Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge is a federal preserve along the Missouri River in Missouri, extending between Kansas City and St. Louis in scattered tracts rather than one continuous block. Established in 1994, it has grown to more than 16,700 acres, mostly on the Missouri with additional units in the Grand and Osage watersheds. Its purpose is to protect and restore floodplain habitat altered by channelization, levees, dikes, and agriculture. By reopening side channels, removing some levees, and allowing native vegetation to return, the refuge seeks to reconnect the river with its floodplain and gradually rebuild a mature floodplain forest over time.