New York State Wildlife Management Areas

New York State Wildlife Management Areas are conservation areas managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 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. 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
Allegheny Reservoir	Cattaraugus
Ashland Flats	Jefferson
Ausable Marsh	Clinton
Bashakill	Sullivan
Baxtertown Woods	Dutchess
Bear Spring Mountain	Delaware
Black Pond	Jefferson		Part of the "Eastern Lake Ontario Barrier Beach and Wetland Complex" New York Natural Heritage Area.
Bog Brook	Putnam
Braddock Bay	Monroe
Canadaway Creek	Chautauqua
Canoga Marsh	Seneca		Protects marshland along the western shore of Cayuga Lake.
Capital District	Rensselaer
Carters Pond	Washington
Carlton Hill	Wyoming
Catharine Creek	Schuyler
Cayuga Lake	Seneca
Chautauqua Lake	Chautauqua
Cherry Island	Orange		Protects an island within the upper Delaware River.
Cicero Swamp	Onondaga
Clay Pond	Chautauqua
Cold Brook	Steuben
Collins Landing	Jefferson
Conesus Inlet	Livingston
Conewango Swamp	Cattaraugus
Connecticut Hill	Schuyler, Tompkins
Cranberry Creek	Jefferson
Cranberry Mountain	Putnam
Cross Lake Islands	Cayuga, Onondaga
Crumhorn Mountain	Otsego
Currans Road Pond	Suffolk
Curtiss Gale	Oswego
Deer Creek Marsh	Oswego		Part of the "Eastern Lake Ontario Barrier Beach and Wetland Complex" New York Natural Heritage Area.
Dexter Marsh	Jefferson
East Bay	Washington
Erwin	Steuben
Fish Creek	St. Lawrence
Franklinton Vlaie	Schoharie
French Creek	Jefferson
Frenchman's Island	Onondaga, Oswego		Formerly operated as the undeveloped Frenchman Island State Park. Transferred to NYSDEC in 2011, and now part of Three Mile Bay WMA.
Galen	Wayne
Genesee Valley	Allegany
Great Baehre Swamp	Erie
Great Swamp	Putnam
Great Vly	Greene, Ulster
Hamlin Marsh	Onondaga
Hampton Brook Woods	Erie
Hanging Bog	Allegany
Happy Valley	Oswego
Hartland Swamp	Niagara
Hartson Swamp	Chautauqua
Helmer Creek	Steuben
High Tor	Ontario, Yates
Honeoye Creek	Ontario
Honeoye Inlet	Ontario
Honeyville	Jefferson
Hooker Mountain	Otsego
Indian River	Jefferson
Jacquins Pond	Chautauqua
John White	Genesee		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
Keeney Swamp	Allegany
Kings Bay	Clinton
Lake Alice	Clinton
Lake Ontario Islands	Jefferson, St. Lawrence		Protects the Little Galloo Island, the Gull Island, and a portion of Galloo Island.
Lake Shore Marshes	Wayne
Lakeview	Jefferson		Part of the "Eastern Lake Ontario Barrier Beach and Wetland Complex" New York Natural Heritage Area.
Lewis Preserve	Clinton
Little John	Oswego
Louise E. Keir	Albany
Margaret Burke	Albany
Mongaup Valley	Sullivan
Monty's Bay	Clinton
Motor Island	Erie
Northern Montezuma	Seneca, Wayne, Cayuga
Oak Orchard	Genesee
Oriskany Flats	Oneida
Otis Pike Preserve	Suffolk
Parcel 45	Saratoga
Partridge Run	Albany
Pauline Murdock	Essex
Perch River	Jefferson
Pharsalia	Chenango
Plantation Island	Herkimer
Point Peninsula	Jefferson
Putts Creek	Essex
Rattlesnake Hill	Livingston, Allegany
Roger's Island	Columbia
Rome	Oneida
Saratoga Sand Plains	Saratoga
Silver Lake	Wyoming
Spicer Creek	Erie
Stid Hill	Ontario
Stockport	Columbia
Three Mile Bay	Oswego		Incorporates Frenchman's Island.
Three Rivers	Onondaga
Tillman Road	Erie
Tioughnioga	Madison
Tivoli Bays	Dutchess		Designated as a "New York Natural Heritage Area" in 2007.
Tonawanda	Genesee, Orleans, Niagara
Tug Hill	Lewis
Upper and Lower Lakes	St. Lawrence
Utica Marsh	Oneida
Victory Mills	Saratoga
Vinegar Hill	Greene
Waneta-Lamoka	Schuyler
Watt's Flats	Chautauqua
West Cameron	Steuben
Whitney Point	Broome, Cortland
Wickham Marsh	Essex
Willard	Seneca
Wilson Hill	St. Lawrence
Wolf Hollow	Delaware
Young's Island	Suffolk