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Note: The sites of the J. Clark Akers Wildlife Complex (Upper)--C. M. Gooch Wildlife Management Area, Hop-In Refuge, Obion River Wildlife Management Area, and Maness Swamp Refuge should be considered as one IBA site if adequate documentation is available in that they form a contiguous area along the Obion River, Obion River Drainage Canal, and South Fork Obion River. The Horns Bluff Refuge and Bean Switch Refuge are part of this Complex and could be included with it under an umbrella IBA, but they are not contiguous with it.

Location: On the South Fork of the Obion River, Highway 89 near Kenton, Obion County, Tennessee.
Physiographic Province: PIF 04 (East Gulf Coastal Plain); BCR 27 (Southeastern Coastal Plain)
Tennessee IBA Site Map - Hop-In Refuge.bmp (80006 bytes)

Tennessee IBA Site Map - Hop-In Refuge.bmp (80006 bytes)

Geographical Coordinates:
Kenton--Lat. 361208N Long. 0890044W
Elevation Range:
312' Kenton
Size: 681 acres
USGS 7.5' quad: Kenton

Description: Fields are cultivated in the summer with crops and flooded in the winter for waterfowl.

IBA Criteria: 4a, 4g

Ornithological Importance: A large number of waterfowl and the largest wintering Sandhill Crane population in West Tennessee define the importance of this site.
Note 1. Waterfowl (ducks, geese, and swans) average from the "Tennessee Mid-Winter Waterfowl Survey," 2002, 2003, and 2005 is 24,746 birds. Numbers by years are: 2002 (30,000), 2003 (18,237), and 2005 (26,000). Mallard was the most common duck with an average of 18,160 birds or 73.3% of the average total waterfowl for the site. The next most common duck was Gadwall with an average of 3,498 birds or 4.7% of the average total waterfowl for the site.
Note 2. Sandhill Crane number is the largest of any site in West Tennessee and the second largest of any site in the state. Numbers include: 2002 (200), 2004 (500), and 2006 (400) (Tennessee Mid-Winter Waterfowl Survey 2002, 2004; Mark Greene).

Site Criteria	Species/ Group	Season¹	Avg. No Season	Max. No. Season	Years of Data	Source²
4a	Waterfowl (See Note 1.)	W	24,746	30,000	2002-2003, 2005	5
4g	Congregatory: Sandhill Crane (See Note 2.)	W	367	500	2002-2003, 2005-2006	5, 6

Season¹ B = Breeding, W = Wintering, SM = Spring Migration, FM = Fall Migration
Source ² 1-Atlas Breeding Birds of Tennessee 2-Breeding Bird Surveys 3-Christmas Bird Counts
4-Point Counts 5-Refuge Counts 6-Personal observations (Mark Greene) 7-Other (Mark Greene)

Ownership: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Contact: Larry Armstrong, Refuge Manager, 731-749-5587. TWRA Region I Office, 200 Lowell Thomas Drive, Jackson, TN 38301, 731-423-5725, 800-372-3928 (toll free in Tennessee).