Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1978 in northern Louisiana, is a broad floodplain landscape shaped by the Ouachita River and its annual flooding cycle. Its bottomland hardwoods, upland forest, swamps, reforested farmland, and open water create important habitat for wintering ducks and geese, wading birds, raptors, bald eagles, and other wildlife. The refuge also supports notable rare species, including the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker and the threatened Louisiana black bear. Management focuses on habitat restoration, seasonal water control, reforestation, and upland forest work to sustain migratory birds, wetland health, and vulnerable southern wildlife.