Big Muddy wildlife refuge celebrates land acquisition

COLUMBIA — After nearly 10 years of vying for a portion of wetlands adjacent to the Missouri River, the Big Muddy National Wildlife Refuge was able to acquire 502 acres of the river's flood plain. Big Muddy is part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Although the purchase was made in 2007, a ceremony was held Tuesday evening to commemorate the partnership that led to the successful acquisition of the land at the Overton Bottoms Unit, one of nine units that make up the Big Muddy refuge.

Standing next to the black stone commemorative marker on a hill overlooking the purchased land, Big Muddy refuge manager Tom Bell said the wildlife service is grateful for the generous assistance from the National Wild Turkey Federation and Ducks Unlimited for helping in the purchase of the property.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service purchases land only from willing sellers, Bell said. The approximate cost of the land was $860,000, funded in large part by the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is appropriated by Congress to individual agencies, according to Bell.

"We aim for conservation, but with this particular refuge, we want to reconnect the Missouri River to the flood plain," Bell said. "Otherwise, it would be levied and farmed over, and although there's nothing wrong with that, but if that's the only thing you have, then it can be devastating."