Straddling the headwaters of the Minnesota River in extreme west-central Minnesota, Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge is within the heart of the tallgrass prairie's historic range. Today, less than one-percent of tallgrass prairie remains.

The Refuge serves as the "keeper of the prairie" by working to maintain and restore native prairie habitat while providing optimum nesting cover for waterfowl and other grassland nesting birds. The refuge contains 11,521 acres: 1,028 acres in Big Stone County and 10,493 acres in Lac Qui Parle County. The refuge is located in Minnesota's second Congressional District. The primary refuge purposes stated in authorizing documents are flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife conservation. The refuge's principal objective is to provide optimum nesting cover for ground-nesting waterfowl production. Approximately 30,000 people visit the refuge annually.

The refuge office and maintenance facility are located approximately eight miles east of Ortonville, MN (South Dakota border) and one-half mile west of Odessa, MN. From Highway 7/75, take Big Stone County Road #19 south approximately three-quarters of a mile.