Description:
Ozark Cavefish National Wildlife Refuge, located twenty miles west of Springfield in Lawrence County, MO, was acquired in 1991 to protect a Federally endangered species, the Ozark cavefish. Turnback Creek Cave Spring is located on this property and is the outlet of an underground stream known to contain a population of the endangered Ozark cavefish. Access to the stream is gained via Turnback cave, which has openings on adjacent property owned by the Missouri Department of Conservation. The refuge is managed by staff at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, in Puxico, MO.