Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge Complex

The Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge Complex Headquarters is located 25 miles south of Greenville. The seven refuges in the complex, including the Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge, preserve more than 82,000 acres.

Forests, marshes, swamps, sloughs, cropland and bottomland hardwood forests cover most of the refuge area.

More than 250 species of birds, including migratory, waterfowl and wading birds, use the refuges. Raccoons, deer, otter, beaver, bobcats and alligators are also common on the refuges.

A well-established wood duck next box program produces 2,000 hatchlings a year. Hunting is allowed for most native game species.

The Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge preserves almost 13,000 acres of diverse habitat for migratory birds and endangered species. The refuge has bottomland hardwoods, cypress swamps and agricultural fields.

Emphasis is placed on providing food for wintering waterfowl that can number more than 250,000 birds. These foods consist of corn, milo, rice, wheat, etc. and moist-soil plants. The refuge has more than 70 water management units and has restored 2,000 acres of marginal agricultural land to bottomland hardwoods.

The refuge is the site of a major U.S. Corps of Engineers project that allows the refuge to manage water on 4,000 acres of Swan Lake. Shorebird protection is a new objective at the refuge and is incorporated in the management of 240 acres of abandoned fish ponds.