Mississippi's six National Forests, which encompass over 1.1 million acres of public land, are home to only 10,683 acres of designated Wilderness. Proportionally, with less than 1% of forest land protected as Wilderness, Mississippi has the least amount of designated Wilderness of any state with National Forest lands.

The state of Mississippi has just three designated wilderness areas:Black Creek and Leaf Wilderness Areas found in the Desoto National Forest; and

• Gulf Islands Wilderness Area located in the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

The Delta National Forest
Located in West-Central Mississippi, the Delta National Forest is one of the few hardwood forests remaining in the Mississippi Delta and the ONLY bottomland hardwood National Forest in the United States. The forest also contains three research natural areas, provides excellent duck habitat in winter and, because of the large remote areas it has, provides an ideal location for the reintroduction of certain wildlife, like the Louisiana Black Bear.

Friends of Mississippi's Public Lands is a group of volunteer of wilderness and public land advocates who are working towards the protection of additional wilderness in Delta National Forest. Two areas that they have identified as being worthy of further protection are the Six-Mile Bayou and The Ten-Mile Bayou located in the southern half of the forest. The group is working towards educating the general public on the issue and is also trying to build support for wilderness designation from their elected officials. With the Forest Service about to undertake a revision of the management plan for the Delta National Forest the Friends of Mississippi Public Lands is hoping to encourage the Forest Service to study and include potential wilderness areas in their management plan revision process.

Visit the Delta National Forest web site.