Oxbow Incorporated

Vision

Function: Preserve, protect, and improve the flood plain wetland at the mouth of the Great Miami River -- This is an active process that requires land acquisition, land management, and dedication to constant diligence in this stewardship

• Highest priority to the preservation of the migratory stop over and resting area - The Oxbow is a flood plain wetland with several permanent lakes, ponds and marsh areas. The main purpose for the existence of Oxbow, Inc. is to preserve the area as a wetland functioning as a major migratory stopover for a large variety of migratory birds, particularly waterfowl and shorebirds, and as a resting/roosting area for a wide variety of waterfowl and wading birds during the summer and fall months. In winter, the area serves as a hunting ground for raptors and a resting area for wintering waterfowl.
• Active land management is required to preserve the Oxbow Area - In order to preserve the function of the Oxbow the land must be actively managed. Land management tools such as agriculture, limited burns, control of noxious plants and destructive wildlife may be necessary to preserve the function of the Oxbow area.
• Multiple uses can coexist within the nature conservancy - Fishing, hunting, birding, and other activities associated with the enjoyment of nature can coexist in the Oxbow area. Not all uses can be accommodated in every area but through creative management the Oxbow can support a variety of uses while maintaining its main function as a wetland preservation and wildlife conservation area.

Accessibility to all encourages ownership and participation -- Members, sponsors, visitors and others dedicated to protection of the environment need to feel close to the Oxbow and to be able to view and participate in the experience provided by interactions with the Oxbow area. Persons with limited mobility should also have the opportunity enjoy the Oxbow experience.

• The Oxbow is a source of knowledge - The Oxbow is a classroom for teaching all generations about ecology and the close interaction between wildlife and their habitats. Educational activities for children and adults will bring knowledge to new generations that they may also be encouraged to preserve the natural world. It serves as a model of how a group of dedicated individuals can have a significant impact on the environment by working together with farmers, landowners, businesses, local and state governments, regulatory agencies, and other environmental organizations (both profit and non-profit) to achieve a success.

In the central Ohio Valley, the most important remaining wetland is a 2500-acre spread of level river bottom farmland on the shore of the Ohio River, know as the Oxbow. The Oxbow is a broad floodplain where the Great Miami River empties into the Ohio. This area where three states - Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky - come together, is near Lawrenceburg, Indiana, seventeen miles downstream from Cincinnati. It is named for a small horseshoe, or oxbow-shaped lake, formed when flood waters cut a new course for the Great Miami River, isolating a meander in the old stream bed. There is not a building on it. Almost every year it is flooded with shallow waters that deposit nutrients from upstream. This annual enrichment, plus a water table close the surface, makes the Oxbow area a highly productive land for farming.

This traditional agricultural use is vitally important to migrating birds. In the spring and fall thousands of ducks, geese, and shorebirds funnel into this rich feeding and nesting area. Grain dropped by corn pickers and combines provides much of the food for visiting waterfowl. The Oxbow is a heavily-used staging area where migrating birds refuel and rebuild their energies. The area is essential to their success on long flights between distant northern breeding grounds and southern wintering areas. Without the Oxbow these migrants might reach their northern nesting areas without the reserve strength essential to raising new broods of healthy young birds.