Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, in Noxubee,

Oktibbeha Oktibbeha County is a county in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census the population was 51,788. The county seat is Starkville. The county's name is derived from a local Native American word meani ...

, and Winston Counties. The refuge serves as a resting and feeding area for migratory birds and as example of proper land stewardship. Also, the refuge extensively manages land for the endangered

red-cockaded woodpecker The red-cockaded woodpecker (''Leuconotopicus borealis'') is a woodpecker endemic to the southeastern United States. Description The red-cockaded woodpecker is small to mid-sized species, being intermediate in size between North America's two ...

History

Land for the Noxubee NWR was obtained in the 1930s through the

Resettlement Administration The Resettlement Administration (RA) was a New Deal U.S. federal agency created May 1, 1935. It relocated struggling urban and rural families to communities planned by the federal government. On September 1, 1937, it was succeeded by the Farm S ...

. During the 1930s, the land was controlled by th
Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act
In 1940, the land was established as a National Wildlife Refuge to ensure the

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s would continue to be protected, providing migratory bird species and other animals a safe haven. Of the of land, approximately consists of bottomland and upland forest. A variety of species inhabit these lands including

quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

, and

turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. Two major lakes, Bluff with and Loakfoma with provide much of the wetlands within Noxubee. Additionally, there are four

green tree reservoir A green tree reservoir (GTR) consists of bottomland hardwood forest land which is shallowly flooded in the fall and winter. Prior to modern industrialization and commercial farming, the Southeastern United States was home to more than 10 million h ...

s and sixteen smaller reservoirs which provide a habitat for

wood stork The wood stork (''Mycteria americana'') is a large American wading bird in the family Ciconiidae (storks), the only member of the family to breed in North America. It was formerly called the "wood ibis", though it is not an ibis. It is found ...

American alligator The American alligator (''Alligator mississippiensis''), sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator or common alligator, is a large crocodilian reptile native to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two extant species in the gen ...

, bald eagle and other waterfowl. The refuge partners with nearby Mississippi State University in an extensive research program with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Department of Forestry. Originally named the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, the refuge was renamed for Sam D. Hamilton, a former director of the

Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

, in February 2012.

Attractions

Goose Overlook

Goose Overlook is a observation platform overlooking Bluff Lake. This area provides a wildlife viewing area for animals such as white-tailed deer and migrating Canada Geese.

Morgan Hill Overlook

Another observation on Morgan Hill provides a view of the Loakfoma Lake.

Bluff Lake Boardwalk

This boardwalk provides access to an overlook at cypress island on Bluff Lake.

Trail networks

The refuge has a trail system providing access to wildlife observation points, visi
the refuge website
for more information on individual hiking trails and boardwalks.

Hunting

One major attraction of the refuge is hunting, which is allowed throughout the year with differing windows for different species. Licensed hunters can hunt game such as deer, turkey, rabbit, and squirrel.

References

External links

Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge Website

Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge Facebook Page

Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee NWR Audio Visual Presentation

Friends of Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge Website
{{authority control Protected areas of Noxubee County, Mississippi National Wildlife Refuges in Mississippi Protected areas of Oktibbeha County, Mississippi Protected areas of Winston County, Mississippi Wetlands of Mississippi Landforms of Noxubee County, Mississippi Landforms of Oktibbeha County, Mississippi Landforms of Winston County, Mississippi Protected areas established in 1940 1940 establishments in Mississippi