Stoddard County: A great place to observe wildlife

Stoddard County has a lot to offer, especially when it comes to the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge in Puxico, Missouri.

Mingo National Wildlife Refuge in Puxico, Missouri. (Laura Simon)

Ben Mense has been manager at the refuge for almost eight years, and he says this position is great because it has allowed him to live closer to his hometown of Pittsburg, Kansas.

Ben has been part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 18 years and has worked all over the country, from the prairies of North Dakota and Montana to the southernmost part of Louisiana.

He says working at Mingo has been an ideal situation, though, because he has always had an interest in waterfowl management, and that is the primary purpose of the refuge.

"The best part of my job is I get to come to work every day and work outside and work in wildlife management, which is what I always wanted to do," he says.

Mingo National Wildlife Refuge in Puxico, Missouri. (Laura Simon)

A new visitor information center was built about a year and a half ago thanks to stimulus money from the government. Ben adds that the facility has helped make the refuge more of a tourist destination.

"It's a really nice facility for people to come out and see, and it's definitely worth the trip from Cape or wherever you're at to come check it out," he says.