Lake Otis National Wildlife Refuge is a 320-acre refuge in North Dakota protected through an easement system rather than public ownership, leaving the land in private hands while landowners and the U.S. government cooperate to conserve habitat and wildlife. It is part of a group of limited-interest refuges established in the 1930s and 1940s as falling waterfowl populations and Great Depression-era public works programs influenced federal conservation policy. Through such easements, the government could regulate water levels and restrict hunting. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages the refuge from Audubon National Wildlife Refuge, and public access is limited to views from nearby public roads.