The Holt Collier National Wildlife Refuge is one of seven refuges in the

Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge Complex The Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge Complex is the largest refuge complex in the state of Mississippi. Over 100,000 acres (400 km2) of refuge lands on seven refuges, including 13,000 acres (53 km2) of refuge-managed Farmers ...

and is a

National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge System is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of public lands and waters set aside to c ...

located on Bogue Phalia near

Darlove, Mississippi Darlove is an unincorporated community located in Washington County, Mississippi, Darlove is approximately southwest of Kinlock and approximately north-northeast of Hollandale. Darlove is located on the west boundary of the Holt Collier Na ...

. The Refuge was named after

Holt Collier Holt Collier (c. 1848 – August 1, 1936) was a noted African-American bear hunter and sportsman. While leading a hunt for U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt in November 1902, Collier unwittingly set the stage for the event that originated Roose ...

(1846–1936), a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

veteran, cowboy, and tracker; and was created in order to provide a habitat and resources for over 250

songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...

s.Wildlife and Habitat Management
Accessed July 10, 2007.''<--Broken link, November 2015.'' Moreover, approximately has been set aside for

reforestation Reforestation (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting. Management A debate ...

History

Holt Collier National Wildlife Refuge is the only refuge to be named in honor of an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

. Before 2004 the

Farmers Home Administration The Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) was a U.S. government agency established in August 1946 to replace the Farm Security Administration. It superseded the Resettlement Administration during the Great Depression and operated until 2006. FmHA mi ...

managed the lands for the purpose of conservation until they were transferred to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.Excerpt from Holt Collier's biography
Accessed November 18, 2015.

References

National Wildlife Refuges in Mississippi Protected areas of Washington County, Mississippi Protected areas established in 2004 2004 establishments in Mississippi {{WashingtonCountyMS-geo-stub