studioDRIFT and partners are on a shared mission to revitalize the Arkansas Delta and improve quality of life for the residents through a community-first, and outdoor recreation focused, approach. Our collective goal is to strengthen both the economy and the ecology of the Natural State by connecting rural communities to nearby natural resources so that these places together can serve as hubs for extraordinary adventure tourism.

Outdoor tourism has the greatest potential to reverse the economic destiny of the Delta. Outdoor recreation in the Delta can be as big an attraction as the Ozark Mountains and the Buffalo River. The greatest tourist assets in the Delta are the Big Woods and Crowley’s Ridge.

The expansive Mississippi Alluvial Plain spreads from the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers in southern Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico. Enclosed within this “Delta” is a hidden gem called Crowley’s Ridge.

Combined, these areas once contained the largest forested wetland ecosystem in North America. However, fertile soils proved so attractive to farmers that its forests have undergone a dramatic transformation over the last three hundred years as the area became a robust region with a rich agricultural heritage that feeds millions.

The Delta had active river ports, lively, iconic downtown buildings and businesses, night clubs, local music and restaurants that provided its residents a rich, one-of-a-kind culture. “The Delta” meant southern accents, gracious living, good food, the blues, and the music that birthed rock and roll. But since World War II, the steady mechanization of agricultural has led the Delta to lose many of the people and values that defined it.

Approximately 20 percent of the original forests remain. What remains is incredibly unique: hardwood forests still dominate the landscape on Crowley’s Ridge while majestic bottomland forests grow in pockets along river basins.