Recreation

Monroe – West Monroe Convention & Visitors Bureau of Ouachita Parish

Monroe-West Monroe Convention & Visitors Bureau of Ouachita Parish was created by the state to serve as the marketing arm for the cities of Monroe-West Monroe and Ouachita Parish. Its primary funding is provided by occupancy and sales taxes on all hotel/motel room rentals in Ouachita Parish.

Their mission is to attract conventions and tourists not only to the parish but also to the region. There are many activities and events in the area of which residents can take advantage. Recreational activities such as golfing, boating, swimming, camping and ball playing are year-round with the mild climate in the area.

The following is a partial list of activities taking place in the region throughout the year. Specifics on these and other events can be found on the Convention and Visitors Bureau’s calendar of events.

• Krewe of Janus Mardi Gras Parade
• Franklin Parish Annual Catfish Festival
• DeltaFest
• Miss Louisiana Pageant
• Dave L Pearce Memorial Weekend

For more information on these and other varied events and activities, please visit the Monore-West Monroe Convention & Visitors Bureau website.

D’Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge

D’Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge, located north of West Monroe, Louisiana, lies on the western edge of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. It was established in 1975 to protect bottomland hardwoods 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. The bottomland hardwoods support a diversity of plants and wildlife which affords numerous wildlife dependent recreational activities. Cypress swamps, bottomland hardwood and upland forests complete the landscape that is habitat for a diverse group of plants and animals. D’Arbonne NWR also has the national record mayhaw tree, a wetland species with fruit that makes delicious jelly. D’Arbonne is one of four refuges managed in the North Louisiana Refuges Complex.

More information

D’Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge
11372 Hwy 143, Farmerville, LA 71241
E-mail: northlouisianarefuges@fws.gov
Phone Number: 318-726-4222
www.fws.gov/darbonne

Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge

The Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge was established through Public Law 96-285 on June 28, 1980 to preserve one of the largest privately owned tracts of bottomland hardwoods remaining in the Mississippi Delta. The bottomland hardwood forest contains a diversity of plant and animal species. Over 400 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish can be found on the refuge. The refuge consists of nearly 70,000 acres of bottomland hardwoods and oxbow lakes. This type of habitat once covered 25 million acres of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley.

Resting and feeding habitat for thousands of migrating and wintering waterfowl are provided by the refuge. The states largest population of the federally-listed threatened Louisiana black bear is found on the refuge. The last citing of the ivory-billed woodpecker, which is thought to be extinct by most scientists, occurred in the 1940’s adjacent to what is now the Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge.

More information

Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge
2312 Quebec Road, Tallulah, LA 71282
E-mail: tensasriver@fws.gov
Phone Number: 318-574-2664
www.fws.gov/tensasriver

Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge

Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge provides excellent wintering habitat for tens of thousands of ducks and geese. The endangered red-cockaded woodpecker and the threatened Louisiana black bear are found on the Upper Ouachita NWR. Other wildlife species that call the refuge home include alligators, deer, turkey, squirrels, bald eagles and beaver. Upper Ouachita NWR is one of the four refuges managed in the North Louisiana Refuges Complex.

More information

Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge
11372 Highway 143, Farmerville, LA 71363-0201
Email: northlarefuges@fws.gov
Phone Number: 318-726-4400
www.fws.gov/upperouachita

Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1997 through a unique partnership with the city of Monroe, Louisiana. The 2,000 acre scenic lake is owned by the city and serves as its secondary water source. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a free ninety-nine year management lease on the lake. The Service purchased 2,200 acres of land surrounding the lake, which expanded the refuge to 4,200 acres and protected most of the lake’s watershed. The beautiful natural lake is studded with picturesque cypress and tupelo trees, and surrounded by swamps that graduate into bottomland hardwoods and then into upland mixed pine/hardwoods. The refuge supports an excellent fisheries resource and provides valuable habitat for migratory waterfowl, neotropical migratory songbirds, and many resident wildlife species. Black Bayou Lake NWR offers great fishing, hunting and wildlife observation opportunities.

More information

Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge
480 Richland Place, Monroe, LA
Email: northlouisianarefuges@fws.gov
Phone Number: 318-387-1114
www.fws.gov/northlouisiana/blackbayoulake

Handy Brake National Wildlife Refuge

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.

More information

Handy Brake National Wildlife Refuge
11372 Highway 143, Farmerville, LA 71363-0201
Email: NorthLARefuges@fws.gov
Phone Number: 318-726-4400
www.fws.gov/handybrake