2008 Federal Duck Stamp Contest Phone: 217-224-8580 |
The Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge Complex (NWR) 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. Refuge units also provide important habitat for big river fish and a variety of other native wildlife such as deer, fox, beaver, frogs, turtles, and snakes. Key goals are to conserve and enhance the quality and diversity of fish and wildlife and their habitats, to restore floodplain functions in the river corridor, and to provide wildlife-related recreational experiences for the public.
![Photo of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain), three-quarter length portrait, seated, facing slightly right, holding pipe. Created [between 1900 and 1910], c1941. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.](images/mark_twain.jpg) |
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The Mississippi River - "The face of the water, in time, became a wonderful book - a book that was a dead language to the uneducated passenger, but which told its mind to me without reserve, delivering its most cherished secrets as clearly as if it uttered them with a voice. And it was not a book to be read once and thrown aside, for it had a new story to tell every day." -- Mark Twain; |
Several units within the Complex were established in the 1940's following construction of the lock and dam system. Those units were consolidated into Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge in 1958. Since then, other areas have been added to Mark Twain, which now includes 45,000 acres scattered along 345 miles of the Mississippi River and short distances up the Illinois and Iowa rivers. In 2000, Mark Twain NWR was split into five separate National Wildlife Refuges - Port Louisa NWR, Great River NWR, Clarence Cannon NWR, Two Rivers NWR, and Middle Mississippi River NWR. The Refuge Complex administration office, located in Quincy, IL, has retained the Mark Twain name.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is an agency of the Department of the Interior. Our mission is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.
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Equal Opportunity Policy
Equal opportunity to participate in, and benefit from, programs of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is available to all individuals regardless of age, race, color, national origin, religion, sex, or disability. Persons who believe that they have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should contact:
U.S. Department of the Interior
Office for Equal Opportunity
1849 C Street, Northwest
Washington, DC 20240
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