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Blackfoot Waterfowl Production AreaOvando MontanaListing Type: Wildlife Management AreaCity: Ovando Montana Region: Southwest Montana 406-444-2612 http://fwp.state.mt.us |
Browns Lake is a shallow, productive 500-acre lake surrounded by open sagebrush grasslands and aspen groves. It's an extremely reliable place to see both bald eagles and osprey (especially in the spring), and almost always has significant numbers of waterfowl. The marsh in the lake's northeast corner is a good place to see American avocets, yellow-headed blackbirds, and broods of Canada geese. Sandhill cranes, common loons, American white pelicans, and upland sandpipers are often seen here in the spring. Black terns, uncommon in this area, nest on Browns Lake. Most birds are easily observed from a fair dirt road that goes halfway around the lake.
Mountain bicycling and canoeing are ways to see this area; please note, however, that the northeast corner of the lake is closed to boating during the nesting season (April 1 through July 15). The 1,539-acre Blackfoot Waterfowl Production Area (WPA lies adjacent to Browns Lake on the east.) Numerous seasonal and semi-permanent wetlands attract a wide variety of nesting shorebirds and waterfowl. Sandhill cranes nest on the WPA. Riparian areas along the Blackfoot River attract numerous songbirds. A summer climb up Marcum Mountain, just north of Montana Highway 200, gives an interpretive overlook and may reward a determined hiker with a glimpse of a blue grouse brood. During the winter, large numbers of elk and deer can often be seen from the highway. Blackfoot WPA is open to foot travel only. Dogs prohibited in WPA April 1 through August 30.
Directions: Take Montana Highway 200 to Ovando, then follow the fishing access signs to Browns Lake. To reach the WPA interpretive display, follow the Browns Lake road around the lake and continue east until you circle back to Montana Highway 200. The display on Montana Highway 200 is a short distance from this junction.
Blackfoot Waterfowl Production Area
Montana Department of Fish Wildlife and Parks, Helena, MT 59620
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