Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge in western Kentucky near Benton protects 8,040 acres of bottomland hardwood forest along the East Fork of the Clarks River. It is especially important as a seasonal home for more than 200 species of migratory birds. The refuge preserves a wetland landscape shaped by water and slight changes in elevation, with overcup oaks, bald cypress, and tupelo-gum on lower ground and willow oak, swamp chestnut oak, red oak, sweet gum, sycamore, ash, and elm on somewhat higher, better drained areas. Together these forests form a characteristic regional wetland environment of major value to wildlife.