The Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge is a 35,000 acre (142 km
2)
National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge System is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of public lands and waters set aside to c ...
located along the
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...
near
Decatur, Alabama
Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler La ...
. Named after
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Joseph Wheeler
Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler (September 10, 1836 – January 25, 1906) was an American military commander and politician. He was a cavalry general in the Confederate States Army in the 1860s during the American Civil War, and then a general in ...
, it was established to provide a habitat for wintering and migrating birds in the eastern
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Of the 35,000 acres (142 km
2) of the refuge, about 4,085 acres (16.5 km
2) are located within
Redstone Arsenal. Approximately 1,500 acres (6 km
2) of the Redstone Arsenal land is administered by the
Marshall Space Flight Center
The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), located in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Huntsville postal address), is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. As the largest NASA center, MSFC's first ...
. The facility has a sixteen-person staff with a $1,694,000 annual budget.
Wheeler NWR is charged with the administration of four other National Wildlife Refuges including
Fern Cave,
Key Cave,
Sauta Cave, and the
Watercress Darter National Wildlife Refuge
Watercress Darter National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located in Jefferson County, Alabama, within the city limits of Bessemer, Alabama, Bessemer. Watercress Darter NWR consists of a pond known as Thomas Spring which is essent ...
. Until recently, Wheeler NWR also administered the
Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge
The Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located in central Alabama, along the Cahaba River downstream from Birmingham, Alabama. The refuge was established on September 25, 2002. Additional purchases were approved ...
(now administered by the
Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge
Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located in eastern Alabama, near Anniston, Alabama on the former site of Fort McClellan. It takes its name from some of the last remaining mountain longleaf pine (''Pinus ...
).
History
![Wheeler Wildlife Refuge map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Wheeler_Wildlife_Refuge_map.gif)
In 1934, the
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina ...
began purchasing land as a bed for and buffer strip for
Wheeler Reservoir. By 1936, the Tennessee River was impounded for flood control with the nearby Wheeler Dam providing
hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
power.
In 1938, the Refuge was established by
Executive Order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...
of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
and became the first National Wildlife Refuge to be overlain on a multi-purpose reservoir. TVA impounded shallow backwater areas of the reservoir to control the
mosquito
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...
population. By pumping these areas dry in the spring and summer, the mosquito breeding habitat was eliminated.
These impounded areas also produced natural waterfowl foods such as
wild millet,
smartweed
''Polygonum'' is a genus of about 130 species of flowering plant in the buckwheat and knotweed family Polygonaceae. Common names include knotweed and knotgrass (though the common names may refer more broadly to plants from Polygonaceae). In the ...
,
sedge
The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...
s, and other seed bearing grasses that attracted waterfowl when the area was re-flooded in the winter. This food source allows the Refuge to be the home of Alabama's largest duck population as well as its only significant concentration of wintering Canada geese.
![WheelerNWR2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/WheelerNWR2.jpg)
In 1940, a presidential proclamation renamed Wheeler Migratory Waterfowl Refuge to its present name.
In 1941, for national security reasons, about 4,085 acres (16.5 km
2) were included inside the
Redstone Arsenal boundary. Currently, about 1,500 acres (6 km
2) of the 4,085 acres (16.5 km
2) is administered by
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
's
Marshall Space Flight Center
The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), located in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Huntsville postal address), is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. As the largest NASA center, MSFC's first ...
.
Topography
Located along the Tennessee River, the refuge provides a mix of
bottomland
Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland.
Definitions
Upland and lowland are portions of p ...
hardwoods, mixed hardwood and pine
uplands, shallow water
embayment
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...
s, and agricultural fields. Of the Refuge's 35,000 acres (142 km
2), there are 19,000 acres (77 km
2) of land and 16,000 acres (65 km
2) of water. The area consists of some 10,000 acres (40 km
2) of forested
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
s and upland hardwoods, with main species consisting of
red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
and
white oak
The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ''C ...
s,
hickories,
poplar,
ash
Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
, and
tupelo
Tupelo , genus ''Nyssa'' , is a small genus of deciduous trees with alternate, simple leaves. It is sometimes included in the subfamily Nyssoideae of the dogwood family, Cornaceae, but is placed by other authorities in the family Nyssaceae. In ...
; 3,000 acres (12 km
2) of pine plantations, much of this subjected to sanitation cuts in the mid-1990s due to
Ips beetle and
pine beetle
''Dendroctonus'' is a genus of bark beetles. It includes several species notorious for destroying trees in the forests of North America. The genus has a symbiotic relationship with many different yeasts, particularly those in the genera '' Cand ...
infestations; and 4,000 to 5,000 acres (16 to 20 km
2) of farmland, with the remainder including open shelves, rocket test ranges, and other areas. This mix of habitat provides for a wealth of wildlife diversity on the refuge.
