Located in the upper end of the lower Mississippi River valley, near Puxico, Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, at 21,676 acres, is the only large remnant of bottomland hardwoods remaining out of an original 2 1/2 million acres in the Missouri bootheel. A major migration and wintering area for migratory waterfowl, populations of 125,000 mallards and 75,000 Canada geese have been recorded. Bald eagles have been successively nesting on the refuge since 1985.
