Bottomland Forests of the Mississippi Backswamps and Delta Mixed Forests

The NativState Bottomland Forests of the Mississippi Backswamps and Delta Mixed Forests project aggregates forestland ranging from the swampy wetlands of Arkansas and Mississippi, across the alluvial soils of the Mississippi delta and into the mixed forests of the rolling West Coastal Plain of Louisiana. 

This project supports a diverse landscape that includes silver maple, oak, hickory, cypress, and pine and provides habitat for numerous species like bald eagles, herons, migratory waterfowl, alligators, and many other fish, amphibians, and mammals. 

The biodiversity of these ecoregions relies on the health of its rivers and streams. However, clearing bottomland hardwood for agriculture and other activities has led to the loss of much of the region’s original wetlands. The native oak-hickory-pine forests of the coastal plains and the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, primarily found along the Upper Mississippi River floodplain, face pressure from lumber and pulpwood production and livestock grazing. 

The Mississippi Backswamps and Delta Mixed Forests project protects the native forests that are vital to this ecologically rich region, offers significant climate benefits through carbon sequestration, and provides economic benefits to landowners and their communities.