Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge
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| Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge | |
|---|---|
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
  Map of the United States | |
| Location | Pearl River County, Mississippi St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana Washington Parish, Louisiana |
| Nearest city | Picayune, Mississippi |
| Coordinates | 30°32′51″N 89°47′38″W / 30.54750°N 89.79389°W |
| Area | 40,000 acres or 160 km2 |
| Established | 1980 |
| Governing body | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Website | Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge |
Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge is located 60 mi (97 km) northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., and encompasses 36,000 acres (150 km2) of Pearl River Basin swampland.
On June 30, 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed Public Law 96-288 authorizing the 40,000-acre (160 km2) Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Washington and St. Tammany Parishes, Louisiana, and Pearl River County, Mississippi. Since that time, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been acquiring bottomland hardwood habitat in the Pearl River Basin. On December 13, 1989, Congress authorized a boundary expansion for Bogue Chitto NWR that included an additional 8,400 acres (34 km2) of bottomland hardwoods in St. Tammany Parish. To date, some 36,447 acres (147.50 km2) have been placed under refuge management. The refuge is still in an acquisition phase.
Access
Access is primarily by boat on the refuge's Louisiana side and road access is available on the refuge's Mississippi side. In the summer of 2002, a new 0.75 mi (1.21 km) walking trail was unveiled on the Louisiana side of the Refuge that allows access into the interior of Bogue Chitto's habitat.
