Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge offers a unique experience being the largest wetland complex in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and where different wildlife habitats converge. The Refuge offers landscape beauty and wildlife viewing opportunities that few places can match. Come see for yourself!
Grizzly Bears and Refuge Brochure

BE BEAR AWARE

Grizzly bears are present on all areas of the Refuge to include, but not limited to: forest, willows, sagebrush sagebrush
The western United States’ sagebrush country encompasses over 175 million acres of public and private lands. The sagebrush landscape provides many benefits to our rural economies and communities, and it serves as crucial habitat for a diversity of wildlife, including the iconic greater sage-grouse and over 350 other species.

Learn more about sagebrush -steppe, grasslands, wetlands, lakeshores, and creeks.  The carrying of bear spray on your person where it is readily accessible is strongly recommended.

Refuge Brochure

The Refuge Hunting, Fishing & Public Use Brochure is available here. The brochure provides a detailed colored map.

Early Autumn sunrise with yellow aspens at the base of the mountains
Refuge Photo Album
A collection of landscape and wildlife photos throughout Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.

Visit Us

Visitors to Red Rock Lakes Refuge should be prepared for a remote wilderness setting. To maintain the wilderness and sense of solitude, facilities are minimized and recreation off the established roads involves non-motorized or non-mechanical means of transport -- foot traffic only. This approach provides both wildlife and wildland viewing opportunities in an uncrowded setting. All visitors are encouraged to use good wildlife viewing practices and ethics, especially when viewing species sensitive to human disturbance, such as trumpeter swans. 

The Refuge's U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Mountain-Prairie Region Flicker Photo Album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwsmtnprairie/albums/72177720295608081 

View of the snowy Centennial Mountains from Elk Lake Road as seen from Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
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Location and Contact Information

      About Us

      The Refuge acts as a corridor for some mammals (like the grizzly bear) for moving between Yellowstone and other areas of Idaho and Montana. It encompasses over 53 thousand acres, of which 32,350 are wilderness. Many elk, deer and pronghorn call the Refuge home during spring through fall, as do many migratory waterfowl and songbirds.

      The Refuge provides a Visitor Center, two primitive campgrounds (one each at the Upper and Lower Red Rock Lake), and two easy-rated hiking trails (Odell Creek and Sparrow Pond trails). The Refuge is also known for its superb landscape photography in all seasons and in various locations, with the Centennial Mountains being a favorite subject.

      The Centennial Mountains serves as the backdrop under a clear blue sky in the open sage and grasslands as seen from Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
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      Tours

      The Refuge has few roads, all of which are constructed and maintained with dirt and gravel. Note that roads are generally restricted to dry times, as snowmelt and rain will make roads very muddy and nearly impassable. Some roads may require 4WD high-clearance. There are no service stations with gasoline or tow trucks within at least 45 miles, so please plan accordingly. 

      Vivid yellow aspen trees along a Refuge road with a mountain in the background.
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      What We Do

      Conservation efforts at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge aim to provide habitat for breeding and staging migratory birds, native fishes, and both transitory and resident wildlife that maintains the biological diversity and integrity of a montane wetland system. 

      Numerous species of waterfowl congregate on an icy, but thawing lake.
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      Our Species

      Some of the species that call the Refuge home, whether migratory or year-round residents include grizzly bears, black bears, elk, deer (mule and whitetail), Shiras moose, pronghorn, trumpeter swans, tundra swans, bald eagles, golden eagles, sandhill cranes, ground squirrels, badgers, wolves, coyotes, foxes, martens, all species of waterfowl in the Pacific Flyway, and numerous neotropical migrant songbirds to name just a few.

      Our Library

      Red Rock Lakes NWR Hunt, Fish & Public Use Regulations
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      Red Rock Lakes NWR Hunt, Fish & Public Use Regulations

      Hunt, Fish & Public Use Regulations with Map for Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

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      Final Environmental Assessment for Beaver Dam Notching, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
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      Final Environmental Assessment for Beaver Dam Notching, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

      Final Environmental Assessment for Beaver Dam Notching, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. April 2024.

