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Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge
Busseltown Unit

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Tennessee NWR (IBA site)

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Note: The Busseltown Unit is considered part of the IBA site, Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge.

Location:  Approximately 9 miles northeast of Parsons, in the counties of Decatur and Perry, Tennessee.
Physiographic Province:  PIF 14 (Interior Low Plateaus [Western Highland Rim]); BCR 27 (Southeastern Coastal Plain)
Tennessee IBA Site Map - Tennessee NWR (Busseltown Unit)
Geographical Coordinates: 
    Busseltown Unit--Lat. 354100N  Long. 880200W 
Elevation Range:  354' - 500'
Size:  3,272 acres
USGS 7.5' quad:  Jeannette

Description:  The Busseltown Unit of the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge primarily consists of bottomlands and adjacent waters of Kentucky Lake. Most of the open areas (approximately 700 acres) are managed for waterfowl using cooperative farming programs where local farmers plant the fields in row crops and the rent is a portion of the crop that is left standing in the fields. The crops left for waterfowl are corn, millet, and winter wheat. Some woody wetlands exist within the bottoms and along Cub Creek.

IBA Criteria:  4a

Ornithological Importance:  Winter waterfowl is the main attraction at this unit.
   Note 1. The five-year waterfowl (ducks, geese, and swans) average from the "Tennessee Mid-Winter Waterfowl Survey," 2001-2005, is 6,300 birds (1% of the statewide wintering total). The total annual number of waterfowl during that survey period is 7,716 (2001), 5,014 (2002), 10,439 (2003), 3,312 (2004), and 5,019 (2005). The five-year average for the major wintering duck species is Mallard (4,018), Gadwall (465), American Black Duck (232), American Wigeon (193), and Ring-necked Duck (151). Canada Goose five-year average during the "Tennessee Mid-Winter Waterfowl Survey," 2001-2005, is 549 birds. Most numbers of waterfowl species peak higher during the migration periods, especially fall migration, than the period of the "Tennessee Mid-Winter Waterfowl Survey."

Site Criteria

Species/
Group

Season1

Avg. No Season

Max. No. Season

Years of Data

Source2

4a

Waterfowl (See Note 1 above.)

W

7,570

10,439

2000-2004

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 (Robert Wheat)  7-Other (specify)

Ownership:  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tennessee NWR, 3006 Dinkins Lane, Paris, TN 38242, 731-642-2091.
   Contact:  Robert Wheat, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tennessee NWR, 3006 Dinkins Lane, Paris, TN 38242, 731-642-2091, Robert_Wheat@fws.gov .

Conservation Concerns:  Potential concerns are water pollution, disturbance to birds, and introduced plants and animals.

Management Program:

Submitted by:  Robert Wheat, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tennessee NWR, 3006 Dinkins Lane, Paris, TN 38242, 731-642-2091, Robert_Wheat@fws.gov .

Additional Contributors:

Approved under the umbrella IBA site Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge: December 2005--Yes 7  No 0


This page was last updated on 02/19/06.