Brown State Fishing Lake is set in the Glaciated Region of Kansas. Surrounding fields of winter wheat and corn stubble help feed thousands of snow geese from November through January.

Controlled burning of the native bluestem prairie helps optimize the balance of brush and grass necessary for bobwhite quail and ring-necked pheasant. Post-burn wildflowers are spectacular, as are the butterflies they attract. Signs of beaver and muskrat can be found around the lake and the three streams feeding it. In spring and fall, waterfowl and shorebirds are common on the lake and on the mudflats of shallow coves. Migrant songbirds are numerous. Tracks of white-tailed deer, bobcats, mink, skunks, and opossums can be found in the mud along the shores.