Shelbyville State Fish and Wildlife Area

08/13/2026

Good news! All areas throughout Shelbyville SFWA are now open as flood waters have receded.

08/10/2026

Sunflowers

Two fields at Denham Pit were planted April 25th and the two fields at the McGee curve got planted later, on May 14th.

Denham fields got hit hard with a 3+ inch rain two days after planting which formed a crust on the surface, and we thought all was lost. However, the flowers did pop through but were hit pretty hard with deer browsing. These fields received the recommended herbicide applications but still ended up very w**dy and the lower field is quite sporadic. Heads produced were good sized and mature seed, but quantity isn't ideal. These fields have been sprayed with chemical burn down in order to dry everything out and kill all the grasses and ragw**d. Staff will begin cutting in strips a week to 10 days prior to season. They will also cut in the stake pockets over the next few weeks.

McGee fields got planted later by the tenant farmer as the soil temperatures during the planned planting week had dropped and were then followed by substantial rains. Both of these fields had less browsing, but the flowers were much smaller and didn't mature as well. The tenant farmer also had herbicide (pre and post emergent) applied at recommended intervals but w**d pressure was still substantial. These fields are scheduled for chemical burn down this week or early next week depending on forecasted rains. Staff will begin cutting in starter strips a week to 10 days prior to season and they will also cut in the stake pockets over the next few weeks.

Strickland field and Handtrap field(s) are both planted in wheat. These will be allowed to dry out further and mowed or burned a couple of days prior to season. As in years past these fields will be used as overflow. During the opening 5 days a drop box and cards will be supplied; these areas still adhere to the site hours for the first 5 days of season (12pm to 5pm) and site rules apply for the duration of the season. The site would like to see these two areas planted in sunflowers again in the future, but deer browsing was over 90 percent the last two times sunflowers were planted at these locations. The wheat has many benefits during nesting season as well as providing winter pheasant habitat if wide enough strips are left when mowing.

Maps are posted on the board at the office, the stakes can vary a bit once we actually cut them in, but for all intended purposes the maps below and at the bulletin board are correct.

08/06/2026

The highwater side of the Bethany boat ramp is now open as is J Creek.

Eden Street, 2nd Gate at Cooks, and Strickland remain closed.

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07/15/2026

A few Shelbyville SFWA updates:

Since early/mid-June the site has been over the 603 level at which point we have several areas that get closed down based on our protocols from the USACE. As of today, the lake level is still holding much higher than summer pool (600) at roughly 608. While we still have some areas closed, we have been able to reopen the following roads to vehicular traffic:

Denham Pit Access road is now open
McGee Area road is now open

Sunflowers were planted by site tenant farmers:
- two fields at Denham, planted (mid- April) but got hit hard with 3" of rain several days after planting. These have rebounded nicely, although the deer have been an issue. These are w**dy and the tenant farmer is looking into applying a third round of w**d control.

-two fields at McGee were planted later (early May) following several rounds of bad spring weather and reduced soil temperatures. These fields are coming in nicely, much smaller than Denham (later plant date) and the tenant farmer is also looking to apply a third round of herbicide to control grasses. If we get a lot of strong heating days over the next few weeks there should be noticeable growth at McGee.

We will update sunflower conditions as the season progresses.

Flood water began breaching the waterfowl impoundments levees once the lake level exceeded 605 and after it hit 610 all were completely submerged - Dunn, McGee, J. Creek, Fishhook, and the refuges were all impacted. We are waiting for the levels to go down so we can review damages and make repairs. All the plants that were thriving in early spring have been submerged for weeks now. The site has millet on hand to plant, but the area will likely be too wet to plant for quite some time now and our 60-day (extremely ideal conditions) to 90-day (average conditions) window to put on a viable seed head before the first frost is quickly running out.

All our pump stations have been submerged for weeks now as well, this isn't uncommon, but we are preparing for potential damage and needed fluid changes due to water intrusion.

A new roof has been installed by site staff on the J. Creek privy, and the soffits of the J. Creek privy and Dunn privy have been wrapped to reduce carpenter bee problems. Staff has supplies to replace the roofs of Dunn privy as well as Elder Pond fishing platform later in the summer.

Arm mowing of the area around Old Nelson has begun, so please proceed with caution if utilizing this area.

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06/22/2026

Updates to our closure list:

Eden Street
2nd Gate at Cooks
Strickland
Bethany (both gates)
J Creek - please use old Nelson if you need to launch
Denham Pit
McGee
Count Pit Access

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06/18/2026

Closures due to high water:
Eden Street
2nd Gate at Cooks
Strickland
Bethany (both gates)
J Creek - please use old Nelson if you need to launch

Closures due to storm damage:
Denham Pit

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06/15/2026

Both gates at Bethany Access have now been closed due to high water. Parking lot is two thirds covered and blocks guiding user to ramp are now submerged and not visible.

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06/12/2026

Current closures due to high water:

Eden Street
2nd Gate at Cooks
Strickland
Regular gate at Bethany - high water is open
J Creek - please use old Nelson if you need to launch

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06/12/2026

For the next 7-10 days gates will be closed throughout the property to deal with storm damage. Gates will re-open as things get cleared away. We appreciate your patience.

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