Mingo National Wildlife Refuge has offered great opportunities for outdoor enjoyment and learning for all ages since its establishment in 1944.
The refuge has offered area residents and visitors endless outdoor recreation options such as hiking, water activities, hunting and fishing, all while protecting the migratory waterfowl, as well as the bottomland hardwood forest according to their literature.
“It has been nice and cool in the mornings a little warmer in the afternoons, so it’s a great time for visitors,” said refuge manager Ben Mense.
“The (Mingo Swamp) Friends group is excited too,” said Mense, “with COVID and stuff things got really weird, so they weren’t able to focus on anything, now with the swamp walk they have a goal and a project site to focus on, they should be able to make a lot of progress in the next couple years.”
Recently the refuge took on the task of making some needed repairs. Workers replaced a large portion of the boardwalk with more sustainable material than the original wood walkway that once stood, “the original boardwalk was wood,” said Mense. “It would get slick with the leaves and things and was in major need of repair.”
Mense also mentioned a new bridge is currently being constructed to replace the bridge leading to a lookout platform located just off of the boardwalk.
“We’re waiting on it (the bridge) to be constructed and once it’s constructed it will be delivered here and we will install it,” said Mense.
“We’re hoping before the end of this calendar year to have the bridge, at that point it just depends on how wet it is if we can get it in or not, if it’s too wet we may have to wait until next summer.”
He went on to explain plans for the bridge are “nice, it’s handicap accessible, it will be really nice the new bridge is made of steel so it will be there for the long haul.”
The refuge offers a youth hunt every year, “we have two drawing-type hunts every year,” said Mense, “we have the youth hunt that is always the first weekend of November, then we have the muzzleloader hunt for adults the first weekend of December.”
Mense said anyone interested in taking part in those hunts can visit the Department of Conservation website through the state, “anytime in July you can get on the website and there are probably 100 of those hunts across the state.”
Another event the refuge is excited to bring back is Eagle Days, Mense said due to COVIDand other contributing factors the exhibit had been put on hold for the past few years, “we are planning on having several (Eagle Days) events, but the first will be held on the first weekend of February the 3rd and 4th,” said Mense. The upcoming Eagle Day events will be posted on the Missouri Department of Conservation website at www.fws.gov/refuge/mingo. Mense explained they will be hosting the event in several different locations including the Puxico High School FEMA building, Duck Creek and the Corps of Engineers at Lake Wappapello.
It is the hope of Mense and other employees at the refuge the community and area schools will take part in not only the upcoming events but return to utilize the visitors center and refuge as it was intended to be used, to educate and spark interest in nature and all the outdoor recreational activities they have to offer.