Delta State University is launching a bald eagle conservation initiative aimed at protecting the birds’ habitat in the Mississippi Delta while giving students hands-on research experience.
The project, developed by Dr. Nina Baghai-Riding, a professor of environmental science and biology, will combine habitat assessments, environmental testing, and community partnership to support bald eagle conservation and expand environmental education opportunities for local schools.
The university’s conservation proposal, titled “Conservation, Education, and Mitigation of Bald Eagles Habitat,” was approved for funding following encouragement from the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The initiative comes as highway widening projects along Interstate 55 in DeSoto County and another Mississippi highway affect nearby bald eagle nests, requiring their relocation. In early October, the project received additional support through an MDOT award.
Students in Delta State’s Materials and Methods in Environmental Science and Ornithology courses will survey potential eagle habitats at Dahomey National Wildlife Refuge, Bear Pen Park, and the former Delta State golf course. They will evaluate water quality, potential nesting sites, and food sources to help assess conditions for bald eagles in the region.
The research will also include screening local plants for environmental contaminants, including atrazine and glyphosate, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, or ELISA, test kits.
Although bald eagles have rebounded in the Mississippi Delta despite the loss of much of the region’s bottomland hardwood forest, the birds continue to face threats from vehicle collisions, lead poisoning, pesticide exposure, and habitat fragmentation. Eagles in Mississippi include both year-round residents and wintering populations, and the birds frequent rivers, backwaters, catfish farms, and farmland.
Beyond fieldwork, the initiative will bring conservation research into university classrooms and local schools. Delta State’s Wildlife Society will host guest lecturers on eagle food webs, pollution, and emerging threats to habitat, while project activities will support coursework in wildlife management, ecology, plant sciences, environmental regulations, and biotechnology.
Baghai-Riding is also working with educators at Cleveland Central High School and Hayes Cooper Center to develop hands-on environmental projects for K-12 students.
Other partners include the Mississippi Delta Nature and Learning Center in Greenville, private landowners, and professional ornithologists.
The effort could also lead to additional conservation opportunities for Delta State. Ulgonda Dunlevy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Migratory Bird Division informed Baghai-Riding that the university will be included in future collaborative projects, potentially expanding its role in regional wildlife conservation.
