The Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge was established August 5, 1947 following the transfer of all land previously held by the Crab Orchard Creek Project and the Illinois Ordnance Plant to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

[3] The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has stocked the lake with largemouth bass, and starting in 2006 has also installed artificial spawning beds in the lake's Grassy Bay (the lakebed's eroded clay and soft muck surfaces are not suited to bass spawning).

[4] Many users of the lake live in the large nearby communities of Carbondale, Herrin, and Marion.

During World War II, munitions such as TNT were produced at the Illinois Ordnance Plant north of the lake.

[citation needed] Under a mandate from the U.S. Congress, the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge is charged with the dual duties of maintaining recreational facilities and leasing lakeside land to factories.