Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Pierce County, North Dakota, is managed under J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge. It is a limited-interest refuge, a type established in the 1930s and 1940s as waterfowl numbers fell and Great Depression programs aimed to create jobs. At Buffalo Lake, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages wildlife habitat through an easement on privately owned land rather than direct federal ownership. Because the land remains private, the refuge itself is not open to public access, aside from views available from nearby public roads.