East Cove Unit of Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge temporarily closing

FILE – A great egret flies above a great blue heron in a wetland inside the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge on Oct. 7, 2022, in Trenton, Mich. Congress on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, approved a resolution to overturn the Biden administration’s protections for the nation’s waterways that Republicans have criticized as a burden on business, advancing a measure that President Joe Biden has promised to veto. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

by: Lena Foster

Posted: Sep 13, 2023 / 03:51 PM CDT

Updated: Sep 13, 2023 / 03:51 PM CDT

BELL CITY, La. (KLFY)– Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge East Cove Unit will close temporarily on Sept. 22 to complete water control structure repairs, levee repair and maintenance projects along the Calcasieu Lake perimeter levee.

Because of public safety concerns and project/personnel logistics, this project needs a few weeks of additional closure at the beginning and the end of the Louisiana West Zone waterfowl season, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The area is expected to be closed to the public through Jan. 31, 2024, but other factors such as unpredicted weather delays may extend the closure.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asks visitors to be patient and obey area closures for the duration of the project.