In 1954, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers straightened a section of the Arkansas River in an effort to reduce flooding in west-central Arkansas. This detour left an abandoned river bed that dips to the south and, since 1957, Holla Bend NWR has occupied the floodplain ecosystem that lies between the Arkansas and its old channel. Characterized by crop fields, wetlands, shallow lakes and bottomland woods, the refuge is known for its large number and variety of wintering waterfowl; in recent years, this has included trumpeter swans, brought from Iowa in an effort to re-establish a Midwest migratory population.
Attracted by the waterfowl, bald eagles also congregate at Holla Bend during the colder months, as do a number of golden eagles. Permanent residents include greater roadrunners, armadillos, coyotes and a large herd of white-tailed deer while a variety of herons, egrets, rails, shorebirds and summer songbirds inhabit the refuge during the warmer months. Least terns breed at Holla Bend and both American white pelicans and black terns visit on their spring and fall migrations.
Holla Bend NWR is in west-central Arkansas, about 6 miles downstream from Dardanelle. Like most of our National Wildlife Refuges, it is open every day of the year, from dawn to dusk, and is accessed by a network of trails and graveled roads. The waterfowl population, which includes Canada and snow geese and a wide variety of wintering ducks, peaks from December through early February.
