Coldwater River National Wildlife Refuge in northwest Mississippi, south of Crowder, was established in 2000 as a small refuge within a much larger acquisition boundary. Its most distinctive feature is a set of former catfish ponds managed for migrating waterfowl, shorebirds, and wading birds, while much of the remaining land has been reforested with native bottomland hardwoods. Seasonal flooding from the Coldwater and Tallahatchie Rivers creates especially valuable habitat for migration and wintering. Tens of thousands of waterfowl winter here, dozens of shorebird species appear during migration, and other notable birds have been observed, making the refuge important chiefly for habitat protection rather than recreation.