This refuge was made from land the federal government bought in the 1930s through the Resettlement Administration. Before that it had been intensively farmed and overgrazed. The refuge was established in 1940 for migratory birds, especially waterfowl, and it now holds about 48,000 acres across Noxubee, Oktibbeha and Winston counties, mostly bottomland and upland forest. In 2012 it was renamed for Sam D. Hamilton, a former director of the Fish and Wildlife Service who grew up in the area.
Water gives it shape. Bluff Lake covers 1,200 acres and Loakfoma Lake 600, with green-tree reservoirs and smaller impoundments around them. Up to 15,000 waterfowl winter on the refuge, and a resident flock of giant Canada geese is joined by migrants. Bald eagles are seen regularly from November through February. In late summer, when the lakes are drawn down, hundreds of wood storks can gather. The upland pines support the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, whose nest trees wear white bands, and alligators live in the wetlands. More than 250 bird species have been recorded here.
Three structures give easy views and are wheelchair accessible: Goose Overlook, reached by a 150-foot boardwalk above Bluff Lake, Morgan Hill Overlook over Loakfoma Lake, and the Bluff Lake Boardwalk, which ends at a platform in the wetland. The refuge office sits on the banks of Bluff Lake in the middle of the refuge. Hunting and fishing are among the main uses, and parts of the refuge close to the public during hunting seasons, so check the refuge's hunt map before you go.
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