Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge is a 199acre National Wildlife Refuge located in northeastern Alabama, near Paint Rock, Alabama in Jackson County.More than 1,200 visitors per year visit the refuge. The facility is unstaffed, but is administered by the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in Decatur, Alabama. The cave itself is closed to the public.TopographyMost of the Fern Cave NWR is on the western side of Nat Mountain between Scottsboro and Huntsville, Alabama. The Paint Rock River, a tributary of the Tennessee River borders the northwestern side of the refuge. Elevation ranges from the relative flat area around the Paint Rock River valley to a 1,500+ foot elevation at the top of the mountain.Fern CaveFern Cave NWR is named after the profusion of ferns the original explorers found in the Surprise Pit sinkhole. Another entrance used to feature the federally endangered American Hart's-tongue fern (Phyllitis scolopendrium). The fern population has disappeared since 1985 from a high of twenty due to the actions of illegal plant collectors.Fern Cave itself is described as a "vertical and horizontal maze". There are 12 different levels connected by canyons and pits. The cave is approximately 15mi long and the system is 450ft deep. The cave remains very inaccessible. At least one experienced spelunker has died in the cave.
