Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge

Wildlife Mississippi worked with Congress in crafting the legislation to create the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is several miles southeast of Onward, in Sharkey County. It covers 6,600 acres.

Historic Site

The refuge is the site of the 1902 bear hunt of Roosevelt and his guide, Holt Collier. During the hunt, Roosevelt refused to kill a bear Collier had restrained for him. The incident helped popularize the hunting ethic known as “fair chase.” It also led to the creation of the teddy bear. Black bears were common in the Delta at the time of the hunt. The refuge and the Theodore Roosevelt Visitor Center recognize the president’s conservation legacy in the Mississippi Delta and the nation.

While in office, Roosevelt protected 230 million acres of public lands by creating the Forest Service and establishing 51 federal bird reservations (now called national wildlife refuges), 4 national game preserves, 150 national forests, and 5 national parks. The refuge named in his honor is being acquired by exchanging lands elsewhere in the Delta for lands within the acquisition boundaries. The exchanges allow the service to divest lower-priority lands and acquire more desirable tracts within a refuge.

Theodore Roosevelt Visitor Center

The story of America’s most famous hunt – and its most famous toy – is set in the Mississippi Delta. Now there will be a place for people to learn of these story and wildlife conservation efforts that continue in the region today. Wildlife Mississippi played a vital role in developing the 5,000-square-foot Theodore Roosevelt Visitor Center, a gateway for promoting and interpreting the conservation and management of more than 230,000 acres of federal and state-owned public lands in the Delta.

The center, which is not yet open to the public, is just south of Onward near the site of Roosevelt’s 1902 hunt. During the hunt, Roosevelt teamed with freed slave and renowned hunting guide Holt Collier in pursuit of Louisiana black bear. The president’s refusal to kill a restrained male bear during the hunt was widely publicized and resulted in the creation of a stuffed toy known today as the teddy bear. Today, the Louisiana black bear, a subspecies of the American black bear, is recovering from widespread habitat loss.

Wildlife Mississippi worked with Congress to secure funding for the center and donated the land on which it was built. The center represents one of the most significant investments in tourism infrastructure in the Delta in recent years. Approximately 10,000 visitors are expected annually.

Beyond recognizing Roosevelt’s hunt and the creation of the teddy bear, the center will highlight the former president’s role in public land conservation. In 1887, Roosevelt, an avid hunter and naturalist, helped form the Boone and Crockett Club, the oldest conservation organization in North America.

The Holt Collier National Wildlife Refuge near Hollandale was established in 2004 and was the first national wildlife refuge named for an African American. These public lands are part of a complex of seven national wildlife refuges comprising more than 86,000 acres in the Delta.