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| Sea Lion Show |
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Dolphin's Names: |
Swimming with Dolphins
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| Swimming with Dolphins |
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| Kissing the Sea Lion |
Monday, February 12, 2018
Wheeler Wildlife Refuge Complex
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| Boating There are six improved and several unimproved boat launching facilities located on the Refuge. Improved facilities include paved parking and concrete launch ramps. Unimproved facilities include dirt or gravel parking areas and launch ramps. Improved Ramps Arrowhead Landing: Located in Limestone County on the west-central portion of Limestone Bay. Triana: Located south of the town of Triana in Madison County, where Indian Creek flows into the Tennessee River. This is the easternmost boat ramp. Hickory Hills: Located in Morgan County on the northern portion of Flint Creek. Bluff City: Located in Morgan County on the southern bank of the Tennessee River, approximately nine miles upstream from the U. S. Highway 31 bridges. Sharp's Ford/Cotaco Creek: Located in Morgan County on the western bank of Cotaco Creek at Sharp's Ford Road. Tallulah/Sunnyside Landing: Located in Morgan County on the southern bank of the Tennessee River, approximately twelve miles upstream from the U. S. Highway 31 bridges. Unimproved Ramps Arrowhead Landing:# 1 & #2 Located in Limestone County in the west-central portion of Limestone Bay.
Rockhouse: Located in Limestone County on the north bank of the Tennessee River, approximately six miles upstream from the U. S. Highway 31 bridges. Flint Creek: Located in Morgan County on Flint Creek near Alabama Highway 67. Duncan Hill: Located in Morgan County at the Flint Creek/Garth Slough confluence. Susie Hole: Located in Morgan County on the south side of Garth Slough. Cave Springs Mussel Camp: Located in Morgan County on the south bank of the Tennessee River, approximately five miles upstream from the U. S. Highway 31 bridges. Madden Branch: Located in Morgan County at the Madden Branch/Cataco Creek confluences, S. Fish and Wildlife Service Hunting Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge is one of over 500 national wildlife refuges. The primary objective of a national wildlife refuge is to provide habitat for the conservation and protection of all wildlife species. Carefully managed hunts are one tool used to manage wildlife populations. Small- and large-game hunting with bows and flintlocks provides high-quality recreation for many people. Wheeler NWR offers public hunting on approximately 18,000 acres, and hunting regulations are published each year in the WNWR hunting permit brochure. Hunters are allowed to hunt white-tailed deer, feral hogs, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, opossums, and quail. Waterfowl hunting is not permitted on the refuge. 500+ acres between HGH Road and the Tennessee River are designated as a special access hunting area for disabled hunters. Special access permits are available at Refuge Headquarters. Fishing is a very popular activity at Wheeler NWR, with an estimated 274,000 anglers trying their luck each year in the 18,000 acres of refuge waters. Many creeks and sloughs adjoin the main channel of the Tennessee River throughout the refuge. Old river channels, open blackwater embayments, and miles of tree-lined creeks and streams provide excellent fishing opportunities for largemouth, smallmouth, spotted, striped, and hybrid bass, bluegill and redear sunfish, crappie, sauger, several species of catfish, and a few yellow perch. A universally accessible fishing pier is available on Flint Creek across Highway 67 from the Visitor Center. A three-acre catfish pond is available for organized events. Each year, groups ranging from special needs children and adults to summer day campers and Cub Scouts enjoy fishing at the pond. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Water Level Management Wheeler NWR staff manages impoundment water levels on the refuge to provide habitat for wintering waterfowl. Impoundments are enclosed bodies of water, such as a reservoir. The management of these areas creates moist soil and flooded cropland conditions that produce natural, desirable vegetation and high-calorie food for waterfowl. Impoundments provide lasting benefits to colonial waterbirds, marsh birds, and shorebirds. To grow moist soil plants, water levels in the impoundments must be lowered in the spring for the germination of wetland plants. The areas are then flooded in the fall just before waterfowl begin to arrive. A lack of water management limits the food and plant options available