What We Do
Water level manipulation, cooperative farming, mowing, and propagating native plants are some of the tools used to protect, restore, and enhance Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. Sensitive areas are often closed to the public so that wildlife populations can feed and rest with minimal disturbance. Standardized ground and aerial wildlife surveys and vegetation surveys are conducted to inventory populations and document habitat use. Units are evaluated by how well they meet habitat and wildlife use objectives.
Management and Conservation
Cooperative farming
Cooperative farming is a mutually beneficial arrangement where the farmer is allowed to farm refuge land under certain guidelines and restrictions, including location of crops, techniques, crops planted, and chemicals used. Title 50, Part 29, of the Code of Federal Regulations and Service policies require that the value of a refuge鈥檚 share of cooperatively grown crops be set at rates that reflect the fees and charges received by private landowners in the vicinity for similar privileges. The value can be established through the use of competition in selecting cooperators or through an analysis of local market conditions to establish the prevailing rates in the nearest comparable area.
Wheeler NWR has an active cooperative farming program in which about 3,000-3,900 acres are planted annually. The goal of the program is to provide food and cover for migratory birds and other resident wildlife. The program supplements natural foods with grain foods, such as corn, milo, small seeded millets, and green browse. It is designed for farmers to buy the seed, plant, grow, and harvest the crop and leave a certain portion or share for the wildlife. Corn is usually chosen for refuge shares, although millet is planted in areas that remain wet too long for corn production.
The Essential Role of Genetically Engineered Crops as a Component of Habitat Management and the Farming Program on National Wildlife Refuges
Due to extensive loss and degradation of wetlands, Refuges are integral in providing food and sanctuary for waterfowl in support of conservation objectives of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. Wheeler Refuge supports over 50,000 ducks and geese, nearly 30,000 sandhill cranes, and approximately 25 endangered whooping cranes. Over the past decade, the sandhill crane wintering population at Wheeler Refuge has steadily increased and the ability to provide high energy foods during winter is critical. Through a farming program, refuges can utilize agriculture to provide high energy foods like corn, milo, and millet to support waterfowl populations during the winter period, a time when it is often difficult to meet energy demands. Many refuges cannot meet waterfowl energy objectives with natural vegetation alone. By planting just 10% of Wheeler Refuge with dense, high energy grain crops, the refuge is able to support these large numbers of wintering migrants. Without farming on refuges in the southeast, the Service would not be able to meet its approved wintering waterfowl objectives.
As one of the 14 directives outlined in the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, The Biological Integrity, Diversity, and Environmental Health Policy (BIDEH) (601 FW 3) was approved in April 2001. The policy provides each refuge with an evaluation process to analyze their habitat and management and recommend the best practices within the intent of the refuge purpose and System mission. The policy states 鈥淲e do not allow refuge uses or management practices that result in the maintenance of non-native plant communities unless we determine there is no feasible alternative for accomplishing refuge purpose(s). This policy specifically identifies farming as a permissible habitat management practice when prescribed in plans to meet wildlife or habitat management objectives, only when more natural methods cannot meet refuge goals and objectives.
With the modern advancement in crop technology to aid in increased yield, drought resistance, and protections against pests, higher crop yields can be produced on smaller tracts of land, while requiring far less pesticides. Genetically engineered crops (GECs) allow refuges to produce grain crops for waterfowl forage in a way that is more efficient and environmentally responsible. For example, instead of having to apply broad spectrum insecticides to eliminate pests, GECs have the ability to target specific insect pests that are causing the damage. Bt corn is one such variety that specifically targets lepidopteran pests such as the European corn borer. For several years, without the approval to use Bt corn, the refuge was unable to meet waterfowl energy day objectives due to extensive crop damage resulting from corn borers. Furthermore, herbicides are dramatically reduced with the use of glyphosate resistant crop varieties alleviating the need to apply additional, more toxic herbicides. With respect to the use of GECs, Amendment 1 of the BIDEH policy delegated the authority for approval of the use of GECs on refuges from the Director to the Regional Chiefs. Amendment 1 states 鈥淲e do not use genetically modified organisms in refuge management unless we determine their use is essential to accomplishing refuge purpose(s) and the Regional Chief, National Wildlife Refuge System, approves the use鈥�. Additionally, approved in 2020, the National Wildlife Refuge System in Southeast Region developed an environmental analysis for GEC鈥檚 and found no significant adverse impacts. Many refuges in the Southeast Region continue to operate under the analysis, planning documents, and the approved essential use determinations justifying their use.
