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 km2). [1] [2] The Wildlife Management Areas program is administered by the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources of the NYSDEC. [1]
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. [3] 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." [4]
Name | County or counties [5] | Area [6] | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Alder Bottom | Chautauqua | 818 acres (3.31 km2) | |
Allegheny Reservoir | Cattaraugus | 1,100 acres (4.5 km2) | |
Ashland Flats | Jefferson | 2,037 acres (8.24 km2) | |
Ausable Marsh | Clinton | 576 acres (2.33 km2) | |
Bashakill | Sullivan | 2,213 acres (8.96 km2) | |
Baxtertown Woods | Dutchess | 250 acres (1.0 km2) | |
Bear Spring Mountain | Delaware | 7,186 acres (29.08 km2) | |
Black Pond | Jefferson | 526 acres (2.13 km2) | Part of the "Eastern Lake Ontario Barrier Beach and Wetland Complex" New York Natural Heritage Area. [7] |
Bog Brook | Putnam | 132 acres (0.53 km2) | |
Braddock Bay | Monroe | 2,402 acres (9.72 km2) | |
Canadaway Creek | Chautauqua | 2,080 acres (8.4 km2) | |
Canoga Marsh | Seneca | 104 acres (0.42 km2) [8] | Protects marshland along the western shore of Cayuga Lake. [8] |
Capital District | Rensselaer | 4,153 acres (16.81 km2) | |
Carters Pond | Washington | 446 acres (1.80 km2) | |
Carlton Hill | Wyoming | 2,484 acres (10.05 km2) | |
Catharine Creek | Schuyler | 660 acres (2.7 km2) | |
Cayuga Lake | Seneca | 225 acres (0.91 km2) | |
Chautauqua Lake | Chautauqua | 123 acres (0.50 km2) | |
Cherry Island | Orange | 14 acres (0.057 km2) [9] | Protects an island within the upper Delaware River. [9] |
Cicero Swamp | Onondaga | 4,947 acres (20.02 km2) | |
Clay Pond | Chautauqua | 182 acres (0.74 km2) | |
Cold Brook | Steuben | 125 acres (0.51 km2) [10] | |
Collins Landing | Jefferson | 44 acres (0.18 km2) | |
Conesus Inlet | Livingston | 1,220 acres (4.9 km2) | |
Conewango Swamp | Cattaraugus | 900 acres (3.6 km2) | |
Connecticut Hill | Schuyler, Tompkins | 11,161 acres (45.17 km2) | |
Cranberry Creek | Jefferson | 13 acres (0.053 km2) [11] | |
Cranberry Mountain | Putnam | 467 acres (1.89 km2) | |
Cross Lake Islands | Cayuga, Onondaga | 27 acres (0.11 km2) | |
Crumhorn Mountain | Otsego | ||
Currans Road Pond | Suffolk | ||
Curtiss Gale | Oswego | 47 acres (0.19 km2) | |
Deer Creek Marsh | Oswego | 1,770 acres (7.2 km2) | Part of the "Eastern Lake Ontario Barrier Beach and Wetland Complex" New York Natural Heritage Area. [7] |
Dexter Marsh | Jefferson | 1,339 acres (5.42 km2) | |
East Bay | Washington | 38 acres (0.15 km2) | |
Erwin | Steuben | 2,500 acres (10 km2) | |
Fish Creek | St. Lawrence | 4,438 acres (17.96 km2) | |
Franklinton Vlaie | Schoharie | 185 acres (0.75 km2) | |
French Creek | Jefferson | 2,265 acres (9.17 km2) | |
Frenchman's Island | Onondaga, Oswego | 28 acres (0.11 km2) [12] | Formerly operated as the undeveloped Frenchman Island State Park. Transferred to NYSDEC in 2011, and now part of Three Mile Bay WMA. [12] [13] |
Galen | Wayne | 712 acres (2.88 km2) | |
Genesee Valley | Allegany | 717 acres (2.90 km2) | |
Great Baehre Swamp | Erie | 271 acres (1.10 km2) | |
Great Swamp | Putnam | 444 acres (1.80 km2) | |
Great Vly | Greene, Ulster | 184 acres (0.74 km2) | |
Hamlin Marsh | Onondaga | 1,689 acres (6.84 km2) | |
Hampton Brook Woods | Erie | 61 acres (0.25 km2) | |
Hanging Bog | Allegany | 4,571 acres (18.50 km2) | |
Happy Valley | Oswego | 8,895 acres (36.00 km2) | |