Wildlife and protected species
Wheeler NWR has supported up to 60,000
geese
A goose (plural, : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family (biology), family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser (bird), Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some o ...
and 100,000
duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...
s, although recently these levels have declined to approximately 30,000 geese and 60,000 ducks. Since 1990, winter goose populations have dropped significantly due to many different factors; below 15,000 from 1990 to 1995 and about 2,500-5,500 in the last few years. Snow geese are now the most prominent component of the winter goose population, peaking near 1,500-3,200 in recent years.
In addition to migratory birds, the refuge hosts 115 species of fish, 74 species of reptiles and amphibians, 47 species of mammals, and 288 different species of songbirds. Some common mammals include
squirrel
Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...
s,
raccoon
The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...
s,
opossum
Opossums () are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia () endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 93 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North ...
s,
rabbit
Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...
s,
quail
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy.
Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New Wor ...
, and
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
. Approximately ten endangered species which live on the refuge. There is also a small population of
American alligator
The American alligator (''Alligator mississippiensis''), sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator or common alligator, is a large crocodilian reptile native to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two extant species in the g ...
s present within the reserve; they were reintroduced into the area following historical extirpation from northern Alabama.
Facilities
![WheelerNWR-map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/WheelerNWR-map.png)
Wheeler NWR offers five hiking trails ranging in length from to four miles (6 km), providing opportunities to view wildlife in a wide variety of habitats. Additionally, six improved boat launch areas provide access to the Tennessee River.
Hunting and fishing
Fishing is very popular at Wheeler NWR with an estimated 200,000 annual visitors. The Tennessee River provides excellent fishing opportunities for
bass,
sunfish,
crappie
Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers.
Etymology
The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...
,
sauger
The sauger (''Sander canadensis'') is a freshwater perciform fish of the family Percidae that resembles its close relative, the walleye. The species is a member of the largest vertebrate order, the Perciformes.Jaeger, Matthew. 2004. Montana's ...
, and
catfish
Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...
. Public hunting is permitted on approximately 18,000 acres (73 km
2).
Wildlife observation
The main visitor center provides an overlook of a waterfowl impoundment for birdwatching as well as the opportunity to see a
red-tailed hawk
The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members with ...
. Several other spotting scope stations are set up throughout the refuge. Additionally, a wildlife observation tower is located on the north side of the Refuge and provides an elevated view of the Beaverdam peninsula, an area of the Refuge managed primarily for Canada geese. Each winter, the area is filled with thousands of
Sandhill Cranes
The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on t ...
. The endangered
Whooping Crane
The whooping crane (''Grus americana'') is the tallest North American bird, named for its whooping sound. It is an endangered crane species. Along with the sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis''), it is one of only two crane species native to ...
has been spotted regularly each winter for the last decade, sometimes numbering over 10. Over 200 species of birds have been identified here on the
EBird
eBird is an online database of bird observations providing scientists, researchers and amateur naturalists with real-time data about bird distribution and abundance. Originally restricted to sightings from the Western Hemisphere, the project ...
Hotspot list.
Wheeler NWR has eight sites on
North Alabama Birding Trail, which is the most sites on the trail within any public land area.
Annual events
![WheelerNWR1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/WheelerNWR1.jpg)
* March: Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest.
* May: Youth Fishing Rodeo, FAWN Festival.
* Summer: Wheeler Day Camps.
* August: United Way's Day of Caring Fishing Rodeo.
* October: Wet and Wild Festival, Southern Wildlife Festival.
See also
*
List of National Wildlife Refuges
As of 2022, there are 588 National Wildlife Refuges in the United States, with the addition of the Green River National Wildlife Refuge. Refuges that have boundaries in multiple states are listed only in the state where the main visitor entrance i ...
References
External links
Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge homepageFWS profile of Wheeler NWR*
Recreation.gov overview
{{authority control
Tennessee River
Decatur, Alabama
Decatur metropolitan area, Alabama
Huntsville-Decatur, AL Combined Statistical Area
Protected areas of Limestone County, Alabama
Protected areas of Madison County, Alabama
Protected areas of Morgan County, Alabama
National Wildlife Refuges in Alabama
Nature centers in Alabama
Wetlands of Alabama
Landforms of Limestone County, Alabama
Landforms of Madison County, Alabama
Landforms of Morgan County, Alabama
1938 establishments in Alabama
Protected areas established in 1938