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      Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and Decision to Implement Beave Dam Notching In Red Rock Creek, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
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      Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and Decision to Implement Beave Dam Notching In Red Rock Creek, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

      Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and Decision to Implement Beave Dam Notching In Red Rock Creek, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. April 2024.

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      Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge Draft Environmental Assessment Beaver Dam Notching
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      Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge Draft Environmental Assessment Beaver Dam Notching

      This Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) has been prepared by the United States Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 6, and the Mountain-Prairie Region Division of Refuge Planning to evaluate the effects associated with the proposed...

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      Arctic Grayling Spawning Access Minimum Requirements Analysis Framework Workbook
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      Arctic Grayling Spawning Access Minimum Requirements Analysis Framework Workbook

      An endemic population of Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) within the Red Rock Lakes Wilderness has declined and is at risk of extirpation. The population is subject to many factors limiting their abundance. Studies have indicated that the population has declined to a point where it is losing...

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      Withdrawal of Decision to Implement Conservation Efforts for Arctic Grayling
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      Withdrawal of Decision to Implement Conservation Efforts for Arctic Grayling

      Withdrawal of Finding of No Significant Impact, Withdrawal of Environmental Action Statement, Withdrawal of Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation, Withdrawal of Wilderness Act Minimum Requirements Analysis Determinations, Withdrawal of Findings Related to National Historic Preservation...

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      Final Environmental Assessment - Arctic Grayling Conservation Red Rock Lakes NWR
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      Final Environmental Assessment - Arctic Grayling Conservation Red Rock Lakes NWR

      Final Environmental Assessment to implement arctic grayling conservation at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. May 2023.

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      Finding of No Significant Impact - Arctic Grayling Conservation Red Rock Lakes NWR
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      Finding of No Significant Impact - Arctic Grayling Conservation Red Rock Lakes NWR

      Finding of No Significant Impact and Decision to Implement Conservation Efforts for Arctic Grayling at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. Signed 6/1/23.

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      Final Environmental Action Statement - Arctic Grayling Conservation Red Rock Lakes NWR
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      Final Environmental Action Statement - Arctic Grayling Conservation Red Rock Lakes NWR

      Final Environmental Action Statement for Arctic Grayling Conservation at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. Signed 6/1/23.

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      RRL NWR Draft Grazing CD.pdf
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      RRL NWR Draft Grazing CD.pdf

      Draft Compatibility Determination (CD) for the continuation of prescriptive livestock grazing as an existing use on Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge to achieve habitat management objectives.

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      DraftEA_UpperRedRockLakeGrayling_FINAL508c_2.24.23.pdf
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      DraftEA-UpperRedRockLakeGrayling-FINAL508c-2.24.23.pdf

      Draft Environmental Assessment for Arctic Grayling Conservation at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. This document is available for review with a public comment period running February 28 - March 14, 2023. 

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      Elizabeth Tsang

      Supplemental Information on RRLNWR Draft EA.pdf
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      Supplemental Information on RRLNWR Draft EA.pdf

      This supplemental information document provides briefs on the Draft Environmental Assessment for Arctic Grayling Conservation and its next steps. 

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      Structured Decision-Making Report for Centennial Valley Arctic Grayling Conservation on Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
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      Structured Decision-Making Report for Centennial Valley Arctic Grayling Conservation on Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

      This report describes a decision analysis process that was conducted in support of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Environmental Assessment on Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) on Red Rocks Lake National Wildlife Refuge in the Centennial Valley, Montana.

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      RRL NWR Grazing CD Final Signed.pdf
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      RRL NWR Grazing CD Final Signed.pdf

      Final signed copy of the Refuge grazing Compatibility Determination

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      Projects and Research

      Research projects on the Refuge take place in all seasons and range from working with fish and wildlife to their different habitats. Research and projects are designed to inform management in making the best possible decisions for wildlife and wildlife habitat.

      A person kneels in the snow on a frozen lake with mountains in the background.
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      USFWS Zone Wildlife Biologist Jeff Warren deploys a probe to measure dissolved oxygen through an augered hole in the ice on Upper Red Rock Lake at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in support of Arctic grayling conservation efforts. Photo by Cortez/USFWS.