MADISON, Ind. -- Look up, way up, to a nest of cerulean warblers.

Up ahead, those are wild turkeys bouncing along the road.

Off to the left are waves of blazing star, an aptly named wildflower. New York ferns blanket a slope to the right.

Minutes before, a deer had darted through brush. That was after a beaver -- or perhaps an otter -- disappeared in swampy water.

The Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge always puts on a different show, even for its manager, Joe Robb. Butterfly weed, wild asparagus -- at least Robb recognizes what he sees.

"Every time I go and look, I find something interesting and rare," he said leading a recent tour.

Go and find, that is both the promise and the invitation. After the Jefferson Proving Ground closed, Big Oaks opened.

When the Army stopped testing ammunition -- it's now done in Arizona -- the Fish and Wildlife Service started inviting bird watchers, hunters,fishermen and the like. About 20,000 people visit annually.

But Big Oaks is not nearly the attraction it surely will be. It finally is ours, though, after six decades of its 50,000 acres being off limits and arguably risky.

"Word's getting out but still, people don't know," said Janice Kleopfer.

Kleopfer, of Lexington, belongs to the Big Oaks Conservation Society, a citizens' group linking the public to this stuck-in-time natural resource.

The group helps such as with kids' fishing days and butterfly surveys and the eradication of invasive plants. It published a nice refuge map and it sells sandwiches to hunters, the proceeds going for amenities including a planned shelter house.

"The only reason we started the group was to help Joe," said society member Ed Schaefer of Farmers Retreat.

Robb and his small government staff manage from ramshackle offices miles from the core of the refuge and on a budget that affords monitored public visits (a small fee is charged) typically only 10 days a month.

"It could potentially have a lot more use," Robb said.

The acreage, which is akin in size to the District of Columbia, spills into Jennings and Ripley counties in addition to Jefferson. Rather than pay a fortune to sweep the place of unexploded ordnance, the feds figured a refuge would be the best fit.

"There really wasn't a whole lot else to do with the property," Robb said.

Named for its countless big oaks, Big Oaks is adjacent to a 1,500-acre Indiana Air National Guard firing range and to 5,000 Proving Ground acres sold to private concerns for redevelopment. Not all the refuge can be visited and much of it has been left to its own devices.

Wildlife thrives, some of it uncommon, such as the Henslow's sparrow and the crawfish frog. It features a diversity of grasslands, marshlands, caves and a forest.

"It's neat to see it," said Steve Dugle of Madison, another Conservation Society member.

"We're trying to get to Joe's top 10 places," Kleopfer said, who was along for the tour. "We've only been to a couple of them."

Dugle fishes in the refuge's 165-acre Old Timbers Lake, on which boats are limited as are the numbers of deer and turkey hunters. Use is controlled and a careful balance maintained, Robb said. Along with allowing recreation, Fish and Wildlife must manage habitats.

"It's always a continuum," Robb said.

People who appreciate nature are more likely to protect it, figures Jeanne Dugle, Steve's wife, who also is active in the conservation group. Once at Big Oaks, people should want to baby Big Oaks.

"It's why the wildlife is flourishing," she said. "We haven't interfered."

It made sense to establish Big Oaks. It also is fair to expect some amenities that could better accommodate visitors. For instance, the one-time summer home of a millionaire, the stone Old Timber's Lodge, could be an ideal nature center and museum.

That would cost $1 million or more that isn't now in Uncle Sam's plan.

For any significant expansion of services, Robb said, "Several things would have to happen."

Dale Moss' column runs Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays on the Indiana page. You can reach him at (812) 949-4026 or by e-mail at dmoss@courier-journal.com. You can also read his columns at www.courier-journal.com.