I just wanted to let you know that road maintenance has been in full swing the last month. The roads below the checking station are looking much better as of late. Chainsaws have been running full blast!!! We have begun mowing roadsides and food plots until the tractor broke down. We are hoping to have it back running next week sometime, so we can continue. Sunflower field below the checking station is looking really good. Plants are beginning to dry out, and we hope to spray them at the end of next week. I am looking forward to seeing how this field turns out this year. It may take a couple of years before this field gets used by a lot of birds, but the location is perfect.
Also, there has been an update to the computerized waterfowl draw for Shelby Forest. There will be 9 blind sites to which the successful hunters may hunt. There will be 5 sites on the Eagle Lake Pool off Island 40 Road, 1 site behind the Poplar Tree Lake Levee, and 3 sites below the bluff at the swimming pool. More information can be found on the TWRA website at www.tnwildlife.org in the near future.
Corn has been planted on the refuge for the third time. Some of the corn looks really good, while others not so much. I cannot believe I am saying this right now, but we need a rain or two. It has gotten dry really quickly. We have around 200 acres of corn planted and approximately 100 acres of a combination of millet and wild sorghum.
We have also been doing some major work with our drainage ditch (waterway) on the north end of the refuge. We are hoping to get some fresh gravel put down next week.
