
Visit North Louisiana Wildlife
At A Glance
Our Take
We North Louisianans are lucky to have so many opportunities to view wildlife in our backyard. You may know that the northernmost area of North Louisiana is the Sportsman’s Paradise, but did you know that the 26 parishes that we define as North Louisiana are home to 7 accessible national wildlife refuges (NWRs), 4 districts of the Kisatchie National Forest (in 6 locations), 2 national wildlife management preserves, and 18 wildlife management areas (WMAs), 8 state parks, and numerous local parks along lakes, rivers, and estuaries? We’ve even got two national parks, one of which is also a World Heritage Site. Step into any of these places, and you’ll be surrounded by birds, bugs, reptiles, amphibians, and other mammals.
If you don’t know the name of the refuges and parks closest to you, check out our indexed list below. You’ll notice Bienville Parish is missing from this list. It, Jackson, and Lincoln were home to the Jackson-Bienville Wildlife Management Area until it closed in 2016. That closure hit us hard. We loved being that close to a WMA. Jackson Parish is still home to a state park, and Lincoln is home to the Lincoln Parish Park, so they’re included in our list.
We’ll light up the links for each NWR, WMA, and state park once we’ve posted our review of it. Some city parks and public landings are also great places to see wildlife. We provide reviews of those parks and landings as well. Cards on the table, although we promise to do our best to provide unbiased reviews, the Catahoula, Red River, and Tensas River NWRs are three of our favorite places on Earth. We hope that you find the perfect place to enjoy our wildlife.
Helpful Links
Bossier | Red River NWR, Bodcau WMA, Loggy Bayou WMA
Caddo | Soda Lake WMA
Caldwell | Boeuf WMA, Russell Sage WMA
Catahoula | Catahoula NWR, Boeuf WMA, Dewey W Wills WMA, J.C. Sonny Gilbert WMA
Claiborne | Kisatchie National Forest – Caney District, Lake Claiborne State Park
Concordia | Bayou Cocodrie NWR, Richard K. Yancey WMA
DeSoto | Red River NWR, Bayou Pierre WMA
East Carroll | Bayou Macon WMA
Franklin | Big Lake WMA
Grant | Kisatchie National Forest – Catahoula District, Catahoula National Wildlife Management Preserve, Camp Beauregard WMA, Little River WMA
Jackson | Jimmie Davis State Park
LaSalle | Dewey W Wills WMA, Little River WMA
Lincoln | Lincoln Parish Park
Madison | Tensas River NWR, Big Lake WMA
Morehouse | Handy Brake NWR (currently inaccessible), Russell Sage WMA, Chemin-A-Haut State Park
Natchitoches | Kisatchie National Forest – Kisatchie District, Red Dirt National Wildlife Management Preserve, Peason Ridge WMA
Ouachita | Black Bayou Lake NWR, Russell Sage WMA
Red River | Bayou Pierre WMA
Richland | Floy McElroy WMA, Russell Sage WMA, Poverty Point Reservoir State Park
Sabine | Peason Ridge WMA, Sabine WMA, North Toledo Bend State Park
Tensas | Tensas River NWR, Big Lake WMA, Buckhorn WMA, Lake Bruin State Park
Union | D’arbonne NWR, Upper Ouachita NWR, Lake D’Arbonne State Park
Webster | Kisatchie National Forest – Caney District, Bodcau WMA, Lake Bistineau State Park
West Carroll | Poverty Point National Park, Big Colewa Bayou WMA