Carey Lake has a long history of waterfowl and shorebird use. When the Carey Lake Reservoir Company failed to make the lake into an irrigation reservoir, Idaho Fish and Game made an initial investment in the lake for waterfowl habitat

Carey Lake WMA was created to provide quality wetland and upland habitat for migrating and resident waterfowl. Fortunately, waterfowl have varied habitat needs that overlap the habitat needs of many other native wildlife species, including a variety of wading shorebirds.

400 acres of the 700-acre lake are within the borders of the WMA. The lake is a shallow natural basin – one to three deep - fed by local runoff, springs and spill from Fish Creek Reservoir. A hot springs that flows into the lake keeps one or two acres from completely freezing in the winter. Channels were excavated in the lake bed to create deeper waters for better fish survival.

The WMA also has 350 acres of upland habitat, consisting of irrigated cropland, shrub-steppe and lava outcroppings.