Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, National wildlife refuge in the Sonoran Desert, Arizona, United States

Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge covers 860,010 acres of the Yuma Desert, a lower-elevation section of the Sonoran Desert in southwestern Arizona, making it the third largest national wildlife refuge in the lower 48 states. Its northwest holds the Cabeza Prieta Mountains, and 93% of the refuge was designated wilderness in 1990. More than 275 animal species and nearly 400 plant species live here.

In 1936 Arizona Boy Scouts began a statewide campaign to save desert bighorn sheep after Major Frederick Russell Burnham noted fewer than 150 remained in the state's mountains. A Save the Bighorns poster contest spread through schools, and on January 18, 1939, over 1,500,000 acres were set aside for Cabeza Prieta and Kofa. A Civilian Conservation Corps camp built high-mountain waterholes, and Burnham dedicated the refuge at a brick and stone monument near Tule Well in 1941.

Spanish for "dark head", the name comes from the Cabeza Prieta Mountains in the refuge's northwest. The desert bighorn sheep became the official mascot of the Arizona Boy Scouts after their 1936 campaign to save the species, and in 1989 the stone monument near Tule Well was re-dedicated to the Scouts and to Major Frederick Russell Burnham.

No permit is needed to visit. Only three public roads cross the refuge: El Camino del Diablo, Christmas Pass Road and Charlie Bell Road, all unpaved and often blocked by deep mud, sand and sharp rocks. Four-wheel drive is required on the first two; Charlie Bell Road suits a high-clearance two-wheel-drive vehicle. There are no facilities, so carry water, two spare tires and spare parts. Parts of the refuge close temporarily during military training, law-enforcement operations and the Sonoran pronghorn fawning season from mid-March to mid-July.

The refuge borders a major biosphere reserve in Mexico, creating a continuous conservation zone that allows wildlife to move across international boundaries. This partnership between two countries demonstrates how desert protection works on both sides of the border.