By the 1950s and 60s, regulations designed to clean up the river started to help. Passage of the Clean Water Act in the 1970s led to further improvements in water quality. By the 1980s, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biologists documented nesting great blue herons and many other birds using the islands for resting and feeding during migration. On the river's bottom, they found abundant freshwater mussels, two endangered species among many more common species.
Recognizing the river's value to wildlife and the need to protect it, Congress established the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge in 1990. With help from The Nature Conservancy, the Sevice bought eight islands once owned by a sand and gravel company. Through willing-seller purchases and donations, the refuge has grown to include 22 islands and three mainland tracts. Most of the refuge lies within West Virginia, but Pennsylvania and Kentucky each hold two refuge islands. The 3,354 acres of land and underwater habitat that make up the refuge today represent a commitment to the future of wildlife and a tie to the “wild Ohio ” that had all but disappeared.
Privacy • Department of the Interior
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service• The National Wildlife Refuge System
