REVIEW AND APPROVALS WHEELER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Decatur, Alabama ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT Calendar Year 1992 0 Refuge Manager Date Refuge Supervisor Date & 01-V -- ~// Approval ~-D t Vo INTRODUCTION Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge was established by Executive Order of President Franklin D . Roosevelt on July 7, 1938 . 9 Overlaid on the middle third of the Tennessee Valley Authority's Wheeler Reservoir, it was placed on land purchased by TVA as a bed for and buffer strip around the reservoir in 1934 and 1935 . The reservoir was impounded in 1936 . The Refuge is located in the Tennessee River Valley of Northern Alabama in Morgan, Limestone and Madison Counties . Its western end lies within the city limits of Decatur, population approximately 50,000, and its eastern end touches the city limits of Huntsville, population about 170,000 . Several cities, smaller towns and communities are nearby . Nashville is about 110 miles north, and Birmingham is 85 miles to the south . Its topography is flat to rolling . Temperature extremes range from 5 degrees below zero to 110 degrees, although winters are seldom below zero and summer temperatures rarely exceed 100 degrees . Humidity is normally 90% or above in summer . Rainfall is approximately 50 inches per year, and there is seldom extended accumulations of snow or ice cover . TVA, the agency that purchased the area, considers over 40,000 acres lie inside its perimeter, although the official acreage given is 34,170 omitting navigable water . It includes 19,000 acres of land and 15,000 acres of water . The land acreage consists of some 10,000 acres of Mississippi Valley type hardwoods, 3,000 acres of pine plantations, 5,000 acres of farmland with the remainder being open shelves, rocket test ranges, etc . About 4,085 acres lie inside the Redstone Arsenal boundary, while about 1,500 acres of this are partially administered by the Marshall Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration . Interstate 65 crosses the Refuge . U .S . Highway 31 is part of its western boundary and State Highways 20 and 67 cross parts of the Refuge and closely parallel the remainder . Considered the eastern most national wildlife refuge of the lower Mississippi Flyway, Wheeler Refuge supports the southern-most and Alabama's only significant concentration of wintering Canada geese . It also serves as winter habitat for the State's largest duck population . It was the first national wildlife refuge ever placed on a multipurpose reservoir and has supported up to 60,000 geese and near 100,000 ducks, although modern peaks are nearer 30,000 geese and 60,000 ducks . It includes interesting flora, a bird list of over 300 species, mammals ranging from shrews to deer and a wide variety of reptiles, amphibians and fishes . The Refuge is well developed with over 100 miles of graveled roads, 2,500 acres of managed wetlands, a modern Headquarters Complex and a large Visitor Center and Waterfowl Observation Building . Public use is heavy and visits of all types normally total over 650,000 annually . The address is Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, Route 4, Box 250, Decatur, Alabama 35603 . The telephone number for the Headquarters Office is (205) 353-7243, for the Visitor Center (205) 350-6639 . The Headquarters Office is open Mondays through Fridays from 7 :00 AM until 3 :30 PM . The Visitor Center and Observation Building are open 10 :00 AM until 5 :00 PM Wednesday through Sunday from March through October, and seven days each week November through February . The Refuge also administers three satellites, all established to protect endangered species . These are Blowing Wind Cave National Wildlife Refuge, near Scottsboro, Alabama, Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge, near Paint Rock, Alabama, and Watercress Darter National Wildlife Refuge located in the outskirts of Bessemer, Alabama . Four Farmers Home Administration tracts are under refuge administration . INTRODUCTION TABLE OF CONTENTS A . HIGHLIGHTS . • 1 B . CLIMATICCONDITIONS 2 C . LANDACQUISITION 1 . Fee Title . 2 2 . Easements Nothing To Report 3 . Farmers Home Administration Conservation Easements . 3 4 . Other Nothing To Report D . PLANNING 1 . Master Plan Nothing To Report 2 . Management Plan Nothing To Report 3 . Public Participation Nothing To Report 4 . Compliance with Environmental and Cultural Resource Mandates 4 5 . Research and Investigations 6 6 . Other 7 E . ADMINISTRATION 1 . Personnel . 9 • Nothing To Report 2 . Youth Programs • 3 . Other Manpower Programs • . • Nothing To Report 4 . Volunteer Program 11 5 . Funding 13 6 . Safety 13 7 . Technical Assistance 13 8 . Other 13 F . HABITAT MANAGEMENT 1 . General • . Nothing To Report 2 . Wetlands 14 3 . Forests 17 4 . Croplands 18 5 . Grasslands . • 22 6 . Other Habitats • • Nothing To Report 7 . Grazing . 