Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge
Encyclopedia
The Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge is a 12,941 acre (52.4 km²) National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants...
located in Washington County, Mississippi
Washington County, Mississippi
-National protected areas:*Holt Collier National Wildlife Refuge*Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge *Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...
. Named after the Yazoo tribe
Yazoo tribe
The Yazoo were a tribe of the Native American Tunica people historically located on the lower course of Yazoo River, Mississippi. It was closely connected to other Tunica peoples, especially the Tunica, Koroa, and possibly the Tioux....
, it was established to provide waterfowl and other migratory birds in the Mississippi Flyway
Mississippi Flyway
The Mississippi Flyway is a bird migration route that generally follows the Mississippi River in the United States and the Mackenzie River in Canada. The main endpoints of the flyway include central Canada and the region surrounding the Gulf of Mexico...
with nesting, feeding, brooding, and resting habitat.
The refuge also serves as the headquarters for the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge Complex
Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge Complex
The Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge Complex is the largest refuge complex in the state of Mississippi. Over 100,000 acres of refuge lands on seven refuges, including 13,000 acres of refuge-managed Farmers Home Administration lands, provide vital habitat for fish and wildlife in the...
, and is maintained with an eleven person staff with a fiscal year 2005 budget of $2,097,000.
The refuge office also administers 12,800 acres (51.8 km²) of Farmers Home Administration
Farmers Home Administration
In 1946 Farmers Home Administration replaced the Farm Security Administration which superseded the Resettlement Administration. Its mission and programs involved extending credit for agriculture and rural development. Direct and guaranteed credit went to individual farmers, low-income families,...
(FmHA) transfer properties: 42 fee title tracts and 12 easements. A Cooperative farming program provides 3,942 acres (16.0 km²) for local farmers to use.
History
In the early 1900s, natural habitat supplemented by agricultural crops provided excellent waterfowl hunting in and around the refuge area. Records indicate that ducks, geese and swans were abundant throughout the wintering season. Hunters came from as far away as New England to participate in the sport.Land acquisition began under authority of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act
Federal Duck Stamp
The federal duck stamp was created through a wetlands conservation program. President Herbert Hoover signed the Migratory Bird Conservation Act in 1929 to authorize the acquisition and preservation of wetlands as waterfowl habitat....
in 1936 with the initial purchase of 2,166 acres (8.77 km²). In March, 1937, an additional 639 acres (2.59 km²) were purchased with plans to acquire 20,000 acres (80 km²). The refuge remained unstaffed from 1936 until 1956. In 1959 the refuge office was built.
The Service was given permission to purchase additional land in 1960 under the provision of Section 5928 of the Mississippi Code of 1942, re-compiled by Governor Ross R. Barnett
Ross Barnett
Ross Robert Barnett was the governor of Mississippi from 1960 to 1964. He was a States' Rights Democrat.- Early life :...
. Various tracts were purchased from individuals and hunting clubs until a total of 12,471 acres (50.5 km²) was reached on July 30, 1969. As land acquisition progressed, habitat management was diversified for mourning dove
Mourning Dove
The Mourning Dove is a member of the dove family . The bird is also called the Turtle Dove or the American Mourning Dove or Rain Dove, and formerly was known as the Carolina Pigeon or Carolina Turtledove. It is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds...
s, wood duck
Wood Duck
The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a species of duck found in North America. It is one of the most colourful of North American waterfowl.-Description:...
s, Canada geese and colonial wading birds, along with endangered and resident species. A nucleus flock of wild turkey
Wild Turkey
The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...
was introduced in 1970. In 1992, the Service purchased the 470 acre (1.9 km²) Cox property bringing total refuge area to 12,941 acres (52.4 km²).
Topography
Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge's 12,941 acres (52.4 km²) of undulating Delta soils range from heavy clayClay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
to silt loam and limited sand ridge
Sand Ridge
Sand Ridge may refer to:*dune, a sand hill* Sand Ridge neighborhood, Southwest community, Birmingham, Alabama* Sand Ridge Township, Jackson County, Illinois* Sand Ridge State Forest, Mason County, Illinois* Sand Ridge Precinct, Menard County, Illinois...
s (hot spots). Most farm area is classed as prime agricultural land. Elevations range from 90 feet (27 m) in the main drainage to 113 feet (34.4 m) in agricultural areas.
