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DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge will host an International Migratory Bird Day Event in May. Click here for details.

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge was established on March 12, 1958 under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929 for "...use as an inviolate sanctuary or for other management purposes, for migratory birds." The refuge lies in the floodplain of the Missouri River in a former bend of the river about 25 miles north of Omaha, Nebraska. For directions to the refuge see the Contact page. Each spring and fall since the end of the last ice age, spectacular flights of ducks and geese have marked the changing seasons along this traditional waterfowl flyway. The habitat diversity that exists at DeSoto attracts many species of wildlife.

A Home For Wildlife

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge's primary wildlife management role is to serve as a stopover for migrating ducks and geese during their fall migration between the Arctic nesting grounds and the Gulf Coast wintering areas. During typical years, a half million snow geese utilize the refuge as a resting and feeding area and populations of 75,000 or more ducks, mostly mallards, are common on the refuge. November is the month of peak waterfowl use, with less spectacular concentrations of ducks and geese returning in March and early April.

Bald eagles follow geese into the area, with many eagles wintering here until March. Peak numbers of bald eagles usually occur in late November and December, and again in early March. As many as 145 have been seen here at one time. Bald eagles are often seen perched in cottonwoods along DeSoto Lake when waterfowl are present, and good viewing opportunities are available from the DeSoto Visitor Center. An interesting assortment of warblers, gulls, shorebirds, and other bird life also can be observed on the refuge during fall (Sept-Oct) and spring (Mar-May) migrations.

In the summer, white-tailed deer, with one or two fawns, are often seen in the morning and evening hours beside refuge roads. Wild turkeys gather in large groups along the roads and in the fields to strut. Cottontail rabbits, raccoons, coyotes, opossums, and fox squirrels also are frequently observed along refuge roads. Backwater areas of DeSoto Lake and several wetlands on the refuge serve as habitat for herons, beaver, muskrat and an occasional mink. Grassland birds are attracted to areas of restored prairie for nesting.

Woodland edges, fields of native prairie grasses and wildflowers near refuge roads attract a variety of songbirds and other wildlife such as pheasants and bobwhite quail. Red-headed woodpeckers abound along the woodland edge. Wood ducks, perhaps the most beautiful of America's waterfowl, may be seen in ponds throughout the refuge.

Lewis and Clark

One of the first documented expeditions into this section of the Missouri River Valley occurred when Lewis and Clark traveled through the area seeking a route to the Pacific. The explorers' journal entry, dated August 3, 1804, describes the party's historic meeting with Indians at the "council-bluff", after which the party set sail in the afternoon and encamped at the distance of five miles upstream. Although the river has changed its channel many times since, the Lewis and Clark campsite was located just below the river loop called DeSoto Bend, on the present refuge. Clark's journal notes an abundance of wildlife in the area, including the expedition's first observation of a badger and "great numbers of wild geese."

Steamboat Bertrand

The 1865-era sternwheeler Bertrand was discovered on the refuge in 1968, and unearthed the following year. Today, refuge visitors may view the site of this discovery and tour the DeSoto Visitor Center which exhibits the 200,000 artifacts recovered from the hull. By the mid 1800's, the Missouri River had become an artery for trade which opened the West. Steamboats carried supplies to the early fur trading posts, frontier settlements, and mining towns. But the turbulent, snag-strewn "Big Muddy" took its toll of the early stern and side-wheelers. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, more than 400 steamboats sank or were stranded between St. Louis, Missouri and Ft. Benton, Montana.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas nationwide. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.