We see the barrier islands all the time, but how much do we know about them? Last year 7.8 million people visited these national treasures. They play an important role in the ecology, history and recreation of this area. In January 1971 Ship, Horn, Petit Bois and West Petit Bois islands were designated public lands to be maintained by the National Park Service. This action was taken to preserve—unimpaired—the natural and cultural resources and values for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. In December 2000 funds were appropriated to acquire lands and interests on and adjacent to Cat Island, all together forming Gulf Islands National Seashore.
“The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation,” says Stephanie Sztendera, public information officer with Gulf Islands National Seashore. “The Mississippi barrier islands are open to visitors with boat accommodations. Ship Island Excursions is currently the only park concessionaire.”
Captain Louis Skrmetta, whose family has been taking people to the islands since 1926, has been running the business 50 years and is dedicated to preserving the islands. “We are blessed with these beautiful islands. Each has a different environment and history,” he says.
From March to October, excursions take an average of 50,000 people to the island. They’ve persevered through hurricanes, the oil spill, the spillway opening and other calamities. They operate a snack bar on the island.
Sztendera points out that every year concessionaires can submit an application to provide services to the other islands. Two of the islands are federally designated wilderness islands, Horn and Petit Bois. “This means that nothing can be built on these islands. Visitors are allowed to anchor in the water and camp primitive overnight on all the islands except Ship Island,” she adds.
You may wonder how the islands got their names. Cat Island was named by French explorers who mistook raccoons for cats. Raccoons were not introduced in France until the 1900s.
Ship Island is named for a natural deep-water anchorage. French explorer d’Iberville’s expedition used the island’s northwest shores to dock their ships.
It is said that a solider serving under Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville lost his powder horn on an island, earning it the name Horn Island.
Petit Bois means little woods in French and that island received its name from d’Iberville’s expedition for having a patch of small forest on its east tip.
John Bernstiel, with the Resource Education Division of Gulf Islands National Seashore, is a walking history book about the islands. He and his team coordinate outreach in surrounding communities, facilitate field trips for local and visiting schools and other youth groups, present formal talks, guided walks, water programs, and other programing.
“From a historical standpoint, I believe you can break the island’s modern history down into three periods: Early exploration and European colonization, American military history, and the tourism boom leading to the designation of the national seashore and federal protection,” he said going back to 1699 when Ship Island was vital to the French colonization of the Northern Gulf Coast. The U.S. acquired Ship Island from the French as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
In 1847 Ship Island was declared a United States Military Reservation which led to construction of Fort Massachusetts. In 1861, it became a haven for escaped enslaved individuals. As more men came, they were enlisted under the title of Contrabands and were signed up for a one-year enlistment with the rating of landsmen. “These events make both Ship and Horn Island officially part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom,” Bernstiel said.
During WWII Horn Island served as a Chemical Warfare Service Quarantine Station and the U.S. Army operated a War Dog Training Program on Cat Island.
“The Islands are moving! They are very malleable and constantly changing, shifting, and slowly moving northwest,” Bernstiel says. “Although all landscapes change over time, barrier islands are one of the few that you can see change with your own eyes within a lifetime.”
Sztendera explains that the islands provide a near ideal habitat for diverse wildlife and serve as defense for the mainland against storms by helping to block the storm surge and dissipate large amounts of wave energy.
Citizens visiting the islands can help. “Marine debris is one of the biggest threats to barrier islands. Marine debris includes trash from visitors and industrial trash from drill platforms and commercial ships, and larger debris such as buoys washing in from the Gulf,” Sztendera says.
Tips for visiting the islands:
• Practice correct fishing practices (licenses, discard fishing lines, obey wake zone rules, and share the shore with wildlife)
• Take your trash home
• Come prepared for no resources, no restrooms or water except for Ship Island
• Practice boating safety, wear a life jacket, know radio channels and speed limits
• Know where you can camp and follow park rules
For more information, visit nps.gov/guis or msshipisland.com.
