# New York State Wildlife Management Areas

New York State Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) are conservation areas managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) primarily for the benefit of wildlife, and used extensively by the public for hunting, fishing, and trapping. As of 2016, the NYSDEC owns and maintains 113 WMAs, with a total area of approximately 197,000 acres (308 sq mi; 800 km$^2$). The Wildlife Management Areas program is administered by the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources of the NYSDEC.

## History

The first source of funding for New York's Wildlife Management Areas was the Conservation Fund of the Division, which was begun in 1925. It accumulates hunting, fishing, and trapping license fees and other miscellaneous fees and fines collected by the Division. In the 1930s, the federal Resettlement Administration bought marginal and worn-out farmland and later donated it to the state for wildlife management purposes. The Pittman–Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 places an excise tax on guns and ammunition, of which 10% is returned to the states to fund restoration and management efforts for wildlife including purchase of habitat. New York State Bond Acts in 1960, 1972 and 1986 have also helped fund the WMA system.
Some of the WMAs occupy land that is environmentally sensitive. Thus the Lakeview Wildlife Management Area has been declared the Lakeview Marsh and Barrier Beach National Natural Landmark, and was cited in 1973 as, "One of the best and most extensive marshlands that lie in protected bays and behind barrier beaches along eastern Lake Ontario."

