Lease Block Maps

These maps are extracted from the Mississippi Office of Geology web site - http://geology.deq.state.ms.us/coastal/infomaps-leaseblock.htm.  They show the close proximity to the barrier islands of lease blocks intended for lease.  These smaller maps are provided for the convenience of those with slow Internet connections and those with an interest in specific islands. You may download the full 48.6 mb .tif image here or a zipped version here.

You'll see that the boundaries of the lease blocks where MDA intends to allow drilling are set only 1 mile off the beaches.  (For comparison, one rig on the south side of the populated part of Dauphin Island is as close as 1.9 miles off shore; the rest are substantially further - 2.5 to 6 miles or more.  The intended leases would allow rigs to be much closer to the barrier islands than they are to the southern and eastern portion of Dauphin Island.)  That limit applies only to the surface site; side drilling beneath the islands and the National Seashore would be permitted.

Overall Lease Block Map

Click here for small file (124 k)

Click here to download the full-size file (46 mb)

This is a small sample of the lease block maps.  The red-tinted areas indicate where drilling would be allowed. The orange areas indicate seagrass beds.  Note that drilling would be allowed in the grass beds at the west end of Cat Island.  These grass beds provide critical nursery areas for many commercial and sport fishing species and other fish and marine life.

Click one of the following links for a detail view of the lease blocks.

Cat Island Lease Block Map Detail

Ship Island Lease Block Map Detail

Horn Island Lease Block Map Detail

  Petit Bois Island Lease Block Map Detail