Drove throughout the Mississippi Delta region this past week and visited all ten of its National Wildlife Refuges. Most of them don’t have hiking trails, and all are well visited by hunters.
Theodore Roosevelt NWR Visitor Center. January 22, 2025. This is a nice facility with several short films and interactive displays.
In 1902, Roosevelt went on a hunting trip with hired guide Holt Collier. Collier was a freed slave who had fought for the South in the Civil War (!) and who had since become a renowned bear hunter. When Roosevelt couldn’t find a bear, Collier went out with his dogs, found a bear, knocked it out, then tied it to a tree so Roosevelt could shoot it. Roosevelt refused the shot since it would have been unsportsmanlike. A political cartoon illustrating Roosevelt’s refusal was published, and the Teddy Bear was invented and named in Roosevelt’s honor.
Panther Swamp NWR. Ho hiking trails, hunting zones. January 22, 2025.
The two Yazoo NWR hiking trails. January 23, 2025.
Holt Collier NWR. No hiking, hunting only. January 23, 2025.
Dahomey NWR’s two hiking trails. A local cropduster was doing its thing, I got to breathe in some chemicals. January 23, 2025.
Trail at Tallahatchie NWR. January 24, 2025.
Observatory tower at Coldwater River NWR. January 24, 2025.
Matthews Brake NWR, No hiking, closed access. January 25, 2025.
Morgan Brake NWR. No hiking, hunting only. January 25, 2025.
Alligator Slough Nature Trail at Hillside NWR. This is a nice trail currently under construction. Love that completely broken bridge submerged in the frozen swamp. January 25, 2025.
