Lacassine NWR, in Cameron and Evangeline Parishes in southwestern Louisiana, was established on 12/30/37 by Executive Order No. 7780 as "a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife." The refuge is nearly 35,000 acres in size, including 653 acres leased from the Cameron Parish School Board. The vegetation types occurring on the refuge are primarily water tolerant grasses, sedges, and shrubs. Vegetation in the undeveloped marshes is dominated by bulltongue and maidencane. The habitat is divided into 16,500 acres of natural, freshwater marsh and open water, 16,000 acres of managed, freshwater marsh (Lacassine Pool), 2,200 acres of rice, wheat, soybean, and natural moist soil fields, 350 acres of flooded gum and cypress trees, and 350 acres of restored tallgrass prairie. Wildlife species found on the refuge are those indigenous to the marshes of coastal Louisiana. Several nesting colonies of wading and water birds such as ibis, roseate spoonbills, and egrets are found here. A large population of alligators and furbearers such as nutria and raccoon are also found on the refuge. Endangered species reported on the refuge include bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and Louisiana black bears. Several hundred thousand ducks and geese use the refuge as wintering habitat while wood ducks, fulvous and black-bellied whistling ducks, and mottled ducks nest on the refuge during the breeding season. Recreational opportunities for refuge visitors abound! The refuge offers fishing, hunting, boating, wildlife observation, and hiking. Lacassine NWR, known for attracting thousands of pintails each winter (a peak of 300,000), has also seen the effects of the decreasing populations. The refuge hosted numbers well over 100,000 until the mid-1980's then saw the peaks reduced by half in the 1990's. The last three drought years have seen the peaks decline from 30,000 down to around 18,000. The birds still concentrate in the northwest and northeast sections of the Pool.