A portion of U.S. Highway 90 in Gulfport has been designated as the “Judith Toups Least Tern Highway.”

The Legislature approved the designation.

Toups, the Gulf Coast’s renowned “bird lady,” founded the Mississippi Coast Audubon Society and advanced its conservation causes, including the high-profile protection program for least terns and black skimmers.

She developed the Mississippi Coastal Birding Trail Map and wrote two books on birding along the Gulf Coast.