About Us
Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1980, straddles the borders of Louisiana and Mississippi, bisected by the Pearl River. The refuge conserves bottomland hardwood forest habitat, which has significantly diminished in the Mississippi River Delta over the last century. The refuge provides habitat for species of concern such as the Gulf sturgeon, gopher tortoise, ringed sawback turtle, and swallow-tailed kite.
Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge is bounded to the northeast by Mississippi’s Old River Wildlife Management Area and by Louisiana’s Pearl River Wildlife Management Area to the southwest. This creates a large area of conserved forested wetlands and adjacent uplands within the Pearl River Basin. The refuge’s bottomland forests of sweetgum-water oak stands are interspersed with bald cypress-tupelo breaks and overcup oak-water hickory stands. The refuge has 860 upland acres of loblolly and slash pine forest, which provides habitat for the threatened gopher tortoise. The refuge is on the ancestral lands of the Acolapissa whose descendants are present in Louisiana and Mississippi today.
Our Mission
The refuge is primarily managed to preserve bottomland hardwood forest in the Pearl River Basin to provide habitat for native fish and wildlife, and to support outdoor and wildlife related recreational opportunities for the public.
Other Facilities in this Complex
Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge is managed as part of the Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges Complex. The Southeast Louisiana Refuges are part of a rich ecological system which includes marshes, pine and bottomland hardwood forests, lakes, barrier islands, swamps and bayous. Ranging from the marshy delta at the mouth of the Mississippi to the wild bayous of the Atchafalaya Basin; the Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges preserve wildlife, habitat, and recreation opportunities representative of this unique part of the country.
All of the Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges are open to public visits for nature-based recreational enjoyment. Priority public uses are hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, wildlife photography, environmental education, and interpretation.
The refuge complex headquarters is located at 61389 Hwy 434, Lacombe, Louisiana 70445. This site also hosts the Bayou Lacombe Visitor Center and has walking trails that wind through an historic garden site and along Bayou Lacombe.
