GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — The state of Mississippi has bought 217 more acres of Cat Island to set aside for public use.
About one-third of Cat Island is part of the National Park Service's Gulf Islands National Seashore and BP purchased about one-third of the island following the 2010 oil spill from the Boddie family, which also owned the 217-acre portion the state is buying.
Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said Thursday that purchase price is $8 million. He says $528,000 is coming from state tidelands funds, which come from casino leases, plus about $5 million in federal oil spill settlement funds and $1.2 million in Federal Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program funds.
Hosemann is also using $1.3 million that had been set aside to purchase Deer Island but not needed.
Copyright Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Support our reporting -- Follow the MFP.
