Holly Springs National Forest: A Study in Forest Management Reform

Abstract

Holly Springs National Forest, which sits just outside the graceful city of Oxford, Mississippi, spreads like a gentle sea of green across 155,000 acres in northern Mississippi. The forest is graced by sparkling streams and rivers, including the Tallahatchie River and the Wolf River, and by crystalline lakes, including the Chewalla, the Sardis, and the Puskus. The locals embrace the forest for hiking, bird-watching, horseback riding, hunting, and fishing. During Mississippi’s lovely springs, the blossoming dogwoods attract visitors from Memphis and other parts of the mid-South (figure 7.1). Thousands of hunters trek there every year to hunt deer, turkey, and quail, and anglers flock to the rivers and lakes to catch bass and trout.