Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Management Area is located in southwestern Indiana within the historically important north-south flyway of the Wabash River Basin. This river bottoms refuge is strategically located to provide important resting, feeding, and nesting habitat for migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, and neotropical songbirds.

 

Established in 1994, as the 502nd national wildlife refuge in the country, the refuge currently contains 5,587 acres. Its proposed boundary stretches for 20 miles as the crow flies in an east-west direction along the lower third reach of the 162-mile-long Patoka River. When completed, the 22,083 acres will consist of 6,800 acres of national wildlife refuge and 15,283 acres of contiguous wildlife management area.

 

Two outlying wildlife management areas (WMAs) are also managed out of the Patoka River Refuge headquarters. The 463-acre Cane Ridge WMA lies 24 miles to the west of Oakland City. This Wabash River bottoms property lies off the southwest corner of the 3,000-acre Gibson Lake. The 219-acre White River Bottoms WMA lies nine miles to the north of Oakland City. This river bottoms property lies just to the northwest of Petersburg on the south side of the White River.