Handy Brake National Wildlife Refuge is located just north of Bastrop in
Morehouse Parish, north central Louisiana. The refuge was established in 1988
with the southeast's first fee title transfer of a Farmer's Home
Administration tract (466 acres) to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A free
lease of 38 acres from International Paper Company increased the refuge to the
current 501 acres. An observation platform overlooks a permanent wetland,
which is excellent habitat for wintering waterfowl, wading birds and many
other wetland dependent species.

Handy Brake National Wildlife Refuge is located just north of Bastrop in Morehouse Parish, north central Louisiana. The refuge was established in 1988 with the southeast's first fee title transfer of a Farmer's Home Administration tract (466 acres) to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  A free lease of 38 acres from International Paper Company increased the refuge to the current 501 acres.  An observation platform overlooks a permanent wetland, which is excellent habitat for wintering waterfowl, wading birds and many  

other wetland dependent species.

Bird's eye view of the park

Handy Brake National Wildlife Refuge

Upper Ouachita NWR, located north of Sterlington, Louisiana, lies on the
western edge of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. It was established in
November of 1978 “for use as an inviolate sanctuary, or for any other
management purpose, for migratory birds” (Migratory Bird Conservation Act, 16
U.S.C. 715d); and for “…the conservation of the wetlands of the nation in
order to maintain the public benefits they provide and to help fulfill
international obligations contained in various migratory bird treaties and
conventions…” (16 U.S.C. 3901b). Additionally, the refuge provides habitat for
alligators, forest interior songbirds, bald eagles, Louisiana black bear, the
little known Rafinesque's big-eared bat, migrating shorebirds and the
endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. The refuge is bisected by 18 miles of the
Ouachita River, which is in the Louisiana Natural and Scenic Rivers System,
and is the drainage for 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.  
  
In years of normal or above rainfall, the refuge’s bottomland hardwood forest
is a very important overflow area for the Ouachita River floodplain. High
water levels, which usually occur between January and June, can flood up to
87% of the refuge. The wetland forests not only provide habitat to wetland
dependent wildlife, they also reduce damage from flooding in developed areas,
filter silt and other particles from the water, help neutralize pollutants and
provide recharge areas for aquifers.

<p>Upper Ouachita NWR, located north of Sterlington, Louisiana, lies on the western edge of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. It was established in November of 1978 “for use as an inviolate sanctuary, or for any other management purpose, for migratory birds” (Migratory Bird Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. 715d); and for “…the conservation of the wetlands of the nation in order to maintain the public benefits they provide and to help fulfill international obligations contained in various migratory bird treaties and conventions…” (16 U.S.C. 3901b).  Additionally, the refuge provides habitat for alligators, forest interior songbirds, bald eagles, Louisiana black bear, the little known Rafinesque's big-eared bat, migrating shorebirds and the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. The refuge is bisected by 18 miles of the Ouachita River, which is in the Louisiana Natural and Scenic Rivers System, and is the drainage for 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.<br><br>In years of normal or above rainfall, the refuge’s bottomland hardwood forest is a very important overflow area for the Ouachita River floodplain. High water levels, which usually occur between January and June, can flood up to 87% of the refuge. The wetland forests not only provide habitat to wetland dependent wildlife, they also reduce damage from flooding in developed areas, filter silt and other particles from the water, help neutralize pollutants and provide recharge areas for aquifers.</p>

Handy Brake National Wildlife Refuge

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Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge