Lake Thibadeau National Wildlife Refuge

Lake Thibadeau NWR is located 12 miles north of Havre in Hill County, Montana. The refuge was established as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. Resident wildlife includes raptors and gray partridge.

Visitor Opportunities
Recreational opportunities include boating and hunting.

There is no legal access to the refuge for the public. The refuge is open to waterfowl hunting, but permission for access would have to be obtained from the private landowner.

Management Programs
The service has some legal responsibility for managing Thibadeau Diversion Dam and maintaining the water control structures on it and on Lake Thibadeau. The large proportion of cultivated private land, however, precludes any active management.

Resource values are maintained by natural processes. The refuge is monitored to ensure that these values have not been compromised. Water levels are checked periodically, and the refuge is included in annual easement flights. The diversion dam is inspected on a regular basis.

Directions
Access to the refuge is north from Havre on a blacktop state highway, taking the right fork after two and a half miles, and then proceeding north for an additional ten and a half miles. The refuge is located northeast of a large private grain elevator complex located at the end of a graveled county road to the right. Multiple ownership makes travel on the refuge difficult. Many old trails have been converted to cropland. Access to the diversion dam is best across the Bessette property from the northwest.

Lake Thibadeau
National Wildlife Refuge
c/o Bowdoin NWR
HC 65 Box 5700
Malta, MT 59538
(406) 654-2863