This 12,320-acre WMA is the only sizable public hunting area in extreme northeastern Arkansas. The area contains a mixture of typical bottomland forest, such as tupelo, willow, buttonbush and cypress. The northern third of the area supports timber types such as oak, elm and hackberry. Big Lake WMA can best be reached off Arkansas highways 181 and 18. The area is about 15 miles west of Blytheville in Mississippi County. The Arkansas-Missouri state line forms the northern border of the area and the western border lies along side the refuge. Manila is the closest sizable town and is 5 miles west of the refuge headquarters. The main access route to the waterfowl hunting area is by gravel road atop the west levee to the 7-mile lateral and from that point boats are required. Another access route is on the East Side of the area off Arkansas Highway 181 at Simmons Bridge and also at Bo Doc Landing. Hunters may walk in from Simmons Bridge, while access from Bo Doc Landing is mostly by boat. Walk-in hunting access is possible from Bo Doc Landing. A new boat ramp was completed in 1998 at the Highway 18 entrance near the work center building. This ramp allows boat launching into the State Line Outlet Ditch on the East Boundary of the Area. The entire eastern boundary, which is about 12 miles, can be accessed by boat. While emphasis is placed on waterfowl management, the area supports huntable populations of deer, squirrels, rabbits and furbearers. Severe and sometimes prolonged periods of natural flooding have historically limited year around habitat availability for such species as deer and turkeys. Deer harvest numbers have historically been relatively low for an area of this size.