Smith Bend/Yuchi Refuge is owned by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. TWRA is at work restoring wetlands and preparing to sow native grasses. The Refuge is now open to the public.

Smith Bend/Yuchi Refuge is a unique 2,500 acre tract on the Tennessee River, with three miles of riverfront, 1,000 acres of wetland and 1,500 acres of upland forest. It is located 45 miles northeast of downtown Chattanooga and 56 miles southwest of downtown Knoxville, in Rhea County. Smith Bend/Yuchi Refuge is 4 miles downstream from Watts Bar Dam and 12 miles upstream from Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge. The Bend is home to almost every species of wildlife native to the region. It is especially important for sandhill cranes and waterfowl.

Smith Bend/Yuchi Refuge Maps
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topographic

aerial photo

directions (PDF)

According to wildlife biologist, Jim Zimmerman, ?there is only one property - Smith Bend/Yuchi Refuge in the Tennessee River - remaining in East Tennessee that offers significant potential for waterfowl development. If it is not acquired,there will be no option remaining to significantly increase carrying capacityfor waterfowl in the eastern half of the state.?

More than 20 species of ducks, 25 species of shorebirds, sandhill cranes, quail and wild turkey use Smith Bend/Yuchi Refuge. With proper management, the number of ducks wintering in the area may triple. Wildlife food plots help sustain the sandhill crane flock that winters in the area.

Click map for larger image and explanation of the migration route, breeding, staging and wintering areas of the eastern flock of the greater sandhill crane. For detailed information on sandhill cranes, see the International Crane Foundation in "related links".

 

Migrating songbirds found on the property include several species of special concern, the yellow-breasted chat, wood thrush, prairie warbler, scarlet tanager, and Bachman?s sparrow. The Tennessee River is a major migration corridor for every bird found in the region and Smith Bend/Yuchi Refuge serves as a stopover site for many of these species.

Smith Bend/Yuchi Refuge is diverse habitat, including shoreline, wetlands and steep uplands. It is home to every indigenous mammal except the black bear. It has good populations of turkey and quail. Hunter Shoals, which lies adjacent to the property is one of the most important remaining mussel beds in Tennessee. It is home to many common species of mussel as well as three federally endangered species. They are the dromedary pearly, the rough pigtoe, and pink mucket mussels. The purchase of the tract will insure there will be no disturbance of the shore or riverbed.Hunter Shoals is the major sauger spawning site in East Tennessee and probably produces most of the sauger found in all reservoirs in East Tennessee. The purchase of the tract will insure there will be no disturbance of the spawning bed.

Protecting Smith Bend/Yuchi Refuge will also enhance the diversity and abundance of wildlife found in TWRA?s other dozen wildlife management and refuges in the area, as well as the Tennessee Valley as a whole. One of the underlying principles of the design of nature reserves is that a group of reserves clustered near each other will support more species than a group of reserves that are disjunct. Preserving 2,500 acres on Smith Bend/Yuchi Refuge will greatly enhance the ecological and recreational integrity of the Tennessee Valley.

Project Background

The Conservation Fund (see "related links"),the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Foothills Land Conservancy "partnered" to complete this project. TWRA invested more than $5.5 of the State Wetland Fund and the Conservancy raised the balance in private donations.

TWRA will manage the land as both a refuge and wildlife mangement area. Hunting will not be allowed in areas used by waterfowl, shorebirds and cranes. Limited hunting will be allowed in the upland areas.

More habitat is necessary in the area in order to insure the future of the cranes. To meet that need the Conservancy has established The Crane Fund, it is a special endowment that is restricted to buying wetlands in the area between Yuchi and Hiwassee Island Refuges.