Senate Bill 2750

AN ACT TO RECOMMEND THE ASSESSMENT OF THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF THE NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE; TO REQUIRE THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE, FISHERIES AND PARKS, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, TO IDENTIFY EXISTING AND NEEDED WILDLIFE CORRIDORS; TO FILE A REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Mississippi is blessed with a wealth of breathtaking and highly valuable natural resources. The state's beaches, forests, wetlands and other natural resources provide countless benefits to the public. In order to make wise policy planning, and regulatory decisions, it is important to understand the worth of these resources. The benefits provided by natural capital include both goods and services. Goods are commodities like timber and fish that can be weighted and transported. In contrast, ecosystem services or ecoservices include such things as temporary storage of floodwaters by wetlands, long-term storage of climate-altering greenhouse gases in forests and numerous others. It is the intent of the Legislature that the value of these resources be quantified and its economic value be expressed in dollars.

SECTION 2. (1) The Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, and Department of Marine Resources are urged to conduct a two-year study to quantify the value of the state's natural resources.

(2) The study of the value of Mississippi's ecosystem services shall include, but not be limited to: marine ecosystems, forests cover, urban green space, beaches, agricultural land and open freshwater and riparian buffers.

(3) The study of the value of Mississippi's ecosystem goods shall include, but not be limited to: water resources, mineral resources, agricultural products, wildlife, commercial fish harvest, recreational fish harvest, nonfarm plants, commercially marketable timber and fuel wood.

(4) The study shall be filed with the Legislature no later than June 30, 2020.

SECTION 3. The Legislature finds and declares that:

(a) It is recognized as a public good that habitat connectivity, including wildlife corridors and habitat linkages, be maintained and expanded. It is the policy of the State of Mississippi to encourage, wherever feasible and practical, voluntary steps to protect the functioning of wildlife corridors through various means, as applicable.

(b) Areas containing diverse ecological and geological characteristics are vital to the continual health and well-being of the state's natural resources and of its citizens.

(c) Connectivity between wildlife habitats is important to the long-term viability of the state's biodiversity. Preserving and connecting high-quality habitat for wildlife can create habitat strongholds. Increasingly fragmented habitats threaten the state's wildlife species.

(d) Analysis of the state's habitat connectivity benefits from the consideration of all relevant data, including information from private and public landowners.

SECTION 4. (1) Because of the importance of wildlife corridors to assist in adapting to warming temperatures and shifting habitats, create habitat strongholds, and in order to protect ecosystem health and biodiversity and improve the resiliency of wildlife and their habitats to such existing and potential changes, the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Transportation, shall identify existing and needed wildlife corridors, including riparian corridors, and including potential crossings of transportation arteries. The Executive Director of the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall direct the department to audit existing statutes, rules, and regulations that affect wildlife corridors and shall make recommendations concerning any necessary changes.

(2) The executive director shall file a report containing the department's findings and any recommendations to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate no later than June 30, 2020.

(3) For purposes of this act, "wildlife corridor" means a habitat linkage that joins two (2) or more areas of wildlife habitat, allowing for fish passage or the movement of wildlife from one (1) area to another, and "habitat stronghold" means high-quality habitat that supports wildlife in being more resilient to increasing pressures on species due to climate change and land development.

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2018.