Large, football-shaped Fish Creek Island sits almost perfectly in the middle of the Ohio River. It is named for Fish Creek, which comes into the Ohio River on the West Virginia side of the river just downriver from the island. It is one of the islands that most directly led to the designation of the National Wildlife Refuge and plan to protect the majority of islands in the river.
After the Clean Water Act led to a dramatic improvement in the water quality and habitat quality along the river, wildlife began to flood into the area, finding a convenient home on the undeveloped or abandoned islands. Fish Creek Island is where this improvement in ecological health was most apparent. In 1989, Heron nests were discovered on the island where there hadn’t been any before. The colony of Heron nests increased dramatically in the following years.
In the early 20th century, the island was used for oil and natural gas, and power lines were later built across the island. In 1956, the island was purchased by Consol Energy Inc., which had coal mining plans that were never initiated. The company donated Fish Creek Island to the Nature Conservancy to protect the island's habitat for its great blue herons, and it was then turned over the Ohio River Islands NWR. The collection of up to several hundred nests on the bar constitutes West Virginia's largest great blue heron rookery.
Public Access: Fish Creek Public Access Site, 11 miles south of Moundsville , WV, off SR 2 at mouth of Fish Creek.
