Feds propose expanding hunting at southwestern Indiana refuge

ENGLISH, Ind. — A federal agency wants to expand hunting at a southwestern Indiana wildlife refuge that’s a popular stop for migratory birds and bird-watchers.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday its proposed expansion of fishing and hunting at dozens of wildlife refuges around the nation includes the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge. That refuge harbors important nesting, feeding and resting sites for migratory birds.

The agency says it would like to expand migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting and big game hunting at Patoka.

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said in a statement that sportsmen and women were a “driving force behind the creation and expansion” of the National Wildlife Refuge System more than a century ago. She says those hunters remain some of the refuge system’s strongest supporters.