Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge

The National Wildlife Refuge System is a series of lands and waters owned and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wildlife conservation is at the heart of the refuge system. It drives everything we do from the purpose a refuge is established, to the recreational activities offered there, to the resource management tools we use. 

Refuges use a wide range of land management tools based on the best science available. Selecting the right tools helps us ensure the survival of local plants and animals and helps fulfill the purpose of the refuge. Some refuges use prescribed fires to mimic natural fires that would have cleared old vegetation from the land helping native plants regenerate and local wildlife to thrive. Other refuges contain Wilderness areas where land is largely managed in passively. The management tools used are aimed at ensuring a balanced conservation approach where both wildlife and people will benefit. 

The staff and partners at Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge work year-round to maintain and enhance refuge lands and programs for both wildlife and the community. Our conservation toolbox includes:  

• Partnering with local governments, other state and national agencies and partners, local conservation organizations, and colleges and universities to protect wildlife and the habitat they depend on. Partners are crucial to our success.
• Controlling invasive species through integrated pest management including biological controls, hand removal, prescribed burning, mowing and herbicides treatment.
• Restoring degraded habitat by removing invasive weeds and planting native grasses, wildflowers, and shrubs.
• Creating wetland habitats to provide feeding, nesting, and resting habitat for a variety of wetlands-dependent species, including mallards, sora rails, yellow-headed blackbirds, and other wildlife.
• Providing artificial nesting habitat, including many wood duck nesting boxes and several osprey platforms. Wood duck boxes provide nesting habitat for wood ducks as well as a variety of other cavity-nesting birds like western screech owls.
• Seasonally or permanently closing some refuge lands to provide undisturbed areas where wildlife can seek refuge.