Hartland Swamp | Niagara | 385 acres (1.56 km2) | |
Hartson Swamp | Chautauqua | 98 acres (0.40 km2) | |
Helmer Creek | Steuben | 126 acres (0.51 km2) [14] | |
High Tor | Ontario, Yates | 6,200 acres (25 km2) | |
Honeoye Creek | Ontario | 717 acres (2.90 km2) | |
Honeoye Inlet | Ontario | 1,981 acres (8.02 km2) [15] | |
Honeyville | Jefferson | 111 acres (0.45 km2) | |
Hooker Mountain | Otsego | ||
Indian River | Jefferson | 968 acres (3.92 km2) | |
Jacquins Pond | Chautauqua | 30 acres (0.12 km2) | |
John White | Genesee | 339 acres (1.37 km2) [16] | 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. [16] |
Kabob | Chautauqua | 38 acres (0.15 km2) | |
Keeney Swamp | Allegany | 708 acres (2.87 km2) | |
Kings Bay | Clinton | 653 acres (2.64 km2) | |
Lake Alice | Clinton | 1,468 acres (5.94 km2) | |
Lake Ontario Islands | Jefferson, St. Lawrence | 64 acres (0.26 km2) [17] | 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. [17] |
Lake Shore Marshes | Wayne | 6,130 acres (24.8 km2) | |
Lakeview | Jefferson | 3,461 acres (14.01 km2) | Part of the "Eastern Lake Ontario Barrier Beach and Wetland Complex" New York Natural Heritage Area. [7] |
Lewis Preserve | Clinton | 1,356 acres (5.49 km2) | |
Little John | Oswego | 7,918 acres (32.04 km2) | |
Louise E. Keir | Albany | 119 acres (0.48 km2) | |
Margaret Burke | Albany | 246 acres (1.00 km2) | |
Mongaup Valley | Sullivan | 11,855 acres (47.98 km2) | |
Monty's Bay | Clinton | 287 acres (1.16 km2) | |
Motor Island | Erie | 6 acres (0.024 km2) | |
Northern Montezuma | Seneca, Wayne, Cayuga | 7,500 acres (30 km2) | |
Oak Orchard | Genesee | 2,545 acres (10.30 km2) | |
Oriskany Flats | Oneida | 750 acres (3.0 km2) | |
Otis Pike Preserve | Suffolk | 4,000 acres (16 km2) | |
Parcel 45 | Saratoga | 59 acres (0.24 km2) | |
Partridge Run | Albany | 4,594 acres (18.59 km2) | |
Pauline Murdock | Essex | 68 acres (0.28 km2) | |
Perch River | Jefferson | 7,862 acres (31.82 km2) | |
Pharsalia | Chenango | 4,694 acres (19.00 km2) | |
Plantation Island | Herkimer | 300 acres (1.2 km2) | |
Point Peninsula | Jefferson | 1,054 acres (4.27 km2) | |
Putts Creek | Essex | 114 acres (0.46 km2) | |
Rattlesnake Hill | Livingston, Allegany | 5,150 acres (20.8 km2) | |
Roger's Island | Columbia | 281 acres (1.14 km2) | |
Rome | Oneida | 436 acres (1.76 km2) | |
Saratoga Sand Plains | Saratoga | 735 acres (2.97 km2) [18] | |
Silver Lake | Wyoming | 10 acres (0.040 km2) | |
Spicer Creek | Erie | 34 acres (0.14 km2) | |
Stid Hill | Ontario | 847 acres (3.43 km2) | |
Stockport | Columbia | 357 acres (1.44 km2) [19] | |
Three Mile Bay | Oswego | 3,495 acres (14.14 km2) | Incorporates Frenchman's Island. [13] |
Three Rivers | Onondaga | 3,586 acres (14.51 km2) | |
Tillman Road | Erie | 230 acres (0.93 km2) | |
Tioughnioga | Madison | 3,803 acres (15.39 km2) | |
Tivoli Bays | Dutchess | 1,722 acres (6.97 km2) | Designated as a "New York Natural Heritage Area" in 2007. [20] |
Tonawanda | Genesee, Orleans, Niagara | 5,600 acres (23 km2) | |
Tug Hill | Lewis | 5,114 acres (20.70 km2) | |
Upper and Lower Lakes | St. Lawrence | 8,782 acres (35.54 km2) | |
Utica Marsh | Oneida | 213 acres (0.86 km2) | |
Victory Mills | Saratoga | 47 acres (0.19 km2) [21] | |
Vinegar Hill | Greene | 394 acres (1.59 km2) | |
Waneta-Lamoka | Schuyler | 157 acres (0.64 km2) [10] | |
Watt's Flats | Chautauqua | 1,382 acres (5.59 km2) | |
West Cameron | Steuben | 170 acres (0.69 km2) | |