Wheeler Refuge is an important area for cranes, wintering waterfowl, and several federally listed species. It provides thousands of acres of diverse habitats including forests, marsh, open water, and grasslands with croplands being an integral part of its habitat complex. Without farming and the use of GECs, Wheeler Refuge could not meet the energy demands of wintering cranes and waterfowl. These tools give Wheeler Refuges and other refuges in the Southeast Region the ability to provide habitat for millions of wintering and migrating waterfowl each winter.
Rice for Waterfowl
During the 2024-2025 winter season, the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge added a new menu item for waterfowl. Through the Refuge鈥檚 cooperative farming program, rice was cultivated in one of the Refuge鈥檚 impoundments to benefit waterfowl and other waterbirds.
Rice is commonly grown for waterfowl food in Arkansas, California, South Carolina, and Louisiana due to the flat landscape. Much like corn, rice is a highly nutritious food for waterfowl that鈥檚 critical for replenishing energy reserves and for thermoregulation during winter. Each year, biologists plan habitat goals and objectives on the Refuge that are based on the energy contained in various food resources including crops. Corn and rice are two of the highest energy foods for waterfowl, almost 13 times higher than natural vegetation such as millet, sedges, and smartweed.
Although rice has a slightly lower energy rating than corn, it has several additional benefits. Rice is typically flooded through the growing season and into the fall 鈥� typically the driest time of the year. This attracts many other wetland species including wading birds, rails, and shorebirds. It also creates habitat for aquatic invertebrates, which is another important food source for many species including waterfowl. In drier years, like this one, water becomes especially important for early migrants such as blue-winged teal.
According to Wheeler staff, rice was planted for waterfowl food several decades ago. However, it was not continued due to the challenges of producing a quality crop, the infrastructure required, as well as the time investment.
There are several key components for rice cultivation on Refuges, including an on-demand water source, a successful cooperative farming program, and the ability to precisely manage water levels.
The Buckeye unit, located on the north bank of the Tennessee River, between Limestone Bay and Blackwell Swamp, contains portions of the necessary topography and infrastructure. The primary component, and often the most expensive, is a reliable water source. Fortunately, near the upper end of the Buckeye unit is a natural spring, also known as the 鈥淏lue Hole.鈥� This spring at times can release over 2,000 gallons per minute of water onto the landscape, which is a significant amount of water at no cost. However, two 40+ year-old water control structures within the Buckeye levee were dilapidated and no longer functional. Without functioning water control structures, water management in the Buckeye and Thorsen Arm units was dependent on the entire impoundment system filling up with rainwater, which in some years, doesn鈥檛 occur until January. In 2023, Refuge staff, with the help of Great American Outdoors Act Great American Outdoors Act
This landmark conservation law, enacted in 2020, authorizes the use of up to $1.9 billion a year in energy development revenues for five years for needed maintenance to facilities and infrastructure in our wildlife refuges, national parks, forests, recreation areas and American Indian schools.
Learn more about Great American Outdoors Act funding, replaced these two 48-inch structures and added two more smaller water control structures to improve the water management capabilities for these impoundments.
So, in 2024, with the infrastructure in place and the equipment and expertise of one of Refuge cooperative farmers, Wheeler staff gave rice production another try. This time, it was a great success, producing approximately 130 bushels per acre on the 50-acre impoundment.
