| Mittry Lake Wildlife Area |
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| The Mittry Lake Wildlife Area offers a wide variety of habitats, from open lakes to cattail marshes and streamside woodlands, providing an equally wide opportunity for wildlife-based recreation. This combination of habitats provides abundant opportunities for fishing, wildlife watching, hiking, boating, and hunting. |
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| Recreational
Opportunities |
 Mittry
Lake has recently undergone rehabilitation
work, including marsh dredging, revegetation
and fish habitat improvement, making it
an ideal location for small game hunting
and sportfishing. Major species for small
game hunting include waterfowl, dove, quail,
and rabbit. The area is also very popular
for nature study and bird-watching.
Camping:
There are no facilities or designated areas
for camping, but camping is allowed. Please
call the Bureau of Land Management Yuma Field
Office at (928) 317-3200 for more information.
Boating: There is a three-lane boat launch ramp for
motorized boating on the lake. Numerous waterways connect to the main lake body
and make exploring by
boat a pleasant experience.
Fishing: The most common species encountered in Mittry
Lake are largemouth bass, flathead and channel catfish, bluegill, tilapia, crappie
and carp.
Hunting: The Mittry
Lake Wildlife Area is located within
Game Management Unit
43B.
CAUTION: Temperatures
vary from 30°F in December and
January to 120°F in June and July. Rainfall averages about three inches per year,
with most occurring
during the winter months.
Restrictions:
| a. |
Open fires
allowed in designated sites only. Seasonal
fire restrictions may be posted during
the warmer months. |
| b. |
Overnight public camping
allowed, for no more than 10 days per
calendar year. |
| c. |
Motorized vehicle travel permitted on designated roads, on designated trails, or in designated areas only. |
| d. |
Posted portions closed to public entry from Nov. 15 to Feb. 15 annually. |
| e. |
Open to hunting in season, except posted portions. |
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| Location |
Mittry Lake is located in Yuma County, about 18 miles northeast of Yuma, Arizona, on the east side of the Colorado River between Laguna and Imperial Dams.
Directions: From Yuma,
take Highway 95 north to East Imperial Dam Road, then turn left (west) toward
the lake, following wildlife
area signs.
- View a map of this location |
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| Wildlife |
 Mittry
Lake Wildlife Area provides riparian, wetland,
and aquatic habitat for many wildlife species.
Birds: Desert-scrub and riparian woodland habitats
are home to diverse desert wildlife. Neotropical birds find the area attractive.
Riparian birds like the yellow-billed cuckoo, summer tanager, and the federally
endangered southwestern willow flycatcher may use the area.
Yuma clapper rails nest on site. Surveys have also revealed California black
rails, and Virginia rails nesting along the shore. The marsh also supports American
coot, common moorhen, western least bittern, and pied-billed grebe.
Winter users include duck species, sora, American white pelican, double-crested
cormorant and northern harrier. Year-round users include black-crowned night-heron,
great blue heron, snowy egret, osprey, and many others.
Mammals: Mammals that frequent the area include mule
deer, javelina, bobcats
and even wild burros.
| Special Status Species - Species
Abstracts | Status
Codes |
| Common Name |
Scientific Name |
Status |
| Birds |
| California Black Rail |
Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus |
SC, S, WSC |
| Great Egret |
Ardea alba |
WSC |
| Least Bittern |
Ixobrychus exilis |
WSC |
| Mexican Spotted Owl |
Rallus longirostris yumanensis |
LE, WSC |
| Southwestern Willow Flycatcher |
Empidonax traillii extimus |
LE, S, WSC |
| Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo |
Coccyzus americanus occidentalis |
C, S, WSC |
| Mammals |
| California Leaf-nosed Bat |
Macrotus californicus |
SC, S1, WSC |
| Pocketed Free-tailed Bat |
Nyctinomops femorosaccus |
S1 |
| Yuma Hispid Cotton Rat |
Sigmodon hispidus eremicus |
SC |
| Fish |
| Razorback Sucker |
Xyrauchen texanus |
LE, S, WSC |
| Plants |
| Longleaf Sandpaper Plant |
Petalonyx linearis |
S1 |
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| Area
Description |
| Most of Mittry Lake Wildlife Area is within the floodplain of the Colorado River. Habitat types consist of wetlands, marsh, open waters, and desert upland. |
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| Management
History, Objectives and Goals |
In 1951, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission and the Secretary of the Interior (acting through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation) entered into a lease and cooperative agreement to develop and manage a portion of the Mittry Lake area. In 1971, the U. S. Department of Interior gave the Arizona Game and Fish Department administrative authority over 3,575 acres of land and water at the lake for the management of fish and wildlife, including migratory birds.
Management emphasis on Mittry Lake Wildlife Area is to optimize the wildlife habitat potential for present and future generations for public hunting and other wildlife-oriented recreation. The management emphasis is based on the 1951 lease and cooperative agreement, which allows for the establishment of a public shooting area, waterfowl resting ground and provisions to improve conditions for the propagation of fish.
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