Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge was established August 23, 1935, as an Executive Order by President Franklin C. Roosevelt. Located near Mound City, Missouri, the refuge includes 7,440 acres of wetlands, grasslands, and forests along the edge of the Missouri River floodplain.

In December 2016, the outgoing administration made the unilateral decision to change the name to Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) provided a limited channel and time frame to comment on the proposed change and did not even consider the option of keeping the name Squaw Creek. The only public meeting USFWS held was an invitation-only meeting, a week before Christmas, where no public feedback was officially documented, and no media was invited. Less than 30 days later, without any additional outreach, USFWS moved forward with the name change.

After immense push back from USFWS, Congressman Sam Graves inserted report language in Public Law 116-6 to reopen the public process on the question of whether to rename the Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge. As of August 8, 2019, USFWS has reopened this public process for a 15-day period.

Should USFWS receive enough public comments on the question of the renaming process, they will then begin a separate process on renaming. If you want to see the name change process reopened, you need to let USFWS know by August 23, 2019.

You may submit written comments by one of the following methods:

(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Search for FWS-HQ-NWRS-2019-0067, which is the docket number for this rulemaking. Please ensure you have found the correct docket before submitting your comments.

(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-HQ-NWRS-2019-0067, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: JAO/1N, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

For further information contact Ken Fowler, NWRS Division of Realty, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: 3N038D, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803; 703-358-1713.