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How To Get There
Tex Creek WMA is located east of the town of Idaho Falls in eastern Idaho’s Bonneville County. There is now a sign outside
of Idaho Falls on U.S. Highway 26 that says Tex Creek WMA -
13 miles. To reach Tex Creek WMA, travel 13 miles northeast
from Idaho Falls on U.S. Highway 26. After passing mile
marker 350, look for the Tex Creek WMA sign. Turn right and
follow Meadow Creek Road southeast past Ririe Dam to the
WMA. A network of roadways leads visitors to all portions of
the WMA (see map).
General Information
Ironically, the loss of wildlife habitat led directly to the
establishment of eastern Idaho’s Tex Creek Wildlife
Management Area (WMA). Following construction of
Teton and Ririe Reservoirs in the early 1970s, a search
began for suitable lands to replace big game winter ranges
inundated by the reservoirs. Those lands were found just
east of Idaho Falls. Beginning in 1976 and 1977, the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR)
purchased more than 11,300 acres of critical big game winter
range in the Tex Creek area. The Idaho Department of Fish and
Game (IDFG) eventually assumed management responsibility
for these lands and purchased additional critical acreages. A
cooperative agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) resulted in the inclusion of 9,600 additional acres
of land, and today, Tex Creek WMA encompasses more than
31,000 acres. The entire WMA is managed for wildlife, with an
emphasis on big game habitat management.
Tex Creek WMA's rocky canyons provide secure refuge for a
variety of small mammals including yellow-bellied marmots.
Far from one contiguous segment, Tex Creek WMA is a
patchwork of BOR, IDFG, BLM and private lands. A
coordinated management effort among landowners is
crucial to the survival of big game species using Tex Creek
WMA.
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