The Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge was established in 1994, and has grown to over . Like pearls on a string, these acres are spread out as individual units along the Missouri River between

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

and St. Louis. These pearls of habitat benefit

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

-dependent fish and wildlife species. The Big Muddy Refuge is planning to grow to by buying land from willing sellers who want to see their properties set aside for the benefit of wildlife and the enjoyment of all. The pre-development Missouri River as documented by

Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

was considerably different from today's river. The historic Missouri was a broad, slow-moving, shallow river with braided channels. These past river conditions created a haven for wildlife, which included vast

forests of giant trees, marshes, and even wet prairies. Today's river is channelized. It is deeper and faster, and controlled by

levee A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually earthen and that often runs parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastli ...

s, dikes, and other containment structures. These controls make the river more navigable and the surrounding

ideal for agriculture. The Big Muddy Refuge is allowing the Missouri River to be a river again, to enter its floodplain. This occurs during minor flood events. Management has created side channels, cut down levees, and allowed the floodplain vegetation to return. Currently, in many places the refuge is an impenetrable thicket of young trees and vegetation, but, as the trees grow and the refuge matures, its appearance will change. The process may take decades or even centuries.

References

Refuge website
{{authority control Protected areas of Callaway County, Missouri Protected areas of Cooper County, Missouri Protected areas of Howard County, Missouri Protected areas of Lafayette County, Missouri Missouri River Wetlands of Missouri National Wildlife Refuges in Missouri Protected areas established in 1994 Protected areas of Ray County, Missouri Protected areas of St. Louis County, Missouri Protected areas of Saline County, Missouri Floodplains of the United States Landforms of Callaway County, Missouri Landforms of Cooper County, Missouri Landforms of Howard County, Missouri Landforms of Lafayette County, Missouri Landforms of Ray County, Missouri Landforms of St. Louis County, Missouri Landforms of Saline County, Missouri 1994 establishments in Missouri