to the birds. This management objective is difficult to accomplish when TVA raises and lowers Wheeler Reservoir according to a schedule that is the opposite of what is needed to sustain waterfowl. Farming 3.500 - 4,000 acres are cooperatively farmed on the refuge. Cooperative farming is a mutually beneficial arrangement in which farmers are allowed to farm refuge land under specific guidelines and restrictions, including leaving a share of the crop (18-20%) for waterfowl and wildlife. It provides food, browse, cover, and nesting areas for waterfowl and other wildlife species. Crops grown include soybeans, corn, winter wheat, milo, and millet. Various waterfowl, such as Canada geese, Snow Geese, Sandhill Cranes, and Mallards, feed in the fields during fall and winter. Deer enjoy feeding on corn, soybeans, and winter wheat, while raccoons and squirrels drag ears of corn into the woods and feed on it there. Various species of songbirds also feed on these crops. |
Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge at Flint Creek
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| National Wildlife Refuge Wheeler How Can You Help? 1. Dispose of fishing lines, hooks, and trash in the bins and containers provided. 2. Pick up any trash you see. 3. If you pack it in, you can pack it out. 4. Volunteer with the Wildlife Refuge for clean-up events. Reminder: artifact collecting is not permitted. Contact Information Refuge Headquarters 256-353-7243 Visitor Center - 256-350-6639 In case of an emergency, call 911 Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Refuge Lands Within Redstone Arsenal Highways Roads Refuge Boundary Visitor Center Wildlife Observation Boating Flint Creek Environmental Area & Universally Accessible Fishing Pier U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Our History 1838 Trail of Tears: The discovery of gold in Georgia and thirst for land expansion prompted the U.S. Government and white communities to force the Cherokee nation from their ancestral lands. During the summer and winter of 1838, the first three detachments driven west traveled by water on the Tennessee River from Ross's Landing near present-day Chattanooga. They followed the river through Alabama and West Tennessee before merging with other rivers and eventually arriving in Oklahoma. 1933 TVA ACT: In May of 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Tennessee Valley Authority Act, creating the TVA. The Tennessee Valley Authority was designed to modernize the region, using experts and electricity to combat problems in the area. A primary part of the plan was to produce electricity and provide flood relief by constructing a series of dams along the Tennessee River and its tributaries. 1934 TVA COMES TO Town TVA acquired land in the middle third of the valley in 1934-35 to serve as a bed for and buffer around Wheeler Reservoir. Interested individuals and organizations urged that the government take advantage of the newly constructed reservoir to replace the waterfowl habitat. 1938 AN EXPERIMENT: On July 7, 1938, President Franklin Roosevelt set aside the middle third of the new reservoir as an experimental national wildlife refuge to see if multi-purpose reservoirs could be made attractive to waterfowl. The reservoir and new refuge were named for General Joseph Wheeler, who lived near Decatur. 1950 POLLUTION: Rachel Carson's 1962 classic, Silent Spring, documented the serious environmental problems caused by pesticide pollution, including those in the Flint Creek Watershed. In the late summer of 1950, farmers experiencing a very wet season reapplied pesticides to their crops multiple times because they kept washing off in the frequent rains. These high volumes of pesticides washed into Flint Creek, killing most of the fish. Present HERE AND NOW, significantly impacted by its controversial history, this section of the Tennessee River and Flint Creek is vastly different from what they were over 170 years ago when the Cherokee traveled west. Industries have sprung up, dams have been built, commercial water traffic is considerable, and recreational boating facilities have developed. Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge is one of the few remaining areas along the river dedicated to conserving the character of our wild and natural heritage. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Flint Creek Flint Creek is a slow-flowing, meandering stream influenced by the fluctuating water levels of Wheeler Reservoir. The creek and its tributaries comprise 150 miles of streams that drain over 291,000 acres of land in Morgan, Lawrence, and Cullman counties. Its headwaters are in northern Cullman County, and the creek flows into Morgan County, where it converges with West Flint Creek near U.S. Highway 31. As it confluences with the Tennessee River at mile 308.5 Fishing and Land The Flint Creek shoreline offers a wide variety of hardwoods, bluffs, farms, and wildlife, while the stream itself is home to crappie, bream, bass, catfish, and a few yellow perch. Much of the land surrounding the creek is within the TVA Reservation and Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, making it accessible to the public. Improved boat launching areas are available at Hickory Hills and Hwy 31 South. An improved launch area suitable for small boats and canoes is located south of U.S. Highway 67. This universally accessible pier was built so everyone can enjoy what the watershed has to offer. Watershed Project The Flint Creek Watershed Project is a multiagency cooperative led by local leaders and watershed residents. In 1996, a Watershed Conservancy District was established, and plans were developed with assistance from two federal agencies, five Alabama state agencies, and three local soil and water conservation districts. This project has implemented a variety of projects, including agricultural demonstrations, well sampling programs, on-site wastewater demonstrations, and riparian zone management efforts. Public outreach activities include household hazardous waste days and pesticide disposal. |
Seagrass, Soup of the Sea and Migratory Birds
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Soup of the Sea
Plankton are organisms that drift with currents. Plankton can be plant-like phytoplankton or animal-like zooplankton. Most plankton are small, but even larger organisms are considered plankton if they live their lives drifting with currents. Plankton is found in freshwater and saltwater worldwide and is essential to humans.
Thank your plankton
Imagine your favorite seafood - shrimp, crab, oysters, fish ... thanks to phytoplankton, we can enjoy this mouthwatering cuisine from the sea. Phytoplankton provides two essential things for animals (including us) to live. One is food. Like plants on land, they use sunlight and nutrients to produce food. They're the base of the food chain in the ocean. Many tiny animals eat phytoplankton and, in turn, get eaten by larger animals up the food chain. Without plankton, we would not have seafood.
Now, take a deep breath. The second essential ingredient produced by phytoplankton is oxygen. Estimates vary, but most scientists agree that phytoplankton make up a significant portion of Earth's atmosphere.
There's a zoo out there.
Zooplankton eat. Many eat phytoplankton, and many eat smaller zooplankton. They are an essential part of the food chain. A shark may never eat plankton and has no idea it exists, but it depends on plankton for all of its food.
Many zooplankters go through a metamorphosis. Some of them are plankton for part of their lives and then grow large enough to swim against currents or settle to the bottom. Those are called meroplankton. Holoplankton are plankton their whole lives.
You might recognize the adult forms of many meroplankters. See if you can match the adult forms with their planktonic forms below.
Broth of the Bay
Look up at Mobile Bay. These are some of the planktonic organisms that are common in the Bay.
Plankton is collected with special nets like this one. The nets have tiny holes and are pulled along the water's surface.
Crabs go through metamorphosis, much like butterflies or frogs. The megalops is one of the larval stages of crabs.
Bristle worms get their name from their many bristles that are used for movement. They are related to earthworms.
Dinoflagellates are phytoplankton. Some of them can glow like fireflies. Some produce toxins that can harm humans when there are many dinoflagellates in the water.
Diatoms are phytoplankton. They produce glass-like skeletons that are used in a variety of products. The grit in your toothpaste might come from diatoms.
This is a nauplius, a larval stage common to many crustaceans, including barnacles.
Copepods are thought to be the most abundant animals on Earth.
They are found in salt and fresh water, as well as in damp soil.
They are powerful for their size.
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Nearly 80% of all seagrasses in coastal Alabama have been lost since the 1950s.
A constant threat to seagrass beds is scarring created by boats' propellers and anchors. When boaters navigate across shallow areas or anchor. In seagrass beds, deep scars can form that take years to heal, leading to erosion and further seagrass loss. Poor water quality is also a significant factor that poses a serious threat to seagrass health. For example, excessive sediments in the water limit the light penetration necessary for plant survival.
How can we protect our seagrasses?
