D'Arbonne NWR is located north of West Monroe, Louisiana and lies on the western edge of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. It was established in 1975 to protect bottomland hardwood forest and provide wintering habitat for migratory waterfowl.
Hunting and Fishing Permits and Regulations

You can access current hunting and fishing regulations brochures online or at Refuge kiosks.  Hunters must also fill out and/or use all parts of the daily self-clearing permits with check-in, check-out, harvest report, and vehicle tag.

You can also access and download a geo-referenced PDF map online that is compatible with smartphone apps such as Avenza.

Visit Us

D’Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge is located in Ouachita and Union Parishes on both sides of Bayou D’Arbonne near its confluence with the Ouachita River. Take White’s Ferry Road (Hwy 143) north out of West Monroe. This highway forms the eastern refuge boundary and there are seven access points with parking lots along the highway. The North Louisiana Refuges Complex headquarters building is located approximately 7 miles north of West Monroe at the intersection of Hwy 143 and Holland’s Bluff Road but only has a small visitor contact station with very limited and intermittent hours depending on staff availability.  There is no fee to visit the Refuge and it offers a wide variety of wildlife dependent recreational opportunities. Thousands of people visit to fish and hunt while others traverse the refuge to birdwatch, see wildlife, and take pictures.  

Location and Contact Information

      About Us

      D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1975 to protect bottomland hardwood forest and provide wintering habitat for migratory waterfowl. Additionally, the refuge provides habitat for alligators, bald eagles, the little known Rafinesque's big-eared bat, and the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. The refuge is bisected by 13 miles of Bayou D’Arbonne, a stream in the Louisiana Natural and Scenic Rivers System, and is crisscrossed by numerous creeks, sloughs and oxbow lakes. Cypress swamps, bottomland hardwood and upland forests complete the landscape that is habitat for a diverse group of plants and animals.

      What We Do

      D’Arbonne NWR provides wintering habitat for thousands of waterfowl each year. Mallards, green-winged teal, wood ducks, gadwall and shovelers are just some of the species that can be found on the refuge in the winter months.  We also rely heavily on forest management, prescribed burning, and invasive species invasive species
      An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.

      Learn more about invasive species       management to provide quality habitat for native wildlife species.

      Our Species