Experience all this Southwest Louisiana national wildlife refuge has to offer
The Louisiana coast is home to mile after mile of marshland. The coastal wetlands consist of fresh and brackish water full of a tremendous variety of birds, aquatic life and wild quadrupeds. South of Lake Charles is the Southwest Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Complex. This complex consists of Cameron Prairie, Lacassine and Sabine National Wildlife Refuges (NWR). The Sabine NWR is located just southwest of Lake Charles on the west side of Calcasieu Lake and contains 125,000 acres of marshland.
During my years as a Louisiana game warden, I had the opportunity to traverse much of Sabine NWR. Endless acres of pristine Louisiana marsh give anglers incredible opportunities to pursue redfish, trout, flounder and other brackish water species. For hunters, the waterfowl habitat is the best the state has to offer, and every year is a migratory home to enormous numbers of ducks.
Allie Mulligan, Sabine NWR Refuge Manager, revealed that the primary activities at Sabine NWR are fishing, boating, bird watching, nature photography and hunting. She noted that the Sabine NWR has two wildlife observation trails that are named the Blue Goose Trail and the Wetland Walkway. The trails are open year-round for wildlife observation.
Those that visit these trails should prepare accordingly with mosquito spray for the time of year they chose to take a walk. The Blue Goose Trail also has an observation tower; however, it is currently under refurbishment.
Fishing and hunting
The uniqueness of the Sabine NWR is that it has areas where anglers can catch saltwater and freshwater species in the same place. There are boat landings at West Cove and Hog Island Gully that give boaters access to the internal marsh areas as well as access to West Cove and Calcasieu Lake.
One of the most popular activities for Sabine NWR is waterfowl hunting. Mulligan said hunters should familiarize themselves with the Sabine NWR pamphlet and regulations before hunting. The refuge has specific regulations that address the time of day hunters are allowed to use the refuge, type of boat, horsepower on the vessel, and other waterfowl hunting regulations that are specific to the Sabine NWR.
Mulligan said littering has become an issue at the refuge. The areas where people congregate at roadside access points, West Cove landing and Hog Island Gully often have trash left behind by those that use the area.
“We have partnered with the Cameron Parish Sherriff’s Department and the Creole Nature Trail to work to combat the issue,” she said.
Members of the public are encouraged to use the waste receptacles to ensure no trash is left behind after their visit.
Planning your visit
Members of the public can access the refuge interior by roadside access points as well as by boat. The interior of the refuge is divided into seven units in total. Each unit may have restrictions on use depending on the size of the vessel, activity or open seasons.
Mulligan advised those who plan to visit the refuge to access the online regulations. They can be found at www.fws.gov.
The vast amount of marshland available for use at Sabine NWR gives anglers, hunters and outdoors people the opportunity to experience coastal Louisiana nature at its absolute finest. Take a moment, do a little research, and travel to incredible Southwest Louisiana and experience the Sabine NWR or any of the Southwest Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Complex.
