Mingo National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Missouri protects a vast wetland and bottomland hardwood forest shaped by an ancient course of the Mississippi River. Established in 1945 on land heavily damaged by logging, drainage, fire, grazing, and overhunting, it preserves the only remaining large tract of the original bottomland forest that once covered much of Missouri’s Bootheel. Restoration brought back native trees and major swamp wildlife, and the 1976 creation of the Mingo Wilderness strengthened protection of its most intact areas. The refuge is especially important on the Mississippi Flyway, supporting large numbers of migratory waterfowl and hundreds of bird species.