Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge

Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Map of the United States
Location	Ripley County, Jefferson County, Jennings County, Indiana, United States
Nearest city	Madison, Indiana
Coordinates
Area	50,000 acres (200 km2)
Established	2000
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
http://www.fws.gov/midwest/BigOaks/

Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge is a 50,000-acre (202 km²) nature preserve in southeast Indiana, USA near Madison, Indiana. The refuge is the largest of Indiana's three, and is located in parts of Ripley, Jefferson, and Jennings counties.

The refuge was formed in 2000 after a 1989 order to gradually close the Jefferson Proving Ground, a World War II era munitions testing facility, which was completed by 1995. The refuge is located north of the historic firing line and surrounds a 1,000-acre (4 km²) parcel operated by the Indiana Air National Guard. A zone used for firing tests remains off limit to the public due to the prohibitive cost of cleanup.

Due to the past use-history of the property as an ordnance testing facility, all visitors must view a safety video and sign an Acknowledgement of Danger form annually prior to entering the refuge.

Over 200 species of birds and 46 species of mammals are found on the refuge.

Public uses of the refuge include hunting (white-tailed deer and wild turkey), fishing, and bird-watching.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

External links

• Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife (official page)