Horn Island Wilderness

“Blue sand pools in the shadows of the dunes, blue with a tincture of violet. In the sun, the sand turns white, and then purls in brown crests over the roots of a slash pine. It flows into tree trunks, branches in green tufts and billows as puffs of pink cloud. Horn Island in paint--it dazzles.”  

- Horn of Plenty, April Newlin

Horn Island Yesterday

Horn Island’s name comes from the French exploration of the Mississippi barrier islands. In the 1600s a sailor lost his powder horn on the island. He created such a ruckus that he delayed the crew’s departure and they dubbed the island, "horn". Since then, the island has seen few spurts of activity. In the late 1800s, the Horn Island Lighthouse shone on the island. In the 1940s, the US Army operated a Chemical Warfare Service Quarantine Station. In the 1950s, Horn Island served as a favorite muse of Mississippi artist Walter Anderson.

Horn Island Today

In 1978 Gulf Islands Wilderness designated the wilderness character of Horn and Petit Bois islands. This affords the islands the highest level of federal protection for public lands under the Wilderness Act of 1964. The designation preserves the tangible and intangible qualities of a wilderness area. Without much human activity on the Horn Island, wilderness is able to blossom.

Birds, alligators, raccoons, frogs, snakes, and turtles all make their homes on the wilderness island. Live oaks and pine trees provide shade, and all sorts of shrub plants grow underneath. With a lack of wilderness on the mainland, Horn Island is a popular destination for people looking for solitude. Today, people boat to the island for fishing, camping, birding, or to sit on the shore of a secluded beach.

Horn Island Tomorrow

The wilderness of Horn Island is under threat. The 2,300-mile Mississippi River functions as a conveyor belt. It is transporting the litter and excess nutrients like fertilizer from the mid-western United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Every year, a dead zone, or an area of low to no oxygen, forms in the Gulf. This dead zone forms as a result of too many nutrients in the water.

The river brings more than excess fertilizer. It carries trash, too. Studies in the Gulf of Mexico show the highest concentrations of ocean plastics in the world. Given this, it is no surprise that ocean trash is washing up onshore. This unnatural debris hinders the natural view and causes harm to the animals that call Horn Island home.

While trash is evident and an immediate problem, the slow creep of sea-level rise is impacting the island in more catastrophic ways. If current trends continue, sea levels will drown the majority of Horn Island by 2100. Horn Island is only 20 feet above sea level at its highest peak. About 10 miles long, the island is no more than a mile in width, making it vulnerable to storm surge and overwash. Without action now, Horn Island and its wilderness will disappear.

Although there is no single solution, there are a million little things you can do to help protect the Horn Island wilderness. Consider reducing your use of single-use plastic by finding reusable alternatives. Practicing Leave No Trace Principals. All these little things can all make a big impact.