The Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge is an important breeding area for mammals, birds, and other animals. The National Wildlife Refuge is located on land surrounding Lake Lowell, just outside Nampa, Idaho. It serves as a resting and wintering area for birds, including mallards and Canada geese, along the Pacific Flyway and was named a "Globally Important Bird Area" by the American Bird Conservancy. The refuge consists of two sections which contains open water, edge wetlands, grasslands and riparian and forest habitats. The largest portion of the refuge consists of Lake Lowell and its environs, located in Canyon County, just west of Nampa, while the second comprises the Snake River islands located in non-contiguous localities along the river in Canyon, Owyhee, Payette, and Washington counties and Malheur and Baker counties. There is a visitor's center at the Lake Lowell site, which is the hub of activity for visitors and those volunteers who donate their time and services to wildlife conservation projects.
Wildlife and Habitat
Wildlife has dynamic and unique needs that require a variety of habitats for food, shelter, and raising young. Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge is managed to improve and maintain wildlife habitat. Habitats at Deer Flat include wetlands, riparian forests, uplands, and croplands at the Lake Lowell sector, as well as the 101 Snake River Islands.
History
President Theodore Roosevelt created a national bird refuge at Deer Flat Reservoir, now Lake Lowell, with his February 25, 1909, executive order. The refuge was one of 17 federal reclamation projects referenced in the order, each of which used manmade aquifers to provide safe havens for migratory birds. The effort to include the Canyon County site was spearheaded by James H. Lowell, then-president of the Payette-Boise Water Users Association.
1902 Reclamation Act authorizes establishment of U.S. Reclamation Service, now the Bureau of Reclamation, to irrigate western lands. Survey for location of Deer Flat Reservoir conducted.
1905 James H. Lowell, begins securing contracts to purchase the lands that would become the Deer Flat Reservoir, now Lake Lowell.
1906 Work begins on the upper and lower embankments.
1908 Lower Embankment completed in January. Equalization trench in Deer Flat Reservoir excavated with steam shovel No. 1 from Upper Embankment. Earthwork at Upper Embankment completed.
1909 Outlet channel at Lower Embankment completed and water turned in to Lake Lowell from New York canal. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 1032 on February 25.
