MSEP) is a program working closely with local organizations and community leaders to spearhead efforts to increase awareness and participation in the conservation and restoration of Mississippi Sound and its contributing watershed.

Our mission is to put science into practice by providing coastal stakeholders with the knowledge they need to make sound environmental, economic, and resilient decisions. The process of gathering information and getting it to people that can use it involves Extension, applied research, outreach, and education activities

Our research objectives are to better understand the abundance and distribution, life history (age and growth, maturity), movements and migrations, and feeding ecology of a wide range of important species, including coastal sharks, reef fishes, and coastal pelagics.

PLACE will foster a network of individuals and organizations working to enhance resilience to coastal inundation under rising sea levels in a changing climate. It will increase access to and application of relevant research, stimulate dialogue around vulnerabilities and adaptation strategies, and provide resources that facilitate resilience and mitigation actions. 

The Coastal Upland Restoration and Ecology Program was designed to improve awareness, understanding, and conservation of historically common, but now imperiled coastal grassland habitats. These habitats are among the most vegetatively diverse in the U.S. but require periodic disturbances like wildland fire to maintain high levels of diversity.