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Nat'l Recreation Area

Watercress Darter National Wildlife Refuge

Alabama · AL

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We display cached information from agency feeds. Hours, fees, permits, closures, fire restrictions, and conditions change without notice. Outdoors is not the permitting authority. Confirm current conditions for this park using the links above before you go — you are responsible for compliance. Last verified by us: May 20, 2026. Our copy is more than a month old — please reconfirm with the agency before relying on it.Spot an error in our data?

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Park entrance fees, hours, and ranger-issued closures change without notice and may be out of date here. Always confirm current conditions, fees, and access restrictions with the managing agency before you travel. Outdoors is not responsible for closures, fines, or denied entry resulting from outdated information.

 Watercress Darter National Wildlife Refuge, located within the city limits of Bessemer, Alabama, was established by the Service in October of 1980 to provide protection for the watercress darter and to conserve and restore its crucial habitat. Today, the 25-acre refuge consists of two ponds, several stands of mixed pine-hardwoods with shrubs, and a single residence. Thomas Spring is a onequarter-acre pond where a population of watercress darters was found in 1976. A second pond was constructed on the refuge in 1983 by the Service to provide additional habitat for the darter.Fish of the Week! Podcast: Alabama Watercress Darter 

Source: recreation.gov

From Wikipedia

Watercress Darter National Wildlife Refuge is a 25-acre (100,000 m2) National Wildlife Refuge located in Jefferson County, Alabama, within the city limits of Bessemer. Watercress Darter NWR consists of a .25-acre (1,000 m2) pond known as Thomas Spring which is essential to the survival of the endangered watercress darter. A second pond was built on the site in 1983. The facility is unstaffed, but is administered by the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge in Anniston, Alabama.

Source: Wikipedia — text licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Verify alerts and operational details with the managing agency below.

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