Driving DirectionsFrom the the I-70/Highway 65 junction, take Highway 65 south 2 miles, take Route CC west 3 miles, then Route RB north 1 mile. HighlightsThis is a mostly forest area with old fields and cropland. Facilities/features: firearms range, several fishless ponds, and a permanent stream (Blackwater River). About This AreaMarshall Junction Conservation Area is off Route CC in southern Saline County. The area is approximately two miles south and three miles west of the I-70/Highway 65 intersection.The Conservation Department purchased this 774-acre area in 1964. The area has rolling uplands with mixed old fields and crop fields bordered by timber on more rugged terrain and deep drainages.About 1.25 miles of the Blackwater River runs along the area's northwest boundary, and several fishless ponds are on the area.Management of the area includes periodic prescribed burning and/or discing in old field areas to maintain open lands important to wildlife. Harvest is planned in various stands of timber to provide a variety of age classes of woodland for game and non-game wildlife benefits. Woodland borders are being feathered to provide habitat for edge and early succession species such as bobwhite quail and cottontail rabbits.About 150 acres of cropland is farmed, and a part of the crop is left standing to provide food for wildlife.Marshall Junction Conservation Area is named for nearby historic crossroads. According to local history, the area was noted for an old rock dam built across the Blackwater to form a swimming and fishing hole, and nearby mineral-rich Abell Spring was reputed to have miracle curing powers.This area was acquired in part through the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Development funds were made available in part through Land and Water Conservation Funds administered through the National Park Service.