Buck Island is a wild, semi-primitive 1,500-acre island in the lower Mississippi River located below the confluence of the St. Francis River near Helena, Arkansas. It includes three miles of river frontage and three miles of side channel habitat, 500 acres of sand bar, and 1,000 acres of bottomland forest. The island provides habitat for numerous wildlife, including endangered interior least terns (federally and state listed) deer, wild turkey, beaver, squirrel, possum, rabbit, raccoon, bats, frogs, turtles and other amphibians.

Scarlet Ibis

Buck Island is also a stopover site on the Mississippi River Flyway, a migration corridor for 40 percent of North America’s waterfowl and songbirds. The island provides habitat and shelter for a wide variety of shorebirds, wading birds, waterfowl, and neotropical migrant birds. In the fall large migrations of wood storks, pelicans, scarlet ibis and many species of ducks and geese have been observed using on the island. Bald eagles osprey also use the island for fishing along the river and scavenging along the island’s beaches.

Buck Island’s associated side channel creates important habitat in an area of the river where such habitat is at a premium. Because the lower Mississippi is not controlled by a lock and dam system, the water of the main channel flows very swift and deep. Most fish species require depth and flow diversity in order to spawn and for juveniles to survive. Many bird species also require off-channel shoreline habitat where they can feed and nest, particularly on exposed sand or gravel substrates. Similarly, migratory waterfowl require shallow wading areas to feed and rest. Buck Island provides precisely these types of habitats in a relatively large remote area.

Largest Colony of Endangered Interior Least Terns Along Arkansas’ Mississippi River Border

Least Tern

The Mississippi River corridor has experienced a dramatic loss of habitat over the last century with devastating impacts on wildlife, such as the endangered interior least tern (federally and state-listed since 1985). Also known as ‘sea swallows’ for their delicate, graceful and buoyant flight, interior least terns are listed as the number three bird species of greatest conservation need by the Arkansas Wildlife Action Plan. Interior least terns have suffered from loss of habitat, as the river’s historic wide channels dotted with sandbars that are preferred by the terns have been replaced by narrow forested river corridors. Dams, reservoirs, and other changes to river systems have resulted in encroachment of vegetation and reduced channel width, thereby reducing sandbar habitat and eliminating most historic least tern habitat.

Buck Island’s 500-acre sand bar is used by least terns for nesting, feeding, and shelter from late April to August. The island’s 423 observed adult least terns represented the largest colony along the entire Arkansas Stretch of the river. Conserving Buck Island provides an opportunity to permanently secure extremely important habitat for this endangered species.

Help us make this outstanding conservation opportunity a reality.