How is the Tidelands Trust Fund Administered?
Applications for Tidelands Trust Funds are accepted by the Department of Marine Resources each year. An in-house compliance review is conducted by the Tidelands Administrator to ensure that all applications are complete and legible. Upon completion of this initial screening, a Merit Review Committee begins its review process. The Merit Review Committee is comprised of two Commissioners from the Commission on Marine Resources, a representative of the Secretary of State’s Office, DMR Cadre Staff, and various local experts in the marine science field. Their review process follows the ‘project selection criteria’ as established by the Commission on Marine Resources. Examples of the selection criteria include, but are not limited to, level of anticipated benefits to be gained from project, level of beneficial impact/enhancement, level of need for the project, and compliance with the intent of Mississippi Code §29-15-9. Upon completion of the Merit Committee’s review, recommendations on proj