With another dry fall, the benefits were immediately evident, with an increase in wading birds, shorebirds, and other species using the flooded field. Waterfowl use was the most obvious increase. In early December, 15,000 ducks were estimated using the Buckeye unit, which represented half of the waterfowl using the Refuge at the time. With this kind of success, and the multi-faceted benefits of rice, Wheeler staff seeks to expand rice cultivation for waterfowl in the future
Waterfowl Impoundments
Wheeler NWR manages 16 impoundments to provide approximately 2,000 acres of waterfowl habitat in open water, moist soil, and in areas where agricultural crops can be flooded. Management consists of manipulating water flows through 20 water control structures (WCS) consisting of concrete and/or corrugated metal pipes with flash board riser or screwgate structures. By adjusting the height of the control mechanism (screwgates and riser stoplogs), water levels are set and gravity-induced water flows can be created. In addition, many of the impoundments are located within two large dewatering units (White Springs and Rockhouse Buckeye) that utilize mechanical pumps to remove water.
Generally, impoundments are filled in the fall by rainfall or through spring seepage. Rarely can the refuge open WCSs and allow water to flow from the Wheeler Reservoir into the impoundments because the reservoir's water level has dropped (early to mid-September) prior to the time when filling is needed (late September or early October). Impoundments are not filled with water until farmers harvest crops and just prior to the time birds begin to arrive at the refuge.
Most impoundments, with the exception of the Display Pool at the Visitor Center, can usually be drained or partially drained by gravity into the reservoir or its tributaries before the water level is raised in the spring (early to mid-April) by opening various WCS. A portable pump is used to empty the Display Pool. Impoundment drawdown is initiated after waterfowl leave, generally in late February or March, depending on the impoundment and yearly conditions. In typical years, water has to be pumped out of the impoundments after the reservoir is raised in mid-April.
In the spring, pumps are used to draw down the White Springs Dewatering Unit (Whiteside Pump Station) and the Rockhouse Buckeye Dewatering Unit (Rockhouse Pump Station). These pumps are operated by TVA in cooperation with the refuge and the State of Alabama (the pumps also affect management units on the Swan Creek Wildlife Management Area just west of the White Springs unit) via a cooperative agreement. The costs are paid by the Service or cost-shared as follows: Whiteside Pump Station - May 1 to September 1 - State 20 percent, TVA 50 percent, and Service 30 percent; Rockhouse Pump Station - May 1 to September 1 - TVA 50 percent and Service 50 percent. The refuge pays 100 percent of pumping costs during the rest of the year when pumps are operated to dewater the units.
Impoundments and related structures are maintained annually as resources and conditions permit. When soil conditions are dry enough, unwanted vegetation (especially woody vegetation) is mowed, disced, or removed. Roadsides and the upper, dryer portion of the dikes are mowed annually. Areas that are farmed do not require as much maintenance.
Sandhill Cranes on Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge and Hunting in Alabama
Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge is a hotspot for sandhill cranes and other migratory bird species, wintering over 50,000 ducks and geese, 20,000 to 32,000 sandhill cranes, and approximately 12-25 endangered whooping cranes. Over the past decade, the sandhill crane wintering population at Wheeler Refuge has steadily increased and the ability to provide high energy foods during winter is critical. However, this concentration of cranes hasn鈥檛 always been the case. Sandhill cranes were once on the verge of extinction. That influenced the U.S. to implement laws in 1916 to protect the species and now these migratory birds have made a steady comeback in recent years. In the early 1990鈥檚, for reasons unknown, small migratory groups of sandhill cranes began to linger and spend the winter in east Tennessee near Hiwassee. The number of cranes wintering there increased dramatically, and about the same time, small numbers found their way to Wheeler Refuge. Three wintered on the refuge in 1995, 1,200 in 2007 and 10,000 in 2015鈥oubling and tripling in number some years.
