Taylor Works to Fund Cat Island

The U.S. House of Representatives has appropriated $2 million for the federal purchase of Cat Island, the uncut jewel of Mississippi's barrier beaches. The action came due to the efforts of an amendment, sponsored by 5th District U.S. Representative Gene Taylor (D-MS), to the 2001 spending bill for the Department of the Interior.

"This is the beginning," said Don Morrow, a regional official with the Trust for Public Land. "It will allow Representative Taylor to work with his counterparts in the Senate to get more funding. The purchase of undeveloped Cat Island from the Boddie family may cost about $25 million. The private trust is working with the National Park Service on the Cat Island acquisition.

The House also has authorized inclusion of the 2,400-acre Cat Island in the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Four other undeveloped islands off Mississippi are included in the seashore. U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) introduced legislation to not only authorize the Cat Island purchase but also to order a multimillion-dollar settlement with the Beggerly family, which says it was cheated out a fair payment for land on nearby Horn island that was acquired by the government in the early 1980s.

"I'm supporting both the Cat Island acquisition and provision we have included for the Beggerly family," Cochran said. We're trying to do what's right in both cases for the taxpayer and all concerned. In 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Beggerly family was not entitled to more money than the $208,000 it received in a 1982 settlement, because a 12-year statute of limitations had expired. The family, including Byram resident Chris Beggerly, has sought $40 million for 729 acres on Horn Island, including interest.