List of Wildlife Management Areas in Arkansas explained

This is a list of Wildlife Management Areas in Arkansas. All counties are represented except Boone, Chicot, Crittenden, Dallas, Fulton, Grant, Jackson, Lincoln, and St. Francis County.^[1]

Name! style="width:*;" scope="col"

County or counties	Area (acres)	Year Established	Remarks	Image
Bayou Des Arc WMA	White	953	1966	Created with a 320-acre public fishing lake.^[2]
Bayou Meto WMA	Arkansas, Jefferson	33,832		Called the "George H. Dunklin Jr. Bayou Meto WMA" and also called "Wabbaseka Scatters" or just the "Scatters".^[3]
Beaver Lake WMA	Benton, Carroll, Madison	8,007		Includes Devil's Eyebrow Natural Area.^[4]
Bell Slough WMA	Faulkner	2,040		Kenny Vernon Nature Trail and Bell Slough Water Trail.^[5]
Benson Creek Natural Area WMA	Monroe	1,458		Includes 610 acres of bald cypress/water tupelo swamps along Bayou DeView.^[6]
Beryl Anthony Lower Ouachita WMA	Ashley, Union	7,020		3,600 new acres to be added in 2018 and 2019. The WMA joins the Moro Big Pine WMA and the Warren Prairie Natural Area WMA having colonies of Red cockaded woodpeckers.^[7]
Big Lake WMA	Mississippi	12,320	1950	7,000 acres purchased in 1950. The rest purchased up to 1969.^[8]
Big Timber WMA	Clark	45,000		Includes 3,500 acres (Olds Foundation) added in 2018. Also known as Big Timber Leased Lands WMA. Private land owners including The Ross Foundation, Clark Timberlands, Anthony Timberlands. and Red River Texarkana that is managed by Hancock Forest Management giving annual leases to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.^[9]
Blevins WMA	Hempstead	128	1991^[10]
Blue Mountain WMA	Logan	8,200		Corps of Engineers property.^[11]
Brewer Lake Cypress Creek WMA	Conway	1,200		Surrounds Brewer Lake.^[12]
Brushy Creek WMA^[13]	Cross	215		Co-op of private land owners that have joined together.^[14]
Buffalo National River WMA	Baxter, Marion, Newton, Searcy	95,730		The entire 135 miles of the Buffalo National River is a WMA. Certain areas are also under national park regulations for hunting and fishing.^[15] ^[16] ^[17]
Camp Robinson WMA^[18]	Faulkner, Pulaski	26,675
Caney Creek WMA	Howard, Montgomery, Pike, Polk	85,000	1968
Casey Jones WMA	Ashley, Drew	83,832
Cattail Marsh WMA	Greene	78
Cedar Creek WMA	Scott	103
Cherokee Prairie Natural Area WMA	Franklin	566
Cherokee WMA	Cleburne, Conway, Independence, Logan, Pope, Scott, Stone, Van Buren	62,203
Cove Creek Natural Area WMA	Faulkner	228
Crossett Experimental Forest WMA	Ashley	1,675
Cut-Off Creek WMA	Drew	9,314
Cypress Bayou WMA	Lonoke, White	2,478
Dardanelle WMA	Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Pope, Yell	42,658
Dave Donaldson Black River WMA	Clay, Greene, Randolph	21,150
DeGray Lake WMA	Clark, Hot Spring	14,000
Departee Creek WMA	White	450
DeQueen Lake WMA	Sevier	8,792		Owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.^[19]
Devil’s Knob Natural Area WMWA	Izard	519
Dr. Lester Sitzes III Bois D’Arc WMA	Hempstead	13,646
Earl Buss Bayou DeView WMA	Poinsett	4,435
Ed Gordon Point Remove WMA	Conway, Pope	8,694
Electric Island WMA	Garland	115
Ethel WMA	Arkansas	176
Falcon Bottoms Natural Area WMA	Columbia, Lafayette, Nevada	2,787
Fort Chaffee WMA	Crawford, Franklin, Sebastian	66,000		The WMA is within Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center area. WMA rules are in effect and a Sportsman’s Orientation class is compulsory.^[20]
