Mingo National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan

Comprehensive Conservation Plan Completed
Main Points of the CCP
The Refuge
To Request a Copy
Where Are We in the Planning Process?

Comprehensive Conservation Plan Completed

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has completed a Comprehensive Conservation Plan for Mingo National Wildlife Refuge and two refuges managed through Mingo NWR, Pilot Knob WR and Ozark Cavefish NWR.

Limited numbers of the document have been printed and are available by calling the Refuge at 573/222-3589 ( TTY: 1-800-877-8339, Federal Relay).

Copies of the CCP Summary were mailed to individuals, local governments and non-government organizations. The CCP is also provided on this website in a variety of formats.

Main Points of the Plan

• Refuge staff will convert 547 acres to bottomland forest to benefit migratory waterfowl, neotropical migratory birds, and mammals such as the swamp rabbit.
• Over the next 15 years open water on the Refuge will be maintained or increased from the 2005 level of 9.2 miles of streams and 200 acres of open water within Red Mill Pond, May Pond, Fox Pond, Job Corps Lake, Stanley Creek, Mingo River, Lick Creek and Cow Creek. The amount of open water in Gum Stump will decrease. Within 5 years, staff will increase the amount of open water within the Binford Unit by about 20 acres.
• The Refuge will manage 205 acres of grassy openings, 253 acres of cropland, and about 73 acres of food plots, which will create areas where wildlife is more visible to visitors.
• Over the next 15 years, 449 acres of grassy openings will be converted to cane, oak savanna, and young bottomland forest.
• Hunting opportunities will increase by about 500 visits annually. Fishing opportunities will also increase as habitat improves.

The Refuge

Mingo National Wildlife Refuge lies in a basin formed in an ancient, abandoned channel of the Mississippi River, bordered on the west by the foothills of the Ozark uplift and on the east by a terrace called Crowley's Ridge. The Refuge provides wintering habitat for more than 150,000 ducks and 75,000 geese. Established in 1944, the 21,592-acre Refuge is located in the Bootheel region of southeast Missouri and includes a 7,730-acre Wilderness Area. Pilot Knob NWR and Ozark Cavefish NWR are administered through Mingo NWR.

The only remaining large tract (15,000 acres) of the 2.5 million acres of bottomland forest that was once native to the Bootheel region is found on the refuge. In all, the Refuge contains seven natural areas and more than 140 archaeological sites.

The Missouri Department of Conservation's 6,190-acre Duck Creek Conservation Area joins the Refuge on the north and east boundary.

To Request a Copy

The CCP can be viewed on this website in portable document format (pdf). To request a paper copy or to receive the CCP as a pdf on compact disk, please e-mail your request or write or call the Refuge at:
Mingo National Wildife Refuge
24279 State Highway 51
Puxico, MO 63960

Phone: 573-222-3589
Fax: 573-222-6343
TTY: 1-800-877-8339 (Federal Relay)

Where Are We in the Planning Process?

These are the steps that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service follows in comprehensive conservation planning; the step that Mingo, Pilot Knob and Ozark Cavefish national wildlife refuges have reached is highlighted:

1. Preplanning: Plan the Plan
2. Initiate Public Involvement and Scoping
3. Review Vision Statement and Goals and Determine Significant Issues
4. Develop and Analyze Alternatives, Including the Proposed Action
5. Prepare a Draft CCP and NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) Document
6. Prepare and Adopt Final CCP
7. Implement Plan, Monitor and Evaluate
8. Review and Revise the Plan

Last updated: March 18, 2009

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