THE ONLY PLACE IN THE UNITED STATES WHERE IT'S POSSIBLE TO GO ALL THE WAY FROM THE VERY TOP TO THE VERY BOTTOM AND SEE THE NATURAL SYSTEM INTACT.

A LOT OF PEOPLE LOVE TO JUST GET OUT IN NATURE AND BECAUSE ACROSS OUR NATION THOSE NATURAL AREAS ARE DIMINISHING WE FEEL LIKE THE PASCAGOULA IN ITS NATURAL STATE SHOULD BE A HUGE DRAW FOR PEOPLE TO COME BIRD WATCHING PEOPLE TO LOOK FOR TURTLES FOR PEOPLE TO COME TAKE SWAMP TOURS FOR PEOPLE TO COME SPEND THEIR MONEY.

IT WILL BENEFIT THE POCKET BOOKS OF THE LOCAL CITIZENS.

BUT YOU GOT TO KEEP THE NATURAL AREA IN THE STATE THAT IT IS, OR ELSE THERE'S NOTHING SIGNIFICANT ABOUT IT AND IT WON'T DRAW THE PEOPLE.

RIGHT NOW IT'S SIGNIFICANT.

WE HAVE A LOT TO OFFER TO PEOPLE IN TOURISM AND SIGHTSEEING.

BUT WE GOT TO KEEP IT THAT WAY IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO CAPITALIZE ON THAT RESOURCE.

Narrator: THE PASCAGOULA REMAINS ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST NATURAL RIVER HABITATS.

REMAINING EVER VIGILANT, HOWEVER WILL ALSO BE A LEGACY OF THIS RIVER.

- GRAHAM, WELCOME HOME.

- IT IS GREAT TO BE HERE.

I'M ALWAYS CONCERNED THAT FOR SOME REASON A LEGISLATOR MIGHT TRY TO RAISE MONEY BY CUTTING DOWN SOME OF THOSE TREES.

WHO KNOWS WHAT THE FUTURE WILL BRING.

THERE'S ALWAYS PRESSURE TO DEVELOP ON BOTH SIDES.

AGRICULTURE, RUN-OFF INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION...

THERE'S SO MANY POTENTIAL THREATS TO THAT GROUND.

AND HERMAN'S NOT THERE TO WATCH IT ANY MORE.

BUT I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE WHO ARE BEGINNING TO ORGANIZE AROUND THE RIVER, UP AND DOWN.

THEY'VE FORMED A NEW ALLIANCE OF ALL THE COMMUNITIES AND THEY'LL KEEP THEIR EYE ON IT.

Narrator: THE PASCAGOULA IS ALIVE AND HEALTHY FLOWING FREELY WITH THE NATURAL CYCLES OF LIFE.

IT IS A PART OF OUR HERITAGE THAT WILL ONLY BECOME MORE VALUABLE IF WE JUST ALLOW IT TO CONTINUE TO FLOW NATURALLY.

- I LOVE THIS OLD RIVER AND THE SWAMP.

IT'S PART OF ME.

IT'S ALWAYS BEEN PART OF ME AND ALWAYS WILL BE.

I WANT IT TAKEN CARE OF.

[ Captioned by MPB ]