A rare event brought some big names out to a muddy field near Henderson on Friday.
The normal quiet of the Ohio River bottoms outside of Henderson was broken Friday afternoon by the sound of applause and speeches.
In a muddy field next to a gravel road known as Green River 2 Road, local, state and national dignitaries gathered to announce the opening of theGreen River National Wildlife Refuge.
Speaking in a heated tent at the site of the first land parcel designated for the refuge, U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt said, “This is a big deal. We don’t do many of these. And, to get something like this through Congress with the senator’s leadership, get it done and begin to build it out. It will be here for future generations and it will be phenomenal.”
The senator he was referring to is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said he’s been working for the past 17 years to get authorization for the refuge.
McConnell said, “This is a big deal for Henderson County and surrounding areas. This is only our second wildlife refuge (in Kentucky), twenty years ago we had none. We were the only state in the union with no federal wildlife refuges, we now have two. This is going to be a great place for fish and wildlife hunters and anglers. Pretty exciting day for all of us.”
In addition to the Green River National Wildlife Refuge, Kentucky has another federal wildlife refuge, the Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge, which was authorized in 1997 near Benton, KY. There are two other federal wildlife refuges that are partially located in the state.
The Green River refuge was opened following a gift of ten acres from the Southern Conservation Corp. The group's web site says it was formed in 2003 to help preserve important land and wildlife habitat in the southeastern U.S.
The U.S. Fish and Widlife Service is setting up what’s known as a Conservation Partnership Area (CPA) ranging across virtually the entire northern part of Henderson County and except for Ellis Park, those areas in the county north of the Ohio River. In all, 53,000 acres will be considered for the refuge.
It will likely take several years, but eventually officials hope to buy land within the CPA to create a wildlife refuge of about 24,000 acres.
However, while some of that land is swamps and forests, some of it is not.
U.S. Highway 41, carrying about 40,000 vehicles a day across the twin bridges between Evansville and Henderson, cuts right through the proposed wildlife refuge as will the new Interstate 69 bridge. Over 300,000 people live in the immediate area.
It would seem to be a disconnect and possibly disruptive to put a wildlife refuge so close to that many people and that much traffic.
Scott Kahan is the regional chief of refuges for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the northeastern U.S. and Applachian region. Kahan said, “You know, while it’s not common to have them really close to urban centers, there are really good examples and we really look at those as opportunities to make connections with people.”
Kahan pointed out the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, located near Phildelphia International Airport as an example of an urban wildlife refuge.
A release from the fish and wildlife service says part of the money to buy land for the Green River refuge will likely come from the Federal Highway Administration, which will have to offset some of the environmental and wildlife impacts caused by the new I-69 bridge over the Ohio River.
Officials wanted to make it clear that no land will be taken through eminent domain for the new refuge. According to Scott Kahan, even if someone does sell, they don’t have to leave the land if they don’t want to.
Kahan said, “Sometimes folks choose to relocate, other times people sell and then they choose to stay there, and they have a lifelong estate so they can stay in place. So, we have different examples that we’ve used throughout the country.”
No big event is complete without a little swag. Henderson County Judge Executive Brad Schneider offered some unique items to the national dignitaries in attendance Friday.
Schneider said, “You know when John James Audubon was tromping around these grounds learning the craft that would make him famous, we’re sure he had himself a sturdy walking stick. And, for you we have some sturdy walking sticks that are actually a little extra special. These are made from tobacco sticks, that were tanned this color from ages of hanging tobacco and now they’ve been converted to walking sticks."
The Green River National Wildlife Refuge is the 568th federal wildlife refuge designed in the U.S.