Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Management Area

The Patoka River in Southwest Indiana had long been recognized for its wetland and wildlife values on a local, statewide and regional basis. Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Management Area was established in 1994 under the authority of the Emergency Wetlands Resource Act to protect one of the few remaining expanses of bottomland forested wetlands in the midwestern United States and one of two intact floodplain forest systems within Indiana. The authorized boundary (also known as the “acquisition boundary”) – which delineates where the Service can acquire property from willing sellers – encompasses 23,743 acres of wetlands, floodplain forest and upland buffer along 30 miles of the Patoka River corridor.