- The principal habitats at Squaw Creek are wetlands, grasslands, croplands. The Refuge includes areas of loess bluff hills, an unusual geological formation caused by wind deposited soil. On these bluffs are some of the remnants of the once vast native prairie.
It is a major stop-over for more than 300,000 snow geese, 100,000 ducks, and 250 bald eagles. The Refuge has also hosted about 309 species of birds, 33 species of mammals and 35 species of reptiles and amphibians. Squaw Creek serves as a critical spring and fall migration stop for waterfowl, shore birds, water and marsh birds and raptors in the Mississippi flyway.
Federally listed threatened and endangered species sighted in the recent past have included the peregrine falcon, piping plover, least tern and bald eagle. There are a number of Missouri State endangered and threatened species on the Refuge including the eastern massasauga rattlesnake. Squaw Creek is most likely the home of the last viable breeding population of this species.
The Refuge has a ten mile self-guided auto tour route that circles the main wetlands. There are two hiking trails - Eagle Overlook, a one and one half mile round trip walk that takes the visitor into the wetlands; and the Loess Bluff Trail, a one half mile round trip walk that climbs 200 feet to the top of the bluffs for a panoramic view of the Refuge.
Squaw Creek NWR is located in Holt County, Missouri, and is just two and one half miles west of Interstate 29 at exit 79, 100 miles north and south of Kansas City, Missouri and Omaha, Nebraska, respectively.