![]() Use your boat orhire a licensed operator from a list available at the visitor center or ourwebsite. Take a passenger ferry (fee) from Gulfport or Biloxifrom mid-March through October, or dock your boat near the fort during daylighthours only year-round.Ĭat, East Ship, Petit Bois, West Petit Bois, and Hornislands (no facilities) are accessed only by private boat. Tours of the fort arenot wheelchair-accessible. Free tours and exhibits are available seasonally. Facilities are open mid-March throughOctober. West Ship Island (Fort Massachusetts) Know what toexpect! An unshaded, 0.3-mile boardwalk leads to a swim beach, pavilions,restrooms, showers, and snack bar. Visit thepark website for hours and programs. Commercial fishing is prohibited in park waters. GULF ISLANDS NATIONAL SEASHORE PENSACOLA LICENSEAsaltwater fishing license is required for all areas. Reserve sites at Hiking trails are self-guiding. The campground (open year-round) haselectricity, water hook-ups, a dump station, a group tent area, a boat launch(fee), and pavilions. Closed Thanksgiving,December 25, and January 1. MISSISSIPPI AREAS The visitor center hasinformation, exhibits, a bookstore, maps, and films. The park's staff, website, and newspaper The IslandBreeze can help plan your visit. Fish, swim, hike, bike,picnic, camp, observe wildlife, discover history, and explore two islandwilderness areas. Some species live in slow-moving, lowland streams and freshwater marshes ofriver watersheds.īeaches, bayous, and boating are some of the many thingsyou can experience in this two-state, 160-mile park. Sediment, saltwater tides, and freshwater streams meet and provide a nurseryhabitat. In waterways between the barrier islands and the mainland, saltwater mixes withfreshwater. Water and wind shape and move the islands, changing habitats. Warm saltwater areas, shallow and deep, house species, big and small. Water makes up over 82 percent of the area the park manages andis a key factor in where these species live. Over 400 fish species, 300 birdspecies, and a dozen federally listed threatened and endangered species make thepark their home. Note how some species establishthemselves across habitat boundaries while others truly live on the edge.Ī range of ecosystems and HABITATS develop where the Gulf'ssalt water and mainland's fresh water mix. Each boundary brings a great variety of plants and animals that areadapted to these ever-changing environments. Other times, you can step directly from one ecosystem to thenext. When the Union recaptured the island, the fort'sconstruction resumed and was completed in 1866.Īs you explore the barrier islands, can you spot how thelandscape changes all around you? Sometimes you will see a gradual edge betweentwo ECOSYSTEMS. The fort's remnants are no longervisible.Īrmed secessionists seized Ship Island in 1861 they later exchanged fire withthe USS Massachusetts. Fort Pickens has been partially restored and revealshow its construction has developed over time.įederal forces almost destroyed Confederate-occupied Fort McRee in 1861-62 departing Confederates burned the rest. With Advanced Redoubt and the Spanish Water Battery, Fort Barrancas protectedthe channel and defended the landward approach to the Pensacola Navy Yard. Of the nearly200 forts recommended nationwide, only 42 were built. The idea was a response to changing warfare technology andstrategywhich was also why it was abandoned decades later. Pensacola Bay was chosen as the site for anavy yard, a depot, mainland and island forts, a naval timber reserve, andmore. The THIRD SYSTEM of seacoast defense aimed to fortify majorUS harbors after the War of 1812. The park's collection, like its ThirdSystem masonry forts, represents over 200 years of innovation in militarydesign, materials, weapons, and strategy. Park Archives: Gulf Islands National SeashoreĪlong this Dynamic Seascape, achain of island strongholds guards against threats from the Gulf of Mexico.Whether facing attacking ships or hurricanes, the military fortifications andbarrier islands of Gulf Islands National Seashore have protected these harborsand the mainland through many storms.Īmong natural beauty and recreational opportunities youwill find numerous COASTAL FORTIFICATIONS. ![]()
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