Now listed as a game species, many central U.S. states, Canadian provinces, and Mexico have been hunting sandhill cranes for more than 50 years with populations remaining stable or increasing depending on flyway. In some flyways, over the past 40 years, sandhill crane populations have increased by over 500%, and have continued to increase despite increased hunting across multiple states. Currently, seventeen states offer sandhill crane hunting: Alabama, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Idaho, Minnesota, Arizona, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alaska, New Mexico, North Dakota and South Dakota. In 2011, Kentucky became the first state east of the Mississippi River to host a sandhill crane hunting season followed by Tennessee in 2013. In 2019, Alabama became the third state to allow sandhill crane hunting in the east.Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources initially started their program with a three-year experimental season to establish harvest rates and quotas and the season became fully operational during the 2023-24 season. Initially, Alabama issued 400 permits for those first three years and have since increased the number to 750 permits in 2024 (3 tags per permit, totaling 2,250 tags).
During the 2022鈥�23 season, Kentucky issued 1,148 tags to hunters, who harvested 180 cranes.Tennessee issued 2,500 tags to hunters and harvested 640 cranes.Alabama issued 1,200 tags to hunters in 2022-23 and 265 cranes were harvested, 8% of the total allowed tags. Of those, nearly 44% were harvested in Morgan County where Wheeler Refuge is located.The total number of Eastern Population sandhill cranes harvested during 2022鈥�23 hunting season was 1,085 birds, which was 30% higher than the previous year.
Population Monitoring
In 1979, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initiated a coordinated fall index survey of historic Eastern Population (EP) migratory staging areas in the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways.This survey is conducted annually in late October by volunteers and agency personnel who count the number of cranes at staging areas throughout the EP range.Overall, the survey documented a long-term increasing trend in EP cranes with an average growth rate in the population of 3.9% per year (1979-2009). A more recent analysis indicates the growth rate has increased to 4.4% per year. The most recent fall count from 2022 was 107,164, which was 19% higher than the 2021 index of 90,029. The 3-year average is 97,385. This index is not a statistically designed population estimate; however, the index does reasonably represent a conservative population estimate for EP cranes. In 2010, the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyway Councils endorsed a management plan for EP cranes.One of the plan鈥檚 provisions included guidelines for potential harvest of this population when the 3-year average of the fall survey is above 30,000 cranes.
To monitor the population, Alabama conducts aerial surveys each fall and winter. Since 2010, the state has seen a 16% increase of sandhill cranes on average per year. However, several measures are put in place to ensure population vitality.According to the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyway Councils management plan, the number of tags a state can issue cannot exceed 10% of the state鈥檚 five-year average peak crane abundance. Hunters in all three states are required to tag and report harvested birds and complete a post-season survey.Additionally, because other large wading birds like herons and the endangered whooping crane have a similar appearance to the sandhill crane, hunters are required to complete an identification training and pass an exam before obtaining a permit.Because a small fraction of the total sandhill crane population is harvested, hunting has minimal to no impact on the overall eastern population. However, pre- and post-season surveys are conducted annually to monitor population numbers and harvest impacts.
So, what is it about Wheeler Refuge that has become so popular among the sandhill and whooping cranes? The answer is the abundance of wetland habitat and abundant and diverse food resources that provide a consistent environment for the cranes from October through March. Wheeler Refuge, with its 35,000 acres of wetlands, forests, and cropland, has provided a sanctuary for migrating and wintering cranes. During winter, cranes often alternate from foraging and roosting in these wetland habitats to foraging in agricultural fields. Grain crops provide an important source of carbohydrates when energy demand is high during the cold winter months. Without high energy foods such as corn, Wheeler Refuge could not support and provide sanctuary for the thousands of cranes each winter.
Sandhill crane abundance on Wheeler Refuge from 2002 to 2024. Abundance estimates are derived from biweekly ground-based surveys conducted by refuge staff and volunteers.
Law Enforcement
Law enforcement is an integral part of managing the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge Complex is actively patrolled by Federal Wildlife Officers who are responsible for upholding state and federal laws and regulations that protect natural resources, the public, and employees.