About Us

Lake Ophelia National Wildlife Refuge was established in October 2000 with the purpose of conserving and restoring habitat for migratory birds, aquatic resources, and endangered plants and animals.  The Refuge consists of 17,500 acres. Topography on the refuge is characterized by ridges and swales that create a great diversity of plant and animal communities. The refuge is named for Lake Ophelia, a 350-acre permanently flooded lake.

Major habitat types found on the refuge include: 8,400 acres bottomland forest, 4,200 acres reforestation and 3,400 acres cropland that are used to provide winter forage for migratory waterfowl, 500 acres of managed moist soil wetlands and 1,000 acres of lakes and bayous. 

  

Other Facilities in this Complex

Lake Ophelia NWR is managed as part of the Central Louisiana Refuges Complex.

White-tailed deer during sunrise in the fog at a distance
Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge
Catahoula NWR was established in 1958 as a wintering area for migratory waterfowl. Most of the Refuge's approximately 25,000 acres are lowland hardwood forests subject to backwater flooding from the Ouachita, Black, and Red Rivers.
National Wildlife Refuge
Jonesville,LA
White-tailed deer during sunrise in the fog at a distance
Grand Cote National Wildlife Refuge
Grand Cote National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1989 to provide valuable waterfowl habitat in the Mississippi/Red River floodplain as part of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.
National Wildlife Refuge
Marksville,LA