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Encyclopedia Of Arkansas Minute: Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge

At seven thousand acres, Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge offers a resting place for migratory birds as well as a permanent home for hundreds of species.

The area housing Holla Bend was created in 1954 when an Arkansas River flood control project straightened a section of the river and created an island between the old and new channels. It was turned over to the Department of the Interior three years later to serve as a wildlife refuge.

Residents of Holla Bend included 236 species of tree frogs, birds and alligators, while bald eagles and fourteen species of ducks and four of geese following the Mississippi and Central flyways visit in the winter. As many as one hundred thousand of these migratory birds have been known to stay there at once, enjoying both natural foods and crops planted for their use.

The public can safely view the wildlife via fourteen miles of vehicle roads, ten miles of foot trails, an observation tower and two boat-launching sites. Forty thousand people visit each year.

To learn more, visit EncyclopediaofArkansas.net.

Mark Christ produces and hosts Encyclopedia of Arkansas Minute on KUAR. He is head of adult programming for the Central Arkansas Library System. He previously served as community outreach director for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, which he joined in 1990 after eight years as a journalist.