Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, a 35,000-acre preserve along the Tennessee River near Decatur, Alabama, was established in 1938 after the Tennessee Valley Authority’s river and reservoir projects reshaped the area in the 1930s. Created to support wintering and migrating birds, it became the first national wildlife refuge overlaid on a multipurpose reservoir and remains one of Alabama’s leading waterfowl and birdwatching sites. Its managed wetlands, forests, farmland, and open water support ducks, geese, cranes, fish, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, songbirds, and endangered species. The refuge also serves recreation, public hunting, and administration for several other national wildlife refuges.