AUDUBON LWCF SITE NOMINATION FORM FY06

PATOKA RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

& CANE RIDGE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA, INDIANA

SITE DESCRIPTION & LOCATION:

The Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge located in southwestern Indiana was established in 1994. The Refuge area represents one of the most significant bottomland hardwood forests remaining in the Midwest. The Patoka River NWR is now at 5,293 acres out of 22,083 acres approved for acquisition. The separate 463-acre Cane Ridge WMA has 193 acres of moist soil units and a 55-acre Interior Least Tern nesting area.

ECOLOGICAL VALUES:

Described by some as a “biodiversity factory”, this lower 30-mile portion of the 162-mile long Patoka River includes 19 miles of cut-off river oxbows and 7,000 acres of bottomland forested wetland—the most imperiled wetland type in Indiana and the Midwest. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biological survey resulted in the identification of two new species here, the Burrowing Crayfish and Mud Darter. In the spring of 2001, Bald Eagles established their first nest in memory along the lower Patoka River at Snakey Point Marsh and have successfully fledged young in the past two years.

More than 380 species of wildlife occur here. Designated as an Important Bird Area, the river valley is home to at least 20 plant species and 62 animal species considered as threatened, endangered or of special concern by the state of Indiana. Twenty-one species found here are on Audubon’s WatchList of birds in decline. The Refuge has one of the highest count sites in the state for singing male Cerulean Warblers. Henslow’s Sparrows are nesting in reclaimed grassland on private land within the acquisition area.

Also, the Patoka River and associated wetlands provide very productive Wood Duck nesting and brood-rearing habitat and they support several active nesting colonies of Great Blue Herons. Paddlefish feed in the rich flooded bottoms every spring while the endangered Indiana Bat has been documented including at least one maternity colony. These bottoms have also been identified as a core habitat conservation area for the threatened Northern Copperbelly Watersnake.

In addition, the restoration of a separate 463-acre Cane Ridge Wildlife Management Area, a North American Waterfowl Management Plan project, is being managed as a unit of the Patoka River NWR. This restoration is in cooperation with Cinergy's Gibson Generating Station Habitat Conservation Plan to relocate the nesting Interior Least Terns. This nesting colony is one of only two known colonies east of the Mississippi River. Cane Ridge and the adjacent 840-acre acquisition by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources will not only provide nesting habitat for the endangered Least Tern but also provide feeding and resting habitat for thousands of migrating ducks (including an Audubon WatchList species, the American Black Duck). Also, four hatchling Wilson’s Phalaropes were confirmed and Black-Necked Stilts and Whimbrel were seen there.

PUBLIC USE AND BENEFIT TO THE COMMUNITY:

Visitors to the Refuge enjoy a variety of activities including wildlife observation and bird watching, hunting, fishing, boating and canoeing. In celebration of the centennial of the National Wildlife Refuge System, a new fishing dock/pier and trail were dedicated in May, 2003.

THREATS:

Because the Patoka River often floods, additional channelization and ditching continually threaten this riverine habitat. Timber harvest, conversion to agriculture and fragmentation of forested tracts for homes and hunting camps also threaten the Refuge. Increasing land values have resulted in the sale of a number of Refuge inholdings to private buyers with resulting ATV trespass problems occurring. In addition, southern Indiana is entering one of its greatest growth phases in history. Construction of several manufacturing plants within 40 miles of the Refuge, an expansion of an interstate highway and secondary development from an influx of new residents are ongoing threats.

ACQUISITION STATUS & ESTIMATED COST FOR THE ACQUISITION:

Presently the Refuge has submitted appraisal requests for 2,113 acres for 20 properties from willing-seller landowners. This includes Black Beauty Coal Company’s 1,158 acres of Columbia Mine which includes the eastern edge of Snakey Point Marsh where the first bald eagle nest was located and a good portion of reclaimed grassland where Henslow’s Sparrows are nesting. This land is on the market for $1,000,000 and will be lost if adequate funding is not forthcoming in FY-06 appropriations. Another $500,000 is required for Kindill Mining’s 357 acres in natural, unmined habitat scattered across the bottoms. Seven other tracts totaling 866 acres are also available but the Refuge has not submitted appraisals due to a lack of funds.

PUBLIC SUPPORT:

The Refuge has the support of citizens across the state. A bequest of $173,000 was received from the William Walker Estate. Seventeen partners, including Evansville Audubon Society, Cinergy, Inc., Quail Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited, McCormick Farms, Waterfowl U.S.A., Izaak Walton League, and Indiana Department of Natural Resources, have matched a North American Waterfowl Management Plan grant proposal which received first ranking in our USFWS Region. Evansville Audubon Society is also providing a funding match to a Challenge Grant request for bottomland tree planting. Senators Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh continue their successful support with LWCF funding in the Senate whenever funding is lacking in the President’s budget and House appropriations.

HABITAT:

Bottomland forested wetland, Scrub-shrub, Upland hardwood forest

SPECIES:

River Otter, Great Blue Heron, Wood Duck, White-tailed Deer, Cooper’s Hawk, Pocketbook Mollusk, Western Sandpiper, Piping Plover, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Eastern Wood Pewee, Veery, Prairie Warbler, Dickcissel, Black-Necked Stilt, Whimbrel, Paddlefish, American Black Duck, Kentucky Warbler, Acadian Flycatcher

Home to threatened & endangered species such as: Least Tern, Indiana Bat, Bald

Eagle, Northern Copperbelly Watersnake

Home to Audubon WatchList species: Henslow's Sparrow, Red-Headed Woodpecker, Wood Thrush, Cerulean Warbler, Wilson’s Phalarope