About Us
Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge conserves and protects freshwater marshes in western Terrebonne Parish in south–central Louisiana. The refuge's freshwater marshes attract thousands of migratory waterfowl. Forested habitats provide critical spring and fall habitat for neotropical migratory birds. A unique habitat found at Mandalay is called flotant marsh - a floating marsh. The refuge is intersected with levees and man-made canals, and bisected by the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway
Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge is a priority wetland conservation project of the Gulf Coast Joint Venture of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan due to the importance of its habitat for waterfowl in the Mississippi Flyway. The refuge is the homeland of the Chitmatcha and Houma people who still live in the area today.
Our Mission
Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge’s mission is to conserve freshwater marshes and the species they support, and to provide habitat for migratory birds, — while also providing compatible public use opportunities.
Other Facilities in this Complex
Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge is managed as part of the Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuges Complex. The National Wildlife Refuges in Southeast Louisiana are part of a rich ecological system which includes marshes, pine and bottomland hardwood forests, lakes, barrier islands, swamps and bayous. Ranging from the marshy delta at the mouth of the Mississippi, to the wetlands that help protect New Orleans from hurricanes and provide a nursery to the fisheries that support the region’s food economy, to the wild bayous of the Atchafalaya Basin; your Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges preserve wildlife, habitat, and recreation opportunities representative of this unique part of the country.
All of the National Wildlife Refuges in Southeast Louisiana are open to public visits for nature-based recreational enjoyment. Priority public uses are hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, wildlife photography, environmental education, and interpretation.
The refuge complex headquarters is located at 61389 Hwy 434, Lacombe, Louisiana 70445. This site also hosts the Bayou Lacombe Visitor Center and has walking trails that wind through an historic garden site and along Bayou Lacombe.
