Fish and wildlife biologist Paul McKenzie conducts surveys in Mingo National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Pat Harris.

Wilderness area in Mingo National Wildlife Refuge. FWS Photo by Rick Hansen.

In coordination with Missouri Native Plant Society (MONPS), Missouri Ecological Services biologists aided in the development of a plant list for Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, a resting area for migratory birds in Puxico, Missouri. Fish and Wildlife Biologist Paul McKenzie joined MONPS in the fall of 2006 and again in early summer 2007 to conduct plant surveys on the 21,592-acre Refuge. Five days of survey efforts and field work resulted in the discovery of nearly 500 plant species, 16 of which were rare species that are tracked by the Missouri Department of Conservation.  Included among the rarer species was the rediscovery of a smartweed (Persicaria glabra) that had been thought to be extirpated from the state, and two sedges (Carex gigantea and Carex reniformis) that were previously known from only two other sites in Missouri.  Also noteworthy was the discovery of 46 species of Carex which is one of the highest numbers of this genus for one locality in the state.  The project highlighted a cooperative partnership between Missouri Ecological Services and MNPS that benefited the plant life of Mingo National Wildlife Refuge. Similar surveys are planned for other National Wildlife Refuges in Missouri.