Cache River National Wildlife Refuge

Rt. 2, Box 126-T
Augusta, AR 72006
Phone: 501-347-2614
Email: r4rw_ar_nea@fws.gov

Cache River National Wildlife Refuge is located in Jackson, Woodruff, Prairie, and Monroe Counties, Arkansas. The Refuge is part of the Cache/Lower White River Ecosystem located in the Delta of eastern Arkansas. The Cache/Lower White River Ecosystem represents the largest remaining tract of contiguous bottomland hardwood forest found in North America. The Refuge was established in 1986 with the purchase of 1,395 acres. Land acquisition has continued on a willing seller basis, and the Refuge now includes 39,100 acres.

The Cache/Lower White River Ecosystem is characterized by meandering channels, shallow sloughs, oxbow lakes, cypress brakes, and scrub/shrub wetlands. The topography includes natural levees, stream channels and a series of shallow ridges and swales typical of the floodplain. The bottomland hardwood forests of the Cache/Lower White River Ecosystem are recognized as some of the most dynamic and productive habitats in North America. The wetland and aquatic habitats of the Cache/Lower White River Ecosystem have outstanding wildlife values: 52 species of mammals, 232 species of birds, and 48 species of reptiles and amphibians. Some of the area's more significant wildlife values include:

—The single most important wintering area for mallards in North America and some of the most important for pintails, teal, and other migratory waterfowl;
—The largest and most complex breeding habitat for neotropical migratory birds, wood ducks, and other forested wetland dependent species on any lower Mississippi River tributary;
—The only population of native black bears in Arkansas, and the largest population in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley;
—Known nesting by bald eagles; and
—Based on duck band recoveries, harvest records, and annual waterfowl surveys, the Cache/Lower White Rivers Ecosystem is by far the most important waterfowl wintering area in Arkansas.

Opportunities for Public Use: Hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, and photography.

Directions: Take Highway 33 approximately 16 miles South of Augusta, AR.

Endangered & Threatened Species on the Refuge: Bald eagle

Other Wildlife Species: Ducks, geese, wading birds, neotropical migrants, deer, turkey, raccoon, bobcat, river otter.

Habitat Description: Bottomland hardwood wetlands.

Focus Activities: Bottomland reforestation and waterfowl management.