Introduction: Established in 1909, Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge is one of the oldest refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Refuge has two units, Lake Lowell and the Snake River Islands. The Lake Lowell Unit is 10,636 acres and includes the almost 9,000-acre Lake Lowell and surrounding lands. The Refuge offers the six priority wildlife-dependent activities (fishing, hunting, wildlife observation, wildlife interpretation, wildlife photography and environmental education) as defined in The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act as amended by the Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 as well as other non-wildlife-dependent activities. The purpose of this study is to describe use characteristics of recreational boaters on Lake Lowell. This study does not address use in other parts of the Refuge or other recreational activities. The sampling and data collection consisted of observations of boat activity made from fixed vantage points on the west and east pools of Lake Lowell to develop vessels-at-one-time (VAOT) estimates for three areas: the West Pool, the Headquarters section of the East Pool, and the East section of the East Pool. A complete description of the sampling locations and a map are provided below Traffic counters were also used to collect data on the number of vehicles entering the parking lots. Data were collected between April 15 and September 30, 2011.
