Refuge Facts:
- Established: 1986.
- Acres: 64,000 (The refuge acreage changes annually due to continued acquisition on a voluntary sales/seller basis within the approved acquisition boundary).
- Location: The office is located at Dixie, AR on Highway 33 sixteen miles south of Augusta, AR.
- Office Hours: 7:30am - 4:00pm Monday through Friday
Natural History:
- Refuge is located in the 10-year flood plain of the Cache River from its confluence with the White River near Clarendon, AR to Grubbs, AR, an air-mile distance of approximately 70 miles.
- Large concentrations of wintering waterfowl during the winter.
- Recognized as a Wetland of International Importance by the RAMSAR Convention and the most important wintering area for mallards by the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.
- Habitat includes 33,000 acres of bottomland forest and associated sloughs and oxbow lakes, 4,300 acres of croplands and 7,500 acres of reforested areas.
Financial Impact of Refuge:
- Ten-person staff.
- 120,000 visitors annually.
- Resident and non-resident visitors generate substantial expenditures in surrounding communities due to nationally renown waterfowl hunting at Cache River.
- Prices of land surrounding the refuge have more than doubled.
Refuge Objectives:
- Provide habitat for migratory waterfowl and other birds.
- Protect and restore the bottomland hardwood resources of the basin.
- Protect endangered species.
- Provide recreational and environmental education opportunities.
Management Tools:
- Water management for waterfowl, wading and shore birds.
- Cooperative farming and moist soil plant production.
- Reforestation to provide migratory corridors and habitat for all migratory birds and other species.
- Waterfowl sanctuaries.
- Deer management with public hunting.
- Education/interpretation.
- Law enforcement.
- Partnerships.
Public Use Opportunities:
- Small game, waterfowl and big game hunting.
- Fishing.
- Wildlife observation.
- Photography.
- Bird Watching.
Calendar of Events:
September - February: small game hunting.
October: muzzleload deer hunting.
October - February: archery deer hunting.
November: modern gun permit deer hunt, youth gun hunt
November - January: duck hunting.
November - February: goose hunting.
Fishing: throughout the year.
Youth Fishing Derby: June 7, 2008 - Miller Pond
Central Arkansas Refuges
Keith WeaverProject Leader
Fax: 870-347-2908
E-mail: cacheriver@fws.gov
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