## List of New York state wildlife management areas

| Name | County or counties | Area | Notes |
| Alder Bottom | Chautauqua | 818 acres (3.31 km$^2$) | |
| Allegheny Reservoir | Cattaraugus | 1,100 acres (4.5 km$^2$) | |
| Ashland Flats | Jefferson | 2,037 acres (8.24 km$^2$) | |
| Ausable Marsh | Clinton | 576 acres (2.33 km$^2$) | |
| Bashakill | Sullivan | 2,213 acres (8.96 km$^2$) | |
| Baxtertown Woods | Dutchess | 250 acres (1.0 km$^2$) | |
| Bear Spring Mountain | Delaware | 7,186 acres (29.08 km$^2$) | |
| Black Pond | Jefferson | 526 acres (2.13 km$^2$) | Part of the "Eastern Lake Ontario Barrier Beach and Wetland Complex" New York Natural Heritage Area. |
| Bog Brook | Putnam | 132 acres (0.53 km$^2$) | |
| Braddock Bay | Monroe | 2,402 acres (9.72 km$^2$) | |
| Canadaway Creek | Chautauqua | 2,080 acres (8.4 km$^2$) | |
| Canoga Marsh | Seneca | 104 acres (0.42 km$^2$) | Protects marshland along the western shore of Cayuga Lake. |
| Capital District | Rensselaer | 4,153 acres (16.81 km$^2$) | |
| Carters Pond | Washington | 446 acres (1.80 km$^2$) | |
| Carlton Hill | Wyoming | 2,484 acres (10.05 km$^2$) | |
| Catharine Creek | Schuyler | 660 acres (2.7 km$^2$) | |
| Cayuga Lake | Seneca | 225 acres (0.91 km$^2$) | |
| Chautauqua Lake | Chautauqua | 123 acres (0.50 km$^2$) | |
| Cherry Island | Orange | 14 acres (0.057 km$^2$) | Protects an island within the upper Delaware River. |
| Cicero Swamp | Onondaga | 4,947 acres (20.02 km$^2$) | |
| Clay Pond | Chautauqua | 182 acres (0.74 km$^2$) | |
| Cold Brook | Steuben | 125 acres (0.51 km$^2$) | |
| Collins Landing | Jefferson | 44 acres (0.18 km$^2$) | |
| Conesus Inlet | Livingston | 1,220 acres (4.9 km$^2$) | |
| Conewango Swamp | Cattaraugus | 900 acres (3.6 km$^2$) | |
| Connecticut Hill | Schuyler, Tompkins | 11,161 acres (45.17 km$^2$) | |
| Cranberry Creek | Jefferson | 13 acres (0.053 km$^2$) | |
| Cranberry Mountain | Putnam | 467 acres (1.89 km$^2$) | |
| Cross Lake Islands | Cayuga, Onondaga | 27 acres (0.11 km$^2$) | |
| Crumhorn Mountain | Otsego | | |
| Currans Road Pond | Suffolk | | |
| Curtiss Gale | Oswego | 47 acres (0.19 km$^2$) | |
| Deer Creek Marsh | Oswego | 1,770 acres (7.2 km$^2$) | Part of the "Eastern Lake Ontario Barrier Beach and Wetland Complex" New York Natural Heritage Area. |
| Dexter Marsh | Jefferson | 1,339 acres (5.42 km$^2$) | |
| East Bay | Washington | 38 acres (0.15 km$^2$) | |
| Erwin | Steuben | 2,500 acres (10 km$^2$) | |
| Fish Creek | St. Lawrence | 4,438 acres (17.96 km$^2$) | |
| Franklinton Vlaie | Schoharie | 185 acres (0.75 km$^2$) | |
| French Creek | Jefferson | 2,265 acres (9.17 km$^2$) | |
| Frenchman's Island | Onondaga, Oswego | 28 acres (0.11 km$^2$) | Formerly operated as the undeveloped Frenchman Island State Park. Transferred to NYSDEC in 2011, and now part of Three Mile Bay WMA. |
| Galen | Wayne | 712 acres (2.88 km$^2$) | |
| Genesee Valley | Allegany | 717 acres (2.90 km$^2$) | |
| Great Baehre Swamp | Erie | 271 acres (1.10 km$^2$) | |
| Great Swamp | Putnam | 444 acres (1.80 km$^2$) | |
| Great Vly | Greene, Ulster | 184 acres (0.74 km$^2$) | |
| Hamlin Marsh | Onondaga | 1,689 acres (6.84 km$^2$) | |
| Hampton Brook Woods | Erie | 61 acres (0.25 km$^2$) | |
| Hanging Bog | Allegany | 4,571 acres (18.50 km$^2$) | |
| Happy Valley | Oswego | 8,895 acres (36.00 km$^2$) | |
| Hartland Swamp | Niagara | 385 acres (1.56 km$^2$) | |
| Hartson Swamp | Chautauqua | 98 acres (0.40 km$^2$) | |
| Helmer Creek | Steuben | 126 acres (0.51 km$^2$) | |
| High Tor | Ontario, Yates | 6,200 acres (25 km$^2$) | |
| Honeoye Creek | Ontario | 717 acres (2.90 km$^2$) | |
| Honeoye Inlet | Ontario | 1,981 acres (8.02 km$^2$) | |
| Honeyville | Jefferson | 111 acres (0.45 km$^2$) | |
