Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge
Meigs County

Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge
Meigs County Tourism
P.O. Box 611
Decatur, TN 37322
423-614-3018 ext. 1

The Hiwassee Refuge is operated by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, which offers seminars and activities throughout the year. TWRA is responsible for managing Tennessee fish and wildlife and draws funding from hunting and angling permits along with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation, a nonprofit, non-governmental organization.

The land encircling the confluence of the Hiwassee and Tennessee Rivers, where the Hiwassee Refuge is located, is steeped in Cherokee history. This land lies near the center of the ancestral land of the Cherokee Nation that once encompasses portions of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

John Jolly, a wealthy merchant and planter who lived on Hiwassee Island, was one of the area's famous Cherokee residents. Although of both Cherokee and European descent, Jolly spoke no English and dressed in traditional buckskin clothing, leggings, moccasins, and turban. Jolly left Hiwassee Island in 1818 for Oklahoma where he served as Principal Chief of the Cherokee "Old Settlers" for 20 years.

Birchwood, TN in Meigs County is the home of the Hiwassee Refuge, a favorite stop each fall and late winter for over 50,000 migrating sandhill cranes. These birds make the Hiwassee Refuge their stop from nesting grounds in the north to wintering spots in Florida and Georgia. This is certainly a magnificent sight and a must-see for bird watchers and nature enthusiasts.

Fossil evidence indicates sandhill cranes date back 14 millions years, which makes them one of the oldest living feathered relatives of dinosaurs. They are social animals, large, stately, graceful, and beautiful in flight.

The Hiwassee Refuge is a key site for the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership. In an attempt to restore the world's most endangered crane to the eastern United States, the Partnership is teaching whooping cranes a migratory path from Wisconsin to Florida by training young birds to follow ultra-light aircraft. Hiwassee Refuge is quickly becoming an important stopover site for eastern whooping cranes, as at least four out of five whooping cranes migrating unassisted in Fall 2002 stopped at the Refuge. In addition, one of the four has decided to stop at Hiwassee and make East Tennessee its winter home.

Directions: From Hwy. 58 and Hwy. 60 near Georgetown, TN, take Hwy. 60 West; go 6.7 miles and turn right onto Old Hwy. 60. Go 0.7 miles and turn right onto Blythe Ferry Road. Go 0.4 miles and turn left onto Meigs County Road 163. Take the right fork to the parking area. From Hwy. 27 and Hwy. 60 in Dayton, TN, take Hwy. 60 East. Go 8.3 miles and turn left onto Old Hwy. 60. Follow directions as given above.

Hours: Refuge is closed from November 1 to the last day in February.