The 1,758-acre Big Timber Division is located two miles south of Muscatine, Iowa, in Pool 17. The division is comprised of a 1,252-acre backwater area, as well as Turkey Island, Turkey Towhead, Otter Island, and Ramsey Island. Turkey Island, Turkey Towhead and Otter Island lie just above Lock and Dam 17, directly east of the Louisa Division. The mainland portion of Big Timber is located a few miles upstream consisting of a mosaic of wet floodplain forest, hardwood trees, and wetlands. Ramsey Island (one of the smaller islands of the division) is located on the south end of the division in the main channel of the Mississippi River.
The bulk of Big Timber Division is a contiguous backwater of the river (meaning it is directly connected to the river), consisting of sloughs surrounded by bottomland forests. It is not protected by a levee and is completely open to the river's fluctuations. Due to its connectivity with the open river, no active water level management currently occurs on Big Timber Division. Prolonged flooding during 1993 and subsequent floods have caused many mature trees to die and become wind-thrown, leaving large openings in the canopy. Bur cucumber, an early successional invasive vine, has taken over as the predominant groundcover in these large openings, but silver maple and green ash seedlings are beginning to regenerate the forest floor.
Big Timber's primary recreational attraction is its fisheries resource. The backwaters are accessible by boat from the Mississippi River or from the boat ramp located on the southwestern edge of the division. Bank fishing is available near the parking lot. The fisheries resource has slowly declined as sedimentation has accumulated in the backwaters. A "boost to the resource" occurred in the early 1990's when the Army Corps of Engineers' Environmental Management Program completed a dredging project through Round Pond continuing to the tip of Big Denny. However, since the project's completion a great deal of sedimentation has occurred within the dredge cuts. This is probably due, at least partly, to the extensive flooding in 1993 and 1995.
Access to the four islands is only by boat. The islands have been subjected to extended flooding during the past 10 years which has significantly impacted the forest resources. Siltation in Swift Chute (between Turkey and Otter Islands) has decreased navigability, reduced submerged vegetative growth, and reduced habitat diversity in the remnant sloughs located within the islands' interiors.
Some other areas of interest in Big Timber's vicinity include 
Wildcat Den State Park located about 30 miles away (10 miles east of Muscatine, IA). Wildcat Den offers several activities including camping, hiking and picnicking. Klum Lake WMA and Lake Odessa WMA, public hunting areas, are located just a few miles from the refuge. For information on hunting on these areas please contact the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
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