Audubon Guide to the National Wildlife Refuges: South Central: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma

The south-central United States--Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma--harbors several dozen federally administered wildlife refuges, 41 of them open to the public and profiled in this guidebook. Some, such as Kansas's Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge, abound with diverse populations (in this case, more than 40,000 ducks and 200,000 geese that follow the Neosho River flyway) and are easily accessible to visitors. Others, such as Missouri's Big Muddy National Wildlife Refuge, are spearheads for the reintroduction and protection of threatened species, such as the beaver and the pallid sturgeon. Still others are fragmented remnants of once-widespread habitat types, among the last of their kind. All offer rewards to the visitor, and Bill Palmer's well-written book provides directions for how to get to the area's wildlife refuges and what to do and look for once you get there. --Gregory McNamee