Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge Clark was considerably different from today's river. The historic Missouri was a broad, slow-moving, shallow river with braided channels. These past river conditions created a haven for wildlife, which included vast floodplain forests of giant trees, marshes, and even wet prairies. Today's river is channelized. It is deeper and faster, and controlled by levees, dikes, and other containment structures. These controls make the river more navigable and the surrounding floodplain ideal for agriculture. The Big Muddy Refuge is allowing the Missouri River to be a river again, to enter its floodplain. This occurs during minor flood events. Management has created
Muddy River (Nevada) National Wildlife Refuge Complex. In another effort to help protect and preserve the fragile habitats in the Muddy Springs area, the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) and various environmental associations have organized an effort to conserve these species. The area was part of the Native American Paiute peoples homeland for centuries, with the Mojave to the south. "Moapa" is a Southern Paiute language word meaning "muddy"; although "Moapa River" was formerly the official name, local usage tended to translate the name, and it was made official in 1960. The Old Spanish Trail originally followed the Virgin River all the way