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 |