Whitney Point | Broome, Cortland | 4,645 acres (18.80 km2) | |
Wickham Marsh | Essex | 862 acres (3.49 km2) | |
Willard | Seneca | 158 acres (0.64 km2) | |
Wilson Hill | St. Lawrence | 3,441 acres (13.93 km2) | |
Wolf Hollow | Delaware | 52 acres (0.21 km2) | |
Young's Island | Suffolk |
Southwick Beach State Park is a New York State park that lies along an unusual stretch of sandy beach on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. The park is 464 acres (188 ha) in size with a 3,500 foot (1,100 m) length of beach, and is visited annually by about 100,000 people. Immediately to the south is the Lakeview Wildlife Management Area, which extends the publicly accessible beach by several miles. They are in the Town of Ellisburg in Jefferson County, New York south of the lakeside community of Jefferson Park.
Cherry Plain State Park is a 175-acre (0.71 km2) state park located in Rensselaer County, New York in the United States. The park is located in Cherry Plain at the southwest part of the Town of Berlin, near the Massachusetts border. Outdoor recreational opportunities are also available within the Capital District Wildlife Management Area, a 4,153-acre (16.81 km2) conservation area that nearly surrounds the park.
Rome Sand Plains is a 15,000-acre (61 km2) pine barrens about five miles (8.0 km) west of the city center of Rome in Oneida County in central New York. It consists of a mosaic of sand dunes rising about 50 feet (15 m) above low peat bogs that lie between the dunes. The barrens are covered with mixed northern hardwood forests, meadows, and wetlands. About 4,000 acres (16 km2) are protected in conservation preserves. Pine barrens are typical of seacoasts; the Rome Sand Plains is one of only a handful of inland pine barrens remaining in the United States. A second inland pine barrens, the Albany Pine Bush, is also found in New York, located north and west of state's capital Albany.
Bowman Lake State Park is a 653-acre (2.64 km2) state park located in Chenango County, New York. The park is located in the Town of McDonough, north of the community of East McDonough.
Braddock Bay, sometimes improperly referred to as Braddock's Bay, is a small bay of Lake Ontario located in Monroe County northwest of Rochester, New York in the United States. Braddock Bay is renowned for being an excellent bird-watching location, as raptors and other birds congregate there when migrating north in spring.
Sandy Island Beach State Park is a New York State park on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. Its highlight is a 1,500-foot (460 m) natural sandy beach. The park is near the southern end of a notable 17-mile (27 km) length of sandy shoreline, coastal dunes, and wetlands ; a 1959 study noted that "The eastern end of Lake Ontario contains not only the finest beaches on the entire lake but also the finest wildlife habitat."
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is a department of New York state government. The department guides and regulates the conservation, improvement, and protection of New York's natural resources; manages Forest Preserve lands in the Adirondack and Catskill parks, state forest lands, and wildlife management areas; regulates sport fishing, hunting and trapping; and enforces the state's environmental laws and regulations. Its regulations are compiled in Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. It was founded in 1970, replacing the Conservation Department. and is headed by Basil Seggos.
