Features

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    Get Outside

    Walking trails, blinds and an 11-mile auto tour route offer many opportunities to get outside and enjoy the refuge.

    Visitor Activites

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    Refuge Gallery

    Enjoy images of wildlife you will find on the Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

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News

Hunting on the Refuge

Limited youth deer hunting is allowed. Youth hunters must apply for a permit through Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD) Public Hunting Program. There will be three youth hunts this year. Only youth hunters drawn through application process will be allowed to hunt. Pheasant hunting is closed for the 2019 and 2020 season due to low bird numbers.

TPWD Public Hunting Information

History of Conservation

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In 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt established the Pelican Island Bird Reservation, the first of 53 federal reserves he would create during his time in office and the roots of what is today known as the National Wildlife Refuge System. The 26th president was a dedicated naturalist throughout his life and is considered by many to have been the country’s “Conservationist President.” It was in the infancy of the Refuge System when President Roosevelt said, “There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy, and its charm.”

The National Wildlife Refuge System
Featured Stories

North American Porcupine

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Porcupines are strict vegetarians and eat leaves, twigs, fruit, green plants and even the bark off of trees. They are excellent climbers and spend a lot of time in trees. They are primarily nocturnal and during the day will rest in the hollow of a tree or log, as well as underground burrows and caves. Porcupines can have up to 30,000 quills, their main form of defense. These are actually modified hair with a barbed tip (and, no, they cannot throw their quills) that protect them from predators. They are a common resident found on the refuge.

About the NWRS

National Wildlife Refuge System

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The National Wildlife Refuge System, within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, manages a national network of lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife, and plants.

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