Yazoo NWR's primary feature is a 4,000+ acre (16 km²) oxbow lake
Oxbow lake
An oxbow lake is a U-shaped body of water formed when a wide meander from the main stem of a river is cut off to create a lake. This landform is called an oxbow lake for the distinctive curved shape, named after part of a yoke for oxen. In Australia, an oxbow lake is called a billabong, derived...
named Swan Lake which formed thousands of years ago when the Mississippi River abandoned a segment of riverbed. In years past, Silver Lake Bayou flowed into the oxbow lake, accelerating the deposit of silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
and sediment on the lake bottom, making the lake more shallow. Recently, the Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
constructed a new channel
Channel (geography)
In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or human-made deeper course through a reef, sand bar, bay, or any shallow body of water...
to divert silt-laden waters around Swan Lake. Weirs and water control structures maintain water levels in the oxbow lake while the new channel diverts silt-laden flows around the north side of Swan Lake and into Steele Bayou. The Corps project successfully prevents the accelerated build-up of sediment that has reduced water depths in Swan Lake.
The past meanderings of the Mississippi River have created a "ridge-and-swale" topography on the refuge that varies by 23 feet (7 m) in elevation. From 90 feet (27 m) above sea level in the swamp to 113 feet (34.4 m) on sandy ridges, this mixture of elevations translates into a diversity of habitats for wildlife. Refuge staff have utilized this rolling landscape and through the years have installed 96 water control structures creating over 70 impoundment
Impoundment
Impoundment is the election of a President of the United States not to spend money that has been appropriated by the U.S. Congress. The precedent for presidential impoundment was first set by Thomas Jefferson in 1801. The power was available to all presidents up to and including Richard Nixon, and...
s which have provided a myriad of habitats for migratory waterfowl, colonial wading birds, alligators, and other wildlife.
Since 1968, approximately 2,000 acres (8 km²) of marginal agricultural lands have been reforested
Reforestation
Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands that have been depleted, usually through deforestation....
on Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge. Reforestation has been accomplished by direct-seeding with acorn
Acorn
The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives . It usually contains a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule. Acorns vary from 1–6 cm long and 0.8–4 cm broad...
s and with seedling plantings. At least 20 tree species have been planted on refuge lands. These plantations, some of which are among the oldest on record, now provide unique opportunities for researchers to study the development process for the restoration of bottomland
Upland and lowland (freshwater ecology)
In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland and lowland.-Definitions:Upland habitats are cold, clear, rocky, fast flowing rivers in mountainous areas; lowland habitats are warm, slow flowing rivers found in relatively flat lowland areas, with water that is...
hardwoods over time. Reforestation on Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge catalyzed similar habitat restoration on other refuges and private lands throughout the southeast region.
Habitats vary from bottomland hardwoods to cypress swamps and agricultural fields. Emphasis is placed on providing food for wintering waterfowl, which utilize the refuge in large numbers, at times exceeding 250,000 birds. These foods consist of corn, milo, rice, wheat, etc. and moist-soil plants. The refuge has over 70 water management units and has restored over 2,000 acres (8 km²) of marginal agricultural land to bottomland hardwoods.
Wildlife and protected species
A unique opportunity for intensive moist-soil management occurred when the refuge purchased 240 acres (0.97 km²) of abandoned catfishCatfish
Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...
ponds known today as the Cox Ponds. The ponds were reshaped to provide optimal bottom and side slopes, and each pond has its own water control structure and drain. Irrigation wells provide a permanent water source for each pond, giving the refuge broad management options. A rotating cycle of management treatments in these 14 ponds provides habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, long-legged waders, and other water birds. Some ponds are managed as moist-soil areas while others provide deep water habitat. Frequent visitors to the Cox Ponds include white ibis
American White Ibis
The American White Ibis is a species of wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae. It occurs from the mid-Atlantic and Gulf coast of the United States south through most of the New World tropics...
, glossy ibis
Glossy Ibis
The Glossy Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.This is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean region of the Americas...