The Basha Kill Wildlife Management Area is a 2,213-acre (8.96 km2) conservation area consisting of wetlands and uplands along the Basher Kill in Sullivan County, New York.
The Oak Orchard Wildlife Management Area is an approximately 2,500-acre (10 km2) wildlife management area (WMA) located in western New York, United States. Most of this conservation area is in the northwest part of Genesee County, with a small northern portion in Orleans County.
The Tonawanda Wildlife Management Area is a 5,600-acre (23 km2) wildlife management area (WMA) located in western New York State. It is located primarily within Niagara County and Genesee County, with a small portion within Orleans County. It is managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The Hartland Swamp Wildlife Management Area is a 401-acre (1.62 km2) wildlife management area (WMA) located in western New York, US. Hartland Swamp WMA is located northeast of Lockport in the Town of Hartland in northeastern Niagara County. It is managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Tillman Road Wildlife Management Area is a 235-acre (0.95 km2) conservation area located within the Town of Clarence in Erie County, western New York. It is managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Great Baehre Swamp is a New York state wetland located inside the Town of Amherst in Erie County, New York, United States. The area is characterized as a silver maple-ash swamp of 270 acres (1.1 km2), much of which is protected by conservation areas owned by the town and New York State.
Black Pond Wildlife Management Area is a 526-acre (213 ha) New York State Wildlife Management Area (WMA) that lies on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario, and at the northern limit of an unusual region of sandy barrier beaches and lagoons. Much of the barrier beach in Black Pond WMA has forested sand dunes that are about 60 feet (18 m) high; these are the highest sand dunes in the northeast United States excepting Cape Cod. Immediately north of the WMA is the 360-acre (150 ha) El Dorado Beach Preserve, which is a bird refuge owned by The Nature Conservancy. North of the outlet from Black Pond to Lake Ontario, the shoreline is a weathered, flat bedrock shelf that is "calcareous" instead of sandy.
Deer Creek Marsh Wildlife Management Area is an 1,195-acre (484 ha) New York State Wildlife Management Area (WMA) with a 4,500-foot (1,400 m) sandy beach on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario; it is in the Town of Richland in Oswego County, New York. Deer Creek Marsh lies at the southern limit of a 17-mile-long (27 km) region of sandy barrier beaches that protect coastal lagoons and marshes; the region is unusual geologically and is important as habitat for many species. Deer Creek Marsh WMA is part of the Eastern Lake Ontario Marshes Bird Conservation Area, along with Black Pond and Lakeview WMAs and the Sandy Pond Beach Unique Area. Some of the hiking and boating opportunities in the WMA are described in a brochure and a website created through the New York Sea Grant.
Sandy Pond Beach Unique Area is a 76-acre (31 ha) New York State conservation area located within the eastern Lake Ontario dunes. It lies at the north end of a spit of land dividing North Sandy Pond from Lake Ontario, and is about two miles (3.2 km) north of the developed portion of Sandy Island Beach State Park. There is no road access to the area, which can be most easily reached by boat. For this reason, local residents have long referred to the beach as "Boaters' Beach". It has been managed as part of Sandy Island Beach State Park since 2011.
New York State Forests are administered by the Division of Lands and Forests of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). New York State Forests include reforestation, multiple use, and unique areas; and state nature and historic preserves, with approximately 600,000 acres (2,400 km2) classified as reforestation areas and approximately 9,000 acres (36 km2) classified as multiple use lands. Land within the Adirondack Park or the Catskill Park is not included as part of the State Forest system.
Dexter Marsh is a 1,350-acre (5.5 km2) marsh located at the eastern end of Lake Ontario in Dexter, New York. It was declared a National Natural Landmark in May 1973.
Charles E. Wheeler Wildlife Management Area is a 625-acre (253 ha) brackish tidal marsh, nature preserve and hunting area owned by the state of Connecticut located in Devon (village), Milford, New Haven County, Connecticut.