Welcome to Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge

NOTE: The road to the Visitor Center across the Upper Dam is permanently closed to vehicles. The new entrance road is at the corner of Indiana and Roosevelt.

A Place Where Wildlife Comes First!

Nestled in the rolling sagebrush hills of southwest Idaho, the watery oasis at Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge provides an important breeding area for birds and mammals, as well as other wildlife. The refuge is also a significant resting and wintering area for birds migrating along the Pacific Flyway, including spectacular concentrations of mallards and Canada geese. Because of it's value to birds, Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge has been declared a Globally Important Bird Area by the American Bird Conservancy.

Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge has two sectors–Lake Lowell and the Snake River Islands. The Lake Lowell sector encompasses 10,588 acres, including the almost 9,000-acre Lake Lowell and surrounding lands. The Snake River Islands sector contains about 800 acres on 101 islands. These islands are distributed along 113 river miles from the Canyon-Ada County Line in Idaho, to Farewell Bend in Oregon.

Several refuge islands in the Snake River

The refuge protects a wide range of wildlife habitats: from the open waters and wetland edges of Lake Lowell, to the sagebrush uplands around the lake, to the grasslands and riparian forests on the Snake River islands. Refuge staff use a variety of wildlife management techniques to create and maintain wildlife habitat. With assistance from local growers, the refuge also cooperatively farms 240 acres to provide food for wildlife.

Deer Flat, founded by President Teddy Roosevelt on February 25, 1909, is one of the oldest refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System, which now includes 540 refuges. The NWRS celebrated it's centennial in March of 2003. Managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the System preserves a network of lands and waters set aside for the conservation and management of the nation's fish, wildlife, and plant resources for the benefit of present and future generations.

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State of Idaho Department of Fish & Game
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Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge, 13751 Upper Embankment Road, Nampa, ID 83686
Phone: 208-467-9278 Fax: 208-467-1019