A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
Learn more about national wildlife refuge , as well as for continued Air Force flight training. The Armys use of this 51,000-acre property, located near Madison, Ind. ended in 1995 as a result of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act.
Under the agreement, the Army will grant a 25-year real estate permit to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for establishment of Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge will encompass an approximate 50,000-acre area. Limited public access will be allowed for hunting, fishing, and escorted tours, beginning in late summer 2000. The area to become Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge contains a wide diversity of habitats, ranging from prairie-like grasslands to mature woodlands. This portion of the former proving ground has been virtually untouched for decades. Fires set to keep areas open for the Armys ordnance testing maintained a large area of grasslands, while wooded areas were allowed to grow to mature forests. The area harbors a host of bird life as well as the federally endangered Indiana bat. The American Bird Conservancy designated Jefferson Proving Ground a Globally Important Bird Area in 1998 because of its importance to the Henslows sparrow, a species that depends on grasslands.
The Army will also grant a 25-year real estate permit to the Air Force for continued use of its existing conventional bombing range in addition to a laser bombing range. These two ranges encompass approximately 1000 acres. The Air Force will then issue a real estate license to the Indiana Air National Guard to operate and use the bombing ranges. The bombing ranges will only be used for training munitions and laser energy. Safety areas for the Air Force ranges, encompassing approximately 20,000 acres, will be off limits to the refuge during flight training.
The remainder of the Jefferson Proving Ground property, a 4000-acre parcel known as the cantonment area, will be transferred by the Army for reuse by various public and private entities.
The lands that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Air Force will be using are contaminated with unexploded ordnance as well as limited and localized amounts of depleted uranium, making it unsuitable for residential or commercial development. However, this new agreement permits the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to preserve and develop the nationally significant wildlife habitats of the property while allowing the continued use of the range by seven Air National Guard units as they conduct mission-essential training. The cultural resources of this property (e.g. Old Timbers Lodge and the Oakdale School House) will continue to be maintained in accordance with the Armys Cultural Resource Management Plan.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be responsible for developing plans for public use and other activities on the refuge consistent with the terms and conditions of its real estate permit with the Army. In order to gain input from the public on the new refuge, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will open a public comment period and host three open houses to allow people to provide opinions and ideas for public use options. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will announce details of the proposed plans, comment periods and open houses when they are established.
