Division of Conservation Planning
Midwest Region

See the CCP

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The CCP is provided here in three ways with varying file sizes: the full document, a text-only CCP, and individual chapters. The Summary CCP is also available.

Full CCP (5.9 MB)

Full CCP, text-only (1.7 MB)

Summary CCP (238 KB)

See the CCP by chapter:

Table of Contents (109 KB)
Chapter 1: Introduction and Background (918 KB)
Chapter 2: The Planning Process (885 KB)
Chapter 3: The Refuge Environment and Management (2.9 MB); text-only (542 KB)
Chapter 4: Management Direction (1 MB)
Chapter 5: Plan Implementation (267 KB)
Appendix A: Finding of No Significant Impact (87 KB)
Appendix B: Glossary (48 KB)
Appendix C: Species Lists (481 KB)
Appendix D: Resource Conservation Priorities, Ohio River Valley Ecosystem (140 KB)
Appendix E: Compliance Requirements (61 KB)
Appendix F: Mailing List (50 KB)
Appendix G: Compatibility Determinations (27 KB)
Appendix H: List of Preparers (44 KB)
Appendix I: Literature Cited (83 KB)
Appendix J: Priority Refuge Operational and Maintenance Needs (35 KB)
Appendix K: Response to Comments on the Draft CCP (104 KB)

Where in the Plan Are We?

These are the steps that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service follows in comprehensive conservation planning; the step that Patoka River NWR has reached is highlighted:

  1. Preplanning: Plan the Plan
  2. Initiate Public Involvement and Scoping
  3. Review Vision Statement and Goals and Determine Significant Issues
  4. Develop and Analyze Alternatives, Including the Proposed Action
  5. Prepare a Draft CCP and NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) Document
  6. Prepare and Adopt Final CCP
  7. Implement Plan, Monitor and Evaluate
  8. Review and Revise the Plan

Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Management Area Comprehensive Conservation PlanImage shows cover of the Patoka River NWR and MA CCP

CCP Completed for Refuge & MA
Refuge Goals
Highlights of the CCP
The Refuge
For More Information

CCP Completed for Refuge and MA

The Comprehensive Conservaton Plan received final approval on September 2, 2008, completing a planning process that began in 2004.

The CCP establishes management policies for the Refuge and management area and ensures that they fulfill their established purpose and mission.

Refuge Goals

Goal 1: Habitat

Manage a diversity of habitats to benefit threatened and endangered species, waterfowl, other migratory birds, and indigenous species in the Patoka River and associated watersheds.

Goal 2: Wildlife

Perpetuate listed species, waterfowl, other migratory birds, and native fish and wildlife, within the Patoka River and associated watersheds while restoring and preserving the biological integrity, diversity, and environmental health of the Refuge.

Goal 3: People

Visitors, nearby residents and other stakeholders have the opportunity to enjoy wildlife-dependent recreation, understand and appreciate the natural resources, ecological processes and cultural resources of the Refuge, thereby supporting the Service’s mission.

Highlights of the CCP

In a nutshell, the Refuge intends to expand bottomland hardwood forest, improve water quality for the Patoka River and its tributaries, expand the fish population, and make the Refuge easier for visitors to navigate and understand over the next 15 years. Specific objectives include the following:

Habitat

Wildlife

People

The Refuge

Established in 1994, the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Management Area is located in Pike and Gibson Counties in southwestern Indiana. The Refuge includes wetlands and floodplain forest along the Patoka River corridor and has an authorized boundary of 6,970 acres. The Management Area has an authorized boundary of 15,847 acres. The separate designations avoid legal conflicts with the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.

The area provides some of the most significant remnant bottomland hardwood wetlands in all of Indiana. In all there are more than 380 species of wildlife on the Refuge, including the federally-listed endangered Indiana bat, and more than 50 species listed as conservation priorities in the Indiana Comprehensive Wildlife Strategy.

For More Information

For more information on the Refuge, please e-mail us, write to us, or call the Refuge at 812/749-3199. People with hearing disabilities are invited to call the TTY line at: 1-800-877-8339 (Federal Relay).

The Refuge's address is:
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Patoka River NWR and Management Area
510 1/2 West Morton Street
P.O. Box 217
Oakland City, IN 47660

Last updated: April 29, 2009
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