Freddie Black Choctaw Island WMA Deer Research Area East Unit	Desha	8,300		Also referred to as the Choctaw Island WMA. The WMA is not a true island but includes the Choctaw Bar Island in the Mississippi River^[21]
Freddie Black Choctaw Island WMA Deer Research Area West Unit	Desha
Frog Bayou WMA	Crawford	812	2005	Partnership with Ducks Unlimited and the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service and expanded in 2017 with The Trust for Public Land and Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration money. The WMA is located along Frog Bayou, that is also known as Clear Creek, adjacent to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land.^[22]
Galla Creek WMA	Pope	3,329		The Galla Creek WMA is among several others involving controversy of flooding protocols used in Greentree reservoir management that has seen deteriorated conditions and a substantial dying off of timber.^[23] ^[24]
Garrett Hollow Natural Area WMA	Washington	670
Gene Rush WMA	Newton, Searcy	17,963
Greers Ferry Lake WMA	Cleburne, Van Buren	9,914
Gum Flats WMA	Howard, Pike	15,661
H. E. Flanagan Prairie Natural Area WMA	Franklin	457		The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission (ANHC), a division of the Department of Arkansas Heritage added the property in 1988.^[25] Along with the Presson-Oglesby Preserve (The Nature Conservancy, 155 acres), and the Cherokee Prairie (ANHC) are three contiguous tracts of protected prairie land.^[26]
Hall Creek Barrens Natural Area WMA^[27]	Cleveland
Harold E. Alexander Spring River WMA	Sharp	13,859
Harris Brake WMA	Perry	3,769
Henry Gray Hurricane Lake WMA	White	17,524
Hobbs State Park – Conservation Area WMA	Benton, Carroll, Madison	11,744
Holland Bottoms WMA	Lonoke	6,190
Hope Upland WMA	Hempstead	2,115
Howard County WMA	Howard	26,000
Howard Hensley Searcy County WMA	Searcy	170
Iron Mountain Natural Area WMA	Polk	260
Jamestown Independence County WMA	Independence	971
Jim Kress WMA	Cleburne	14,527
Jones Point WMA	Marion	1,200
Kingsland Prairie Natural Area WMA	Cleveland	400
Lafayette County Natural Area WMA	Lafayette	16,739
Lake Greeson Natural Area WMA	Howard, Pike	200
Lee County WMA	Lee	200
Little Bayou WMA	Ashley	1,284
Little River WMA	Hempstead, Little River	597
Loafer’s Glory WMA		2,616
Maumelle River WMA	Pulaski
McIlroy Madison County WMA	Madison	14,496
Mike Freeze Wattensaw WMA	Prairie	19,184
Moro Big Pine Natural Area WMA	Calhoun	16,000
Mount Magazine WMA	Logan, Yell	120,000
Muddy Creek WMA	Montgomery, Scott, Yell	146,206
Nacatoch Ravines Natural Area WMA	Hempstead	645
Nimrod/Lloyd Millwood WMA	Yell	3,550
Norfork Lake WMA	Baxter	10,000
Ozan WMA	Hempstead	580
Ozark Lake WMA	Crawford, Franklin	7,834
Palmetto Flats Natural Area	Little River	1848
Petit Jean River WMA	Yell	15,502
Pine City Natural Area WMA	Monroe	870
Piney Creeks WMA	Johnson, Newton, Pope	180,000
Poison Springs WMA	Nevada, Ouachita	17,604
Prairie Bayou WMA	Lonoke	453
Provo WMA	Sevier	11,327
R. L. Hankins Mud Creek Upland WMA	Randolph	1,025	1989	Deeded by FMHA.^[28]
Railroad Prairie Natural Area WMA	Prairie	244
Rainey WMA	Pope	488
Rex Hancock Black Swamp WMA	Woodruff	7,221
Rick Evans Grandview Prairie WMA	Hempstead	4,885
Ring Slough WMA	Clay	83
River Bend WMA	Perry
Roth Prairie Natural Area WMA	Arkansas	41
Sandhills Natural Area WMA	Miller	143
Scott Henderson Gulf Mountain WMA	Van Buren	14,000	1970	Created as "Gulf Mountain WMA" with an initial purchase of 6,400 acres. A 3,600 acre purchase and smaller tracts totaling 2