The Salt Plains NWR was established in 1930 as a refuge and breeding ground for birds and has been designated an Important Bird Area and a member of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.

It provides habitat for approximately 300 species of birds and 30 species of mammals. The 32,030 acre refuge is divided into almost equal parts of nonvegetated salt flat, open water, and vegetated land (marsh, woods, grasslands, and croplands).