| Hooker Mountain | Otsego | | |
| Indian River | Jefferson | 968 acres (3.92 km$^2$) | |
| Jacquins Pond | Chautauqua | 30 acres (0.12 km$^2$) | |
| John White | Genesee | 339 acres (1.37 km$^2$) | Formerly managed by New York State as the "John White Memorial Game Farm" between 1945 and 2000 for the purpose of raising pheasants for release on public hunting lands. |
| Kabob | Chautauqua | 38 acres (0.15 km$^2$) | |
| Keeney Swamp | Allegany | 708 acres (2.87 km$^2$) | |
| Kings Bay | Clinton | 653 acres (2.64 km$^2$) | |
| Lake Alice | Clinton | 1,468 acres (5.94 km$^2$) | |
| Lake Ontario Islands | Jefferson, St. Lawrence | 64 acres (0.26 km$^2$) | Protects the 43-acre (17 ha) Little Galloo Island, the one-acre (0.40 ha) Gull Island, and a 20-acre (8.1 ha) portion of Galloo Island. |
| Lake Shore Marshes | Wayne | 6,130 acres (24.8 km$^2$) | |
| Lakeview | Jefferson | 3,461 acres (14.01 km$^2$) | Part of the "Eastern Lake Ontario Barrier Beach and Wetland Complex" New York Natural Heritage Area. |
| Lewis Preserve | Clinton | 1,356 acres (5.49 km$^2$) | |
| Little John | Oswego | 7,918 acres (32.04 km$^2$) | |
| Louise E. Keir | Albany | 119 acres (0.48 km$^2$) | |
| Margaret Burke | Albany | 246 acres (1.00 km$^2$) | |
| Mongaup Valley | Sullivan | 11,855 acres (47.98 km$^2$) | |
| Monty's Bay | Clinton | 287 acres (1.16 km$^2$) | |
| Motor Island | Erie | 6 acres (0.024 km$^2$) | |
| Northern Montezuma | Seneca, Wayne, Cayuga | 7,500 acres (30 km$^2$) | |
| Oak Orchard | Genesee | 2,545 acres (10.30 km$^2$) | |
| Oriskany Flats | Oneida | 750 acres (3.0 km$^2$) | |
| Otis Pike Preserve | Suffolk | 4,000 acres (16 km$^2$) | |
| Parcel 45 | Saratoga | 59 acres (0.24 km$^2$) | |
| Partridge Run | Albany | 4,594 acres (18.59 km$^2$) | |
| Pauline Murdock | Essex | 68 acres (0.28 km$^2$) | |
| Perch River | Jefferson | 7,862 acres (31.82 km$^2$) | |
| Pharsalia | Chenango | 4,694 acres (19.00 km$^2$) | |
| Plantation Island | Herkimer | 300 acres (1.2 km$^2$) | |
| Point Peninsula | Jefferson | 1,054 acres (4.27 km$^2$) | |
| Putts Creek | Essex | 114 acres (0.46 km$^2$) | |
| Rattlesnake Hill | Livingston, Allegany | 5,150 acres (20.8 km$^2$) | |
| Roger's Island | Columbia | 281 acres (1.14 km$^2$) | |
| Rome | Oneida | 436 acres (1.76 km$^2$) | |
| Saratoga Sand Plains | Saratoga | 735 acres (2.97 km$^2$) | |
| Silver Lake | Wyoming | 10 acres (0.040 km$^2$) | |
| Spicer Creek | Erie | 34 acres (0.14 km$^2$) | |
| Stid Hill | Ontario | 847 acres (3.43 km$^2$) | |
| Stockport | Columbia | 357 acres (1.44 km$^2$) | |
| Three Mile Bay | Oswego | 3,495 acres (14.14 km$^2$) | Incorporates Frenchman's Island. |
| Three Rivers | Onondaga | 3,586 acres (14.51 km$^2$) | |
| Tillman Road | Erie | 230 acres (0.93 km$^2$) | |
| Tioughnioga | Madison | 3,803 acres (15.39 km$^2$) | |
| Tivoli Bays | Dutchess | 1,722 acres (6.97 km$^2$) | Designated as a "New York Natural Heritage Area" in 2007. |
| Tonawanda | Genesee, Orleans, Niagara | 5,600 acres (23 km$^2$) | |
| Tug Hill | Lewis | 5,114 acres (20.70 km$^2$) | |
| Upper and Lower Lakes | St. Lawrence | 8,782 acres (35.54 km$^2$) | |
| Utica Marsh | Oneida | 213 acres (0.86 km$^2$) | |
| Victory Mills | Saratoga | 47 acres (0.19 km$^2$) | |
| Vinegar Hill | Greene | 394 acres (1.59 km$^2$) | |
| Waneta-Lamoka | Schuyler | 157 acres (0.64 km$^2$) | |
| Watt's Flats | Chautauqua | 1,382 acres (5.59 km$^2$) | |
| West Cameron | Steuben | 170 acres (0.69 km$^2$) | |
| Whitney Point | Broome, Cortland | 4,645 acres (18.80 km$^2$) | |
| Wickham Marsh | Essex | 862 acres (3.49 km$^2$) | |
| Willard | Seneca | 158 acres (0.64 km$^2$) | |
| Wilson Hill | St. Lawrence | 3,441 acres (13.93 km$^2$) | |
| Wolf Hollow | Delaware | 52 acres (0.21 km$^2$) | |
| Young's Island | Suffolk | | |