This is a list of Idaho wildlife management areas. The U.S. state of Idaho current has 32 wildlife management areas, all managed by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Wildlife management areas (WMA) are established to protect habitat for wildlife and provide opportunities for hunting, fishing, and other public enjoyment of wildlife. The species of interest for each WMA varies from big game, such as elk, moose, and mule and white-tailed deer, to upland game (such as ring-necked pheasant) and waterfowl, including a variety of ducks and Canada geese. [1]
Pend Oreille Wildlife Management Area at 4,908 acres (19.86 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management area in Bonner County near Sandpoint. Much of the land that is now the WMA was licensed to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1956 as mitigation for wildlife habitat impacted by the construction of Albeni Falls Dam. Additional land was purchased in 1974 and three more parcels were licensed in 1996. Acquisitions were completed in 1997 with funds from the Bonneville Power Administration.
Coeur d'Alene River Wildlife Management Area at 5,799 acres (23.47 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management area primarily in Kooteani County but also in Benewah County. The majority of the WMA is located in the Thompson Lake Segment along the Coeur d'Alene River, but portions are also located along the St. Joe River in the upper sections of Lake Coeur d'Alene near Heyburn State Park. Land acquisition for the WMA began in 1964.
Craig Mountain Wildlife Management Area at 115,000 acres (470 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management area in Nez Perce County along the Snake River in southern Lewiston. The WMA is cooperatively managed by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the Bureau of Land Management.
Cecil D. Andrus Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is a 23,908 acres (96.75 km2) Idaho wildlife management area in Washington County, 18 miles (29 km) from Cambridge, Idaho. The WMA was formed in 1993, when the Mellon Foundation purchased the Hillman Ranch and deeded it to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game for wildlife conservation. The WMA now manages additional lands as well, primarily from the Idaho Department of Lands, but also from Payette National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management. It is named for Cecil D. Andrus, a former U.S. Secretary of the Interior who also served four terms as Governor of Idaho.
Payette River Wildlife Management Area at 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management area in Payette County near New Plymouth along the Payette River. Land was first purchased by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in 1960.
Fort Boise Lake Wildlife Management Area at 1,630 acres (6.6 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management area in Canyon County near Parma. It was established in 1956 when 330 acres (130 ha) were deeded to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game by Idaho Power Company.
Boise River Wildlife Management Area at 34,000 acres (140 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management area in Ada, Boise, and Elmore counties east of Boise. The WMA is located on land around Lucky Peak Lake, a reservoir on formed by the Lucky Peak Dam on the Boise River. The WMA is managed by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) but consists of land owned by IDFG, the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Army Corps of Engineers, and Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The first land for the WMA was purchased in 1943, and the mission of the WMA is to conserve mule deer and elk wintering habitat.
C.J. Strike Wildlife Management Area at 10,664 acres (43.16 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management area in Elmore and Owyhee counties southwest of Mountain Home. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game manages Idaho Power Company, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management lands surrounding C. J. Strike Reservoir on the Snake and Bruneau rivers. In 2005, Idaho Power assumed management of the 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) it owns near the C. J. Strike Dam.
Carey Lake Wildlife Management Area at 400 acres (1.6 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management area in Blaine County near the town of Carey. The first land acquisition for the WMA occurred in 1949 from the Carey Lake Reservoir Company to provide habitat for migrating and breeding waterfowl and shorebirds.
Billingsley Creek Wildlife Management Area at 284 acres (1.15 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management area in Gooding County near the town of Hagerman. The WMA is in the Hagerman Valley near the Snake River and was purchased from the McCarther Cattle Company in September 1963.
Hagerman Wildlife Management Area at 880 acres (3.6 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management area in Gooding County south of the town of Hagerman. The first land acquisition for the WMA was in 1940 and now includes land licensed from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Niagara Springs Wildlife Management Area at 976 acres (3.95 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management area in Gooding County south of the town of Wendell. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game acquired land for the WMA from the Bureau of Land Management in 1971, purchased additional land in 1972 with federal and license funds, and obtained an additional parcel in 1973.
Big Cottonwood Wildlife Management Area at 814 acres (3.29 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management area in Cassia County northwest of the town of Oakley. The land for the WMA was purchased in 1993 by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and had previously been a cattle ranch and farm for nearly 100 years.
Sterling Wildlife Management Area at 3,400 acres (14 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management area in Bingham County near the town of Aberdeen. The WMA consists of Idaho Department of Fish and Game and Bureau of Reclamation land along American Falls Reservoir.
Portneuf Wildlife Management Area at 3,104 acres (12.56 km2) is an Idaho Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Bannock County near the town of McCammon. The first land acquisition for the WMA occurred in 1970 from M.S. Bastian, a local farmer and rancher. Three additional parcels were acquired in 1974.
Blackfoot River Wildlife Management Area at 2,400 acres (9.7 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management area in Caribou County near the town of Soda Springs. The location of the WMA along the Blackfoot River was homesteaded by the Rasmussen family in 1883. It was sold to John Jay Stocking in 1907 and remained in the family for 3 generations before being purchased by the Conservation Fund in 1994, which sold it to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
Georgetown Summit Wildlife Management Area at 3,349 acres (13.55 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management areain Bear Lake County near the town of Carey. Land for the WMA was first acquired in 1991 from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation near Caribou National Forest.
Montpelier Wildlife Management Area at 2,158 acres (8.73 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management area in Bear Lake County east of the town of Montpelier. The WMA consists of land owned by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) and Bureau of Land Management and Idaho Department of Lands property managed by IDFG.
Market Lake Wildlife Management Area at 5,071 acres (20.52 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management area in Jefferson County north of the town of Roberts. The WMA was established in 1956 to restore a portion of Market Lake for migrating and breeding waterfowl.
Mud Lake Wildlife Management Area at 8,853 acres (35.83 km2) is an Idaho wildlife management area in Jefferson County north of the town of Mud Lake. Land acquisition for the WMA began in 1940, and the most recent acquisition was in 1969.