What are we doing?
To help propeller scars heal and protect seagrass beds from further scarring, local partners are implementing protection and restoration projects throughout lower Perdido Bay, including Little Lagoon, the island near Perdido Pass, and Ole River.
No motor and sensitive seagrass area signs will identify seagrass beds to help boaters navigate through or around shallow water sites containing seagrass.
The scientist is using bird stakes to attract local waterfowl, whose guano deposits will provide natural fertilizer for the propeller scars, promoting the growth and expansion of surrounding seagrass.
What can you do?
Be aware of idle or raised motors and poles when navigating through shallow areas.
Set anchors in sandy areas, avoiding seagrass beds.
Obey No Motor Zone or Sensitive Seagrass areas signs: wade, troll, pole, or kayak when navigating through these areas to your favorite fishing or beach spot.
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Seagrasses Coastal Nursery Habitats
What are seagrasses
Seagrasses are flowering plants that live in the shallow waters of every continent except Antarctica.
Seagrass beds containing shoal grass and turtle grass are found in Alabama's calm and shallow coastal waters.
Why are seagrasses important?
Seagrass beds provide food and protection for juvenile fish and shellfish, including many economically important species such as speckled trout, redfish, blue crabs, and shrimp.
Many types of waterfowl feed on seagrasses, as do threatened and endangered species, such as manatees and green turtles.
Seagrasses help stabilize bottom sediment, filter runoff, and absorb nutrients from surrounding landscapes.
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Alabama's Coastal Connection
In search of food and shelter
Each fall, millions of birds leave North America and cross the Gulf of Mexico to spend the winter in South and Central America and the islands of the Caribbean. In the spring, they make the return flight to their Northern American breeding grounds. Alabama's Gulf Coast provides a critical rest stop for these travelers. Stopover areas are a key element in maintaining bird populations.
With increased development along the entire Gulf Coast, tracts of diverse, forested lands such as these are disappearing.
Migratory and resident birds use this diverse landscape for foraging, resting, and evading predators. Birds must find enough food to provide energy for the long-distance flight to nesting sites far north. Migratory butterflies depend on food such as pawpaw and passion fruit for larval growth. Songbirds feed on insects and berries, while shorebirds hunt for invertebrates in the mudflats.
The western end of the Fort Morgan peninsula is an important stopover site for migratory birds and has become a nationally known hotspot for birders. When adverse weather forces birds to the ground during a spring "fallout," the birding can be spectacular, although treacherous for the exhausted birds that must find a safe place to recover.
Commonly seen bird species during migration include vireos, warblers, flycatchers, buntings, and hummingbirds. The Monarch butterfly migration can also be breathtaking in the fall, when weather conditions are favorable.
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Alabama's Coastal Connection
Permeable Parking
A better way to go
Combined sewer systems are remnants of the country's early infrastructure, and so are typically found in older communities. Combined sewer systems are designed to collect rainwater runoff, domestic sewage, and industrial wastewater in the same pipe. Most of the time, combined sewer systems convey all wastewater to a sewage treatment plant, where it is treated and then discharged into a water body. Heavy rainfall adds stormwater, causing the wastewater volume in a combined sewer system to exceed its capacity.
Combined sewer systems are designed to overflow occasionally and discharge excess untreated wastewater directly to nearby streams, rivers, or other water bodies.
These combined sewer overflows also contain untreated human and industrial waste, toxic materials, and debris.
The expansion of impermeable surfaces associated with urban sprawl and automobiles has so increased the stormwater volumes that the combined systems are being separated at great expense. The result is that stormwater runoff that used to receive treatment at the plants is now delivered to receiving streams and coastal estuaries, such as Mobile Bay.
Water running off roads, bridges, and parking lots has been estimated to be the largest source of untreated wastewater in this country. Even twenty years ago, the Federal Highway Administration estimated that 25 million tons of rubber wear off the nation's tires every week, -50 tons/week in Alabama. Since rubber is biodegradable, biodegradation consumes oxygen when it occurs in streams and estuaries. Also of concern are the heavy metals found in steel-belted radial tires, oil, antifreeze, or even transmission fluid.
