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Mingo National Wildlife Refuge
Welcome to Missouri's largest remaining tract of bottomland hardwood forest, the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge nestled in the lower Mississippi River Valley near Puxico. These forests once spread over 2.5 million ares of Missouri but now the largest remaining tract is 21,592 acres.
Refuge History: Long before the arrival of the first European settlers many Native American groups, including the Shawnee and Osage tribes ruled this land and hunted it's game and fished it's waters. About 18,000 years ago the Mississippi River shifted from the basin to the east side through Crowley's Ridge to Ohio River and created a fertile and rich swamp. In the early 19th century European settlers began arriving and timber companies began harvesting the cypress trees and swamps were soon converted into farms resulting in the loss of hundreds of thousands of acres. In the 1930's the United States entered The Great Depression and the region's poor farming techniques and numerous wildfires caused economic and ecological devastation to the local communities. In 1944 efforts were made to save some of the last remaining stands of hardwood forest. In 1976 the Mingo Wilderness Area was established.
Wildlife: Mingo National Wildlife Refuge helps protect the home of numerous wild critters including herons, ibises, swans, ducks, geese, peregrine falcons, and bald eagles. Please treat their home with respect.
For the lover of the outdoors Mingo National Wildlife Refuge boasts a one mile nature trail, year-round angling opportunities, and so much more. Come on out and have a blast!