Interior Department establishes new wildlife refuge in Jackson County

WASHINGTON D.C. (WDEF) – The Department of the Interior today officially established the Paint Rock River National Wildlife Refuge in Franklin County near the Alabama border.

It will be the 570th unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

This has been in the works for several decades.

The refuge joins state reserves to protect the Paint Rock River watershed along the Tennessee and Alabama borders, an area that includes the Walls of Jericho.

It will protect one of the largest uninterrupted hardwood tree areas in the East with about 25,000 acres of protected land.

The refuge will be home to endangered species like gray bats, Indiana bats, Tennessee cave salamanders and Alabama cave shrimp.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began putting their plans together for the Paint Rock River NWR in 2016.

The final piece was an 87 acre track just donated to the government.

Federal officials say the refuge will offer hunting, fishing, hiking and photography to people in the region.

“Nature is essential to the health, well-being, and prosperity of every family and every community in America. National wildlife refuges help connect Americans to a diverse array of public lands, while also serving as a crucial means of protecting wildlife and conserving habitat,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “Through locally led collaborative conservation, these two special landscapes are now protected as part of our shared natural heritage and accessible to everyone.”