Madison, In. — The Big Oaks Conservation Society is hosting an open house at the historic Old Timbers Lodge on September 8th from 1 PM to 6 PM. Access to the Lodge will be from 2 gates on Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Gate 1A (the gate on the east perimeter road near the white gate house) and Gate 8, about 1 mile south of New Marion on Old Michigan Road. The Society will offer tours of the Lodge, and provide light refreshments; refuge staff will also offer short tours of portions of Big Oaks NWR. The Society will also provide information about their mission and volunteer opportunities at Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge and at Old Timbers Lodge. Other local conservation groups will have informational booths set up for visitors to discover outdoor opportunities in the surrounding communities. Big Oaks Conservation Society is a local non-profit Friends Group that supports the mission and activities of Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge. The Society also manages and cares for the historic Old Timbers Lodge, in cooperation with the Indiana Air National Guard’s Jefferson Range. The lodge, completed in 1932 by Alexander Thomson, vice president of Champion Paper Company, is located on a scenic overlook of Graham Creek just off of K Road in the northeast corner of the refuge. For more information about Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge, visit the refuge website (http://www.fws.gov/refuge/big_oaks/).
Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge consists of approximately 50,000 acres of the former Jefferson Proving Ground located in Jennings, Ripley, and Jefferson Counties in southeastern Indiana. The refuge is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and provides public use opportunities; such as hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photography, interpretation and environmental education. The refuge has one of the largest contiguous forest blocks in the southeastern part of the state as well as one of the largest grassland complexes in the state, both of which provide wonderful wildlife viewing opportunities to refuge visitors. The refuge is open for public use from mid-April through November on Mondays, Fridays, and 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 150 million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses nearly 555 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
