The Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Management Area, established in 1994, is a collection of wildlife refuges and habitats situated along the
Patoka River
The Patoka River (Pronounced, PaTohKah) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 19, 2011 tributary of the Wabash River in southwestern Indiana in the United States. It d ...
in
Gibson
Gibson may refer to:
People
* Gibson (surname)
Businesses
* Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment
* Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based
* Gi ...
and
Pike
Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to:
Fish
* Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus''
* Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes
* ''Esox'', genus of ...
counties in
southwestern Indiana
Southwestern Indiana is an 11-county region of southern Indiana, United States located at the southernmost and westernmost part of the state. As of the 2010 census, the region's combined population is 474,251. Evansville, Indiana's third-largest ...
. It consists mostly of the main body refuge along nearly of the river's course from just north of
Francisco, Indiana
Francisco is the fifth largest town and seventh largest community in Gibson County, Indiana, United States. A town in Center Township, the population was 469 at the 2010 census and was founded in 1851. Local tradition says the town was named for ...
, to just west of
Velpen, Indiana
Velpen is an census-designated place in southeastern Marion Township, Pike County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It lies along State Road 257 southeast of the city of Petersburg, the county seat of Pike County. Although Velpen is unincorporat ...
. Other areas include the Cane Ridge Wildlife Management Area managed by
Duke Energy
Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Overview
Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Duke Energy owns 58,200 megawatts of base-load and peak generation in ...
and located immediately south of
Gibson Lake and the
Gibson Generating Station
The Gibson Generating Station is a coal-burning power plant located at the northernmost end of Montgomery Township, Gibson County, Indiana, United States. It is close to the Wabash River, southeast of Mount Carmel, Illinois, south of the mout ...
in northwestern
Gibson County, east of the main body. The refuge is authorized for . As of 2010, are owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Many species of birds nest or spend the winter in these areas, including the
bald eagle
The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...
and endangered
least tern
The least tern (''Sternula antillarum'') is a species of tern that breeds in North America and locally in northern South America. It is closely related to, and was formerly often considered conspecific with, the little tern of the Old World. Ot ...
.
In 2012, tier 1 of the
Interstate 69
Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of 10 unconnected segments with an original continuous segment from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, at ...
Project was built through this area immediately west of
Oakland City in the strip long been set aside when the original Interstate was built, using a bridge to lessen the environmental impact. Originally Interstate 69 was to go along a route similar to the current construction route. This has prompted some disturbances by the group
Earth First!
Earth First! is a radical environmental advocacy group that originated in the Southwestern United States. It was founded in 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, Bart Koehler, and Ron Kezar. Today there are Earth First! groups around ...
, including "evicting" the project offices in
Oakland City.
Earth First! Journal - NAFTA Superhighway, by Sprout
See also
*Patoka Lake
Patoka Lake is the second-largest reservoir in the U.S. state of Indiana (after Lake Monroe) and is spread across Dubois, Crawford, and Orange counties in southern Indiana.
Lake
Created as a joint effort between the US Army Corps of Engineers a ...
References & Resources
External links
Official site
Important Bird Areas of the United States
National Wildlife Refuges in Indiana
Protected areas of Gibson County, Indiana
Protected areas of Pike County, Indiana
{{PikeCountyIN-geo-stub