22 Nothing To Report 8 . Haying . • • 9 . Fire Management 23 10 . Pest Control 23 11 . Water Rights • • Nothing To Report 12 . Wilderness and Special Areas . Nothing To Report 13 . WPA Easement Monitoring • • Nothing To Report 14 . FmHA Conservation Easements . 25 15 . Private Lands • • .Nothing To Report Nothing To Report 16 . Other Easements • • G . WILDLIFE 1 . Wildlife Diversity 26 2 . Endangered and/or Threatened Species 26 3 . Waterfowl 27 4 . Marsh and Water Birds . 30 5 . Shorebirds . Gulls, Terns, and Allied Species 31 6 . Raptors 32 7 . Other Migratory Birds 32 8 . Game Mammals 32 9 . Marine Mammals . Nothing To Report 10 . Other Resident Wildlife 33 11 . Fishery Resources 34 12 . Wildlife Propagation and Stocking . Nothing To Report 13 . Surplus Animal Disposal Nothing To Report 14 . Scientific Collections . Nothing To Report 15 . Animal Control Nothing To Report 16 . Marking and Banding 34 17 . Disease Prevention and Control . Nothing To Report H . PUBLIC USE 1 . General 35 2 . Outdoor Classrooms - Students . • 37 3 . Outdoor Classrooms - Teachers 37 4 . Interpretive Foot Trails . • 37 5 . Interpretive Tour Routes . 37 6 . Interpretive Exhibits/Demonstrations 37 7 . Other Interpretive Programs 38 8 . Hunting 38 9 . Fishing 39 10 . Trapping . Nothing To Report 11 . Wildlife Observation 39 12 . Other Wildlife Oriented Recreation 41 13 . Camping • 41 14 . Picnicking • 41 15 . Off-Road Vehicling 41 16 . Other Non-Wildlife Oriented Recreation 41 17 . Law Enforcement 41 18 . Cooperating Associations Nothing To Report 19 . Concessions Nothing To Report I . EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES 1 . New Construction . 45 2 . Rehabilitation . • 48 48 3 . Major Maintenance • 4 . Equipment Utilization and Replacement • . 49 5 . Communications Systems Nothing To Report 6 . Computer Systems .Nothing To Report 7 . Energy Conservation . .Nothing To Report 8 . Other .Nothing To Report J . OTHER ITEMS 1 . Cooperative Programs . Nothing To Report 2 . Other Economic Uses Nothing To Report 3 . Items of Interest . 50 4 . Credits . 51 K . FEEDBACK . Nothing To Report L . INFORMATION PACKET . Inside Back Cover A . HIGHLIGHTS C .1 . Lease agreement between State Highway Dept . and Service prepared to transfer management rights of 73 acre mitigation tract to refuge . E .1 . Project Leader's position classified as GM-485-13 . Two co-op positions filled at Wheeler . F .2 . Director Pulliam speaks at Ducks Unlimited dedication ceremony at which $48,000 were donated to Wheeler Refuge . G .3 . Again, record low numbers of Canada geese . Ninety six new wood duck boxes placed . G .16 . Record number of wood ducks banded . Canada goose collar observation goal reached . H .11 . Backyard Wildlife Project begins with donations from Tennessee Valley Audubon and Amoco Chemical Company . H .17 . Two suicides occur on refuge . Seventy-six marijuana plants discovered and removed from refuge . I .1 . Penney Bottoms Impoundment project completed . 1 .2 . Underground fuel storage tanks replaced with above ground tanks . J .3 . Associate Manager Bill Grabill completes refuge inspection . B . CLIMATICCONDITIONS For the first time since 1988, rainfall was below seventy inches . The 55 .60 inches recorded was only .88 above average, but fairly well distributed throughout the year . Table 1 . indicates rain distribution and temperature ranges for 1992 . The most notable numbers were the total rainfall in June through September and the below average summer temperatures . Table 1 . Temperatures (degrees Fahrenheit) and rainfall (inches) in 1992 by months compared to the average . Temperatures Departure Maximum Minimum Rainfall Average Rainfall from normal JAN 63 12 2 .76 5 .17 -2 .41 FEB 72 18 3 .21 4 .79 -1 .58 MAR 79* 21 4.92 6 .78 -1 .86 APR 84 264 2 .49 4 .92 -2 .43 MAY 89 43 2 .45 4 .60 -2 .15 JUN 94 51 10 .59 3 .74 +6 .85 JUL 95 67 6 .13 5 .05 +1 .08 AUG 95 52 3 .38 3 .11 + .27 SEP 89 46 5 .86 3 .99 +1 .87 OCT 82 35 2 .61 2 .90 - .29 NOV 75 25 5 .19 4 .24 + .95 DEC 64 24 6 .01 5 .43 + .58 55 .60 54 .72 + .88 *breaks or ties record Temperatures were generally mild throughout the year with a warmer than usual winter and a cooler summer . August was especially cool ; there were 10 record lows established . The high was only 95 degrees for the entire summer . Several days in the upper 90's are generally common . Frequent summer rains helped crops thrive and kept moist soil management areas in good condition to produce moist soil plants . However . some low elevation fields were too wet to cultivate . There were no major storms or damage due to weather in 1992 . C . LAND ACQUISITION 1 . FeeTitle Last year, the Alabama Highway Department purchased the 73- acre Packard property adjacent to the refuge as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), the Alabama Highway Department and other signatory federal and state agencies . The purpose of the MOU was to set up a Wetland Mitigation Bank for State 3 Highway projects in northern Alabama requiring wetland mitigation in accordance with Section 404 permits issued . This year the Service accepted a leased agreement involving the 73-acre mitigation tract .