Homochitto National Forest is a

U.S. National Forest In the United States, national forest is a classification of protected and managed federal lands. National forests are largely forest and woodland areas owned collectively by the American people through the federal government, and managed by t ...

in southwestern

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

comprising . In the mid-1930s, the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a ...

(CCC) began

reforestation Reforestation (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands ( forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting. Management A de ...

of the area and developing a system of roadways and recreational areas.

Geography

In descending order of land area the forest is located in parts of: * Franklin County, *

Amite County Amite County is a county located in the state of Mississippi on its southern border with Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,720. Its county seat is Liberty. The county is named after the Amite River, which runs through ...

, * Wilkinson County, * Adams County, * Jefferson County, * Lincoln County, * Copiah County

Flora and fauna

The

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. ...

of the Homochitto National Forest consists of about 850 species of

vascular plants Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They ...

. The rivers and streams of the forest are rather poor in bivalve diversity, but at least eight species of

freshwater mussels Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does includ ...

are known, with perhaps as many as 11 species possible. Three species of winter stoneflies have been collected from the Homochitto National Forest, including one that was later described as a new species, ''Allocapnia starki''.

Headquarters

The forest is headquartered in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...

, as are all six National Forests in Mississippi. There are local ranger district offices located in Meadville.

References

National Forests of Mississippi Civilian Conservation Corps in Mississippi Protected areas of Franklin County, Mississippi Protected areas of Amite County, Mississippi Protected areas of Wilkinson County, Mississippi Protected areas of Adams County, Mississippi Protected areas of Jefferson County, Mississippi Protected areas of Lincoln County, Mississippi Protected areas of Copiah County, Mississippi {{Mississippi-protected-area-stub