Submerging vegetations are largely beds of pondweed in the deeper water, and associations of pondweed, water milfoil, hornwort, water crowfoot, and bladderwort in the emergent zones. The island is vegetated with a variety of grasses, western snowberry, rose, willow, and aspen. Close communities include the village of Cochin which is at the Northwest end of the lake, and the Moosomin and Saulteux Indian reserves which are adjacent to the North boundary of the lake. This sanctuary is mainly used by waterfowl staging in the spring and fall. Over 6,000 ducks have been recorded here at one time in the fall although geese tend not to use this area.
Breeding is limited to the marshy area, small numbers of dabblers and divers breed here.
Waterbirds and shorebirds that are known or believed to breed here include Pied-billed and Western grebes, Franklin's Gull, Forster's and Black terns, Sora, Killdeer, Common Snipe, and Wilson's Phalarope. Murray Lake Creek Migratory Bird Sanctuary sanctuary was a replacement for a sanctuary that was hit with drought. The sanctuary is protected under the Migratory Bird Regulations under the Migratory Birds Convention Act.