The parking lot at the Estuarium allows all stormwater and associated contaminants to percolate down through the gravel, providing an enormous surface area for microbial treatment of the waste, returning it to the water and carbon dioxide. Any contaminated waste that remains cannot reach the shallow freshwater aquifers that feed either the Bay or the Dauphin Island community wells because an impermeable membrane four feet down traps it and sends it through a filter system that removes the hydrocarbon contaminants. The water and any system overflows then flow into a detention pond, where vegetation, including standard cane and other plants, removes nutrients that contribute to low dissolved oxygen levels in the Bay.
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for protecting and conserving our country's wild birds, mammals, and fish for the enjoyment of all people. Cooperating with states and other countries, the Fish and Wildlife Service carries out several programs to preserve our priceless wildlife heritage.
Refuges
Migratory Birds
Fisheries
Federal Aid
Law Enforcement
Ecological Services
U. S. Department of the Interior
Established in 1938, Wheeler Wildlife Refuge protects and manages 35,000 acres of wetlands and forests for wildlife and provides various recreational opportunities for visitors.
Waterfowl and wildlife
Thousands of migratory waterfowl each fall, including 26 species of ducks and four species of geese, arrive at the refuge to overwinter. Sandhill cranes are numbering in the thousands, and it is also winter here.
More than 500 wildlife species, including songbirds, wading birds, hawks, deer, turtles, and snakes, inhabit the refuge. Twelve of these species are federally listed as threatened or endangered.
Habitat
Wheeler Wildlife Refuge comprises diverse habitat types, including bottomland hardwoods, wetlands, pine uplands, shoreline or riparian woodlands, agricultural fields, and backwater embayments. These habitats provide excellent feeding, resting, and roosting sites for wintering waterfowl and Sandhill cranes, as well as nesting sites for migratory songbirds and many species of resident wildlife.
Wildlife Management
Local farmers cultivate several thousand acres of cropland on a share agreement. During harvest, a portion of the crop is left in the field as a food source for waterfowl and other wildlife. Each fall, the refuge plants wheat to provide green browse for wintering geese.
Water control structures are used in wet areas to control water levels. This type of management provides food for waterfowl by encouraging the growth of native plants in moist areas.
Refuge Lands Within Redstone Arsenal
Highways
Secondary Roads
Refuge Boundary
Visitor Center
Wildlife Observation
Boating
Flint Creek Environmental Area & Universally Accessible Fishing Pier
Recreational Opportunity
The Visitor Center offers wildlife exhibits, a gift shop, a large auditorium, two walking trails, special events, and refuge information.
The Wildlife Observation Building, located a short walk from the Visitor Center, offers a unique setting for viewing wildlife. December through February, when large concentrations of waterfowl and Sandhill cranes are in the area, is a good time for viewing, especially just before sunset.
Fishing is a very popular activity on the refuge. Six improved boat launch areas provide access to miles of water in Wheeler Reservoir and adjacent creeks where bass, crappie, bream, and catfish are often caught.
Hunting for deer, squirrel, rabbit, opossum, raccoon, feral hog, and quail is allowed on Wheeler NWR. Special regulations apply, and a refuge hunting permit is required. Waterfowl hunting is not permitted on the refuge.
Wildlife Photography is encouraged on the refuge. One fully enclosed, permanent bend near the observation pond may be reserved for a special use permit.
Environmental Education/Interpretation is an essential program at Wheeler NWR. Organized groups may reserve dates for presentations, wildlife tours, and outdoor classroom activities.
Nature Trails, ranging in length from 200 yards to 3 miles, provide opportunities to observe birds and other wildlife. The Visitor Center has maps and additional information.
The Visitor Center is open daily. The hours are from March through September 9–4 P.M., Tuesday through Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday
Phone:256-350-6639
Website: www.fws.gov/wheeler