Wheeler Wildlife Refuge Association - WWRA

Way to go, Dr. Niemiller!

Huntsville researchers discover "demon cavefish" under Redstone Arsenal There are still natural wonders to be found right under our noses — or feet.

When the Tennessee River was dammed and transformed in the 1930s, the landscape of much of the Tennessee Valley shifted in a heartbeat. But within the borders of Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, the land still tells the old stories. It was saved by a visionary choice to keep something wild in a world obsessed with growth.

What did we save? We saved the quiet. We saved the verdant bottomlands where cypress trees, mosses and ferns thrive. We saved a crucial stopover for the myriad ducks, geese, sandhill cranes and the rare, majestic Whooping Cranes that travel thousands of miles just to find these protected forests and water.

We saved a permanent home for the creatures that would otherwise perish; the bobcat prowling the brush, the box turtle in the damp leaves, and the fish spawning in the flooded timber.

We saved a patch of wild ground where anyone can walk a trail, watch a hawk circle, and reconnect with a landscape that exists without a deadline.

This land could have been anything—docks, industrial sites, houses, or miles of pavement. Instead, it was set aside for the heron, the deer, and the otter. It remains a place where you can walk the trail at dawn and feel the world finally slow down. It is a reminder that sometimes, the most important thing we can do for the land is to simply step back and let it be.

Refuge staff and Youth Conservation Corps team members went to Cahaba River NWR to help Cahaba Riverkeepers reseed Cahaba lilies.