, little blue
Little Blue Heron
The Little Blue Heron, Egretta caerulea, is a small heron. It breeds from the Gulf states of the USA through Central America and the Caribbean south to Peru and Uruguay. It is a resident breeder in most of its range, but some northern breeders migrate to the southeastern USA or beyond in winter...
and great blue heron
Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores and England...
s, great egret
Great Egret
The Great Egret , also known as the Great White Egret or Common Egret, White Heron, or Great White Heron, is a large, widely-distributed egret. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, in southern Europe it is rather localized...
s, snowy egret
Snowy Egret
The Snowy Egret is a small white heron. It is the American counterpart to the very similar Old World Little Egret, which has established a foothold in the Bahamas....
s and a wide variety of wintering dabbling and diving duck
Diving duck
The diving ducks, commonly called pochards or scaups, are a category of duck which feed by diving beneath the surface of the water. They are part of the diverse and very large Anatidae family that includes ducks, geese, and swans....
s. Habitat is provided for southward-bound shorebirds (about 20 species) from July 15 to November. In 2003, the first documented brood of black-bellied whistling duck
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
The Black-bellied Whistling Duck , formerly also called Black-bellied Tree Duck, is a whistling duck that breeds from the southernmost United States and tropical Central to south-central South America. In the USA, it can be found year-round in parts of southeast Texas, and seasonally in southeast...
s in Mississippi was photographed here. In August 2004, as many as thirteen grown ducks plus a brood of eight were observed, indicating an increasing population of this tropical species.
The well-established wood duck
Wood Duck
The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a species of duck found in North America. It is one of the most colourful of North American waterfowl.-Description:...
nest box
Nest box
A nest box, also spelled nestbox is a man-made box provided for animals to nest in. Nest boxes are most frequently utilized for wild and domesticated birds, in which case they are also called birdhouses, but some mammalian species may also use them. Birdhouses are the most common types of nest...
program produces about 2,000 wood duck hatchlings a year. The boxes are prepared early in the year and checked frequently during nesting season to track hatches and remove non-viable eggs.
In addition to waterfowl, the white-tail deer is abundant; hunting is allowed for most native game species except waterfowl.
Opportunities for wildlife observation are excellent with good access to a diversity of habitats. The American alligator
American Alligator
The American alligator , sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator, is a reptile endemic only to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two living species of alligator, in the genus Alligator, within the family Alligatoridae...
is a common site in refuge lakes and swamps. The endangered Louisiana Black Bear are occasionally observed. During fall, winter and spring, numerous visitors travel refuge roads to observe the diverse wildlife which includes white-tailed deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
, wild turkey
Wild Turkey
The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...
, waterfowl, bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
, and otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
.
Facilities
The refuge features two wildlife observation areas:- The Holt Collier Boardwalk and Observation Tower is a 0.25 mile (0.402335 km) boardwalk trail leading to an observation platform on Lizard Lake. This area allows viewing of pied-billed grebes, moorhenMoorhenMoorhens, sometimes called marsh hens, are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Gallinula....
s, wading birds, wood duckWood DuckThe Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a species of duck found in North America. It is one of the most colourful of North American waterfowl.-Description:...
s, and American alligatorAmerican AlligatorThe American alligator , sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator, is a reptile endemic only to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two living species of alligator, in the genus Alligator, within the family Alligatoridae...
s from the safety and comfort of the observation platform. - At Alligator Pond, an open-sided observation tower provides excellent views of alligators, purple gallinulePurple GallinulePurple Gallinule is an alternative name for two species of birds in the rail family. It can refer to:* Purple Swamphen, Porphyrio porphyrio of the Old World* American Purple Gallinule, Porphyrio martinica of the New World...
s, moorhenMoorhenMoorhens, sometimes called marsh hens, are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Gallinula....
s, green heronGreen HeronThe Green Heron is a small heron of North and Central America. It was long considered conspecific with its sister species the Striated Heron , and together they were called "Green-backed Heron"...
s and other wildlife.
The all-time-favorite for many visitors is the American alligator. A common resident of the refuge’s many sloughs, streams, lakes, and shallow ponds, alligators can often be seen on warm spring days basking on logs or banks, or floating motionless. Common alligator locations are Holt Collier Horseshoe Pond, Alligator Pond, Lizard Lake, Deer Lake, and Alligator Alley.
Hunting and fishing
Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge offers excellent white-tail deer, squirrel, rabbit, and raccoon hunting opportunities. The deer muzzleloaderMuzzleloader
A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and usually the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun . This is distinct from the more popular modern designs of breech-loading firearms...
and deer archery hunts are among the most popular hunts in the State. Because Yazoo NWR was established to provide sanctuary for migratory waterfowl, the refuge is closed to duck hunting. ATVs
All-terrain vehicle
An all-terrain vehicle , also known as a quad, quad bike, three wheeler, or four wheeler, is defined by the American National Standards Institute as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control...
are prohibited on refuge roads and trails; however, all refuge roads are open to foot traffic except where posted.
The refuge is closed to fishing due to high levels of pesticides such as DDT and Toxaphene which are found in fish, water and sediment samples taken on the refuge.