credit: USFWS              Bottomland Hardwood Forest

The Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge works to protect, conserve and restore habitats ranging from forested bottomlands to aquatic substrates. Past uses of the islands are reflected by the habitats seen today, ranging from early stages of natural regrowth on former agricultural lands to remnant old trees. The refuge manages the islands to restore native mature bottomland hardwood forest. Tree planting and invasive plant control help supplement natural processes of recovery.

Around the perimeter of the islands, the riparian edge/shoreline is an important but limited habitat type. Stabilization of eroding banks, especially at the "head" or upstream end of islands, as well as along their sides exposed to the wave action of navigation, is key to conservation of this habitat.

A range of deep and shallow water habitats occur around the islands. Sand, gravel, and cobble beaches that typify most of the islands continue beneath the water line into the depths of the river. Addtional substrate types associated with the islands include silt, clay, muck, riverine aquatic plant beds, and woody debris. Refuge ownership of islands in West Virginia and Kentucky includes these underwater habitats, important to many species of mussels, fish, and other wildlife.

Credit: USFWS Grape Island