Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge

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Mound City, MO
Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge

Located near Mound City, Missouri. Take exit 79 from I-29 in NW Missouri and proceed south 3 miles. Welcome

This is an official page of the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service. To learn more about our social media efforts, and to find a list of official USFWS social media sites, please visit our social media hub:http://www.fws.gov/home/socialmedia/

Our agency is known for our scientific excellence, our stewardship of lands and natural resources, and our dedicated conservation and wildlife professionals. While we hope that this page will help you stay connected to our work, we also hope that it will keep us connected to you and the issues you care about. Your participation on this page is vital and all feedback is welcome--both good and bad. Your perspective is welcomed and we hope that conversations about the Service can be productive, fun, and engaging. Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge offers something to everyone no matter the age. Explore the refuge via our 13-mile auto tour route, explore its Loess Hills on its three trails that offer sky views of the refuge below. Bring your children to the refuge to experience the refuge. Eagle Days are always the 1st weekend of December and offers the public views of our hundreds of Bald Eagles and hundreds of thousands of Snow Geese. Originally known as Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge the name was changed to Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge on January 11, 2017 in order to remove the derogatory word squaw from the name.

09/11/2026

Seeking all bug catchers for an awesome citizen science event on Saturday, September 19th!

Help us catch, tag, and release monarch butterflies! Why? Tagging monarch butterflies helps scientists track the spectacular fall migration of monarch butterflies. Data is reported to Monarch Watch, a research based program at the University of Kansas, to help conservation efforts.

Bring the whole family for this free public event! Meet us at the refuge headquarters building at 8:30 AM for an introduction to the program. Afterward, we will caravan out to the designated location on the refuge where we will be catching butterflies. That's right, running around with butterfly nets and all!

Please wear close-toed shoes and long pants. We recommend bringing plenty of drinking water, snacks, bug spray, sunscreen, and any other necessities to keep you comfortable for a few hours outdoors. Tagging should be complete no later than noon.

If you are planning on attending, PLEASE continue to monitor this post for updates, changes, or cancellations due weather or a decrease in monarch numbers which could result in rescheduling to another Saturday in September.

Photo: Tagged Monarch Butterfly - USFWS

06/05/2026

***UPDATE-6.9.26***

The bridge is now open and all closures have been lifted. The main loop of the auto tour is back open to one way only traffic.
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Due to flooding, the bridge across Minnesota Valley Creek and the auto tour from Minnesota Valley Creek to the boardwalk on the north end of Eagle Pool will remain closed until further notice. During this time, the auto tour will be open to two-way traffic, so you will need to exit the same way you enter the refuge.

03/18/2026

The USFWS will be conducting prescribed burns today, 3/18, and tomorrow, 3/19, in the northwest corner of the refuge. Road closures are not expected but please adhere to posted speed limits and watch out for fire personnel that may be working on or near the auto tour.

The habitat, waterfowl, and bald eagle survey from March 17th, 2026 has been uploaded to our website. View this survey here:

https://www.fws.gov/media/loess-bluffs-waterfowl-survey-03-17-2026

Photo: Overlooking Eagle and Pelican Pool from the Loess Bluffs Trail, 3.7.26 - USFWS

03/13/2026

The USFWS will be conducting a prescribed burn today, March 13th, in the north end of Eagle Pool. Smoke impacts on the auto tour are expected to be minimal. Please use caution when traveling the auto tour and keep an eye out for fire personnel that will be working near the road along the east side of the auto tour loop.

02/25/2026

***Update***

As of 2:00pm, all road closures have been lifted and the auto tour is back open to one way traffic.

The USFWS will be conducting a prescribed burn today, February 25th, along the east side of Eagle Pool. The stretch of road shown in red on the map will be closed from approximately 10:00 am until firing operations are complete and smoke has cleared the auto tour. The auto tour shown in blue will remain open to two way traffic during this time. The main entrance to the refuge and auto tour, shown in white, may be temporarily closed during firing operations for up to an hour. If this occurs, traffic will be redirected to the visitor center parking lot where volunteers will be available to provide directions to the north entrance of the refuge or stop in the visitor center until the main entrance closure is lifted. Please use caution when traveling the auto tour and watch out for fire personnel that may be working near the road.

The habitat, waterfowl, and bald eagle survey from February 24th, 2026 has been uploaded to our website. View this survey here:

https://www.fws.gov/media/loess-bluffs-waterfowl-survey-02-24-2026es

02/14/2026

The visitor center will be closed tomorrow, February 14th, through Monday, February 16th, and will reopen on Tuesday. The trails and self guided auto tour are open every day from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.

02/13/2026

Our refuge biologist will be presenting on the importance of Loess Bluffs NWR as a crucial wintering and migration stopover for trumpeter swans in the central US. The presentation will also highlight the refuge's role in the recovery of the species. Join this free webinar on February 19, 2026, to learn more about Loess Bluffs NWR, wetland management, and trends in trumpeter swan populations over the years. To attend, please preregister using the following link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7n7A6ddHSIa4aY3P0u7NrQ #/registration

Right now is a fantastic time to witness the spring snow goose migration and observe our nation's largest native waterfowl, the trumpeter swan, at Loess Bluffs NWR. Tuesday's waterfowl count resulted in 50,000 snow geese. That number is considerably higher today and may continue to increase through the weekend. You can find our recent waterfowl and eagle surveys here:

https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/loess-bluffs-2026-waterfowl-and-bald-eagle-surveys

02/08/2026

The USFWS will be conducting a prescribed burn today, February 8th, in the wet prairie to the north of Eagle Pool. While no smoke impacts to the auto tour are expected, please use caution when traveling the auto tour and keep an eye out for fire personnel.

01/21/2026

***Update*** All road closures have been lifted, and the entrance off of Hwy 118 is now open.

The USFWS will be conducting a prescribed burn today, January 22nd, along the west side of the refuge. There will be smoke impacts to the auto tour and the route shown in red on the map will be closed from approximately 11am to 4pm. The route shown in green will be open to two-way traffic, and all visitors will need to use the Hwy 159 entrance during this time. An update will be provided here once the auto tour is reopened.

01/16/2026

Trumpeter swan numbers continued to increase this week, while most eagles started migrating back to their breeding grounds. Our resident breeding pairs of eagles can be seen tending to their nests in preparation for nesting season. There are currently four eagle nests on the refuge. Three are visible from the auto tour.

The habitat, waterfowl, and bald eagle survey from January 13, 2026 has been uploaded to our website. View this survey here:

https://www.fws.gov/media/loess-bluffs-waterfowl-survey-01-13-2026

Photo: Swan Yoga - Dave Hoffman (trumpeter swan stretching on top of a muskrat lodge)

Address

US-159 South Off I-29 & Exit 79
Mound City, MO
64470

Telephone

+16604423187

Website

https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Loess_Bluffs/

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