The Great River National Wildlife Refuge protects approximately along of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

, stretching north of St. Louis, Missouri. Three separate units are located in the

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 ...

, on both the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

and

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

sides of the river. In 1998, the Great River Refuge was designated as a globally

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Inte ...

, due to its value to

shorebird 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...

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 5000 ...

s, and

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which ...

. The refuge's proximity to St. Louis provides excellent educational opportunities to a large population. The

Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge The Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge is located in the floodplain of the Mississippi River, adjacent to Pool No. 25 in Pike County, Missouri. The refuge's diversity of habitats supports waterfowl, wading birds, shorebirds, and songbirds. ...

is also under the administration of the Great River Refuge. Great River Refuge, in turn, was formerly part of the

Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge Complex The Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge Complex was established for the protection of migratory birds including waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds. It is located along the Mississippi Flyway, one of the major routes for migrating waterfowl. Refug ...

, which also included: Port Louisa, Two Rivers, and Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuges.

History

Long Island Division, near Quincy, Illinois, was part of the original Mark Twain Refuge when it was established in 1958 under the

Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of liv ...

. The division is General Plan Land owned by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

and managed by the

U.S. 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 ...

under a cooperative agreement signed in 1963. In 1986, another cooperative agreement was signed with the Corps of Engineers adding the Bear Creek Unit to the division. Funds from the sale of migratory waterfowl stamps were used to acquire fee title land in 1965 and 1976 for the Delair Division. The division lies completely within the -long Sny Agricultural Levee District and is separated from the river by the main-line Sny levee. Fox Island Division is the most recent addition to Great River Refuge. Once again, fee title land was purchased with funds from the sale of migratory waterfowl stamps in 1989, 1996 and 1997. Purchases made in the 1990s were in response to the record flood in 1993, which created an opportunity to purchase many hard-hit floodplain areas at lower prices from willing sellers. Great River Refuge also administers two fee title tracts that were formerly Farmer's Home Administration easements. These lands include the Winters tract in Lewis County and the Owens tract in Clark County in Missouri. Swans and ducks at the Great River National Wildlife Refuge

Swans and ducks at the Great River National Wildlife Refuge

References

Refuge profileRefuge website
{{authority control Important Bird Areas of Missouri National Wildlife Refuges in Missouri National Wildlife Refuges in Illinois Protected areas established in 1958 Protected areas of Adams County, Illinois Protected areas of Lewis County, Missouri Protected areas of Clark County, Missouri Protected areas on the Mississippi River Protected areas of Pike County, Illinois Wetlands of Illinois Wetlands of Missouri Landforms of Adams County, Illinois Landforms of Lewis County, Missouri Landforms of Clark County, Missouri Landforms of Pike County, Illinois 1958 establishments in Illinois 1958 establishments in Missouri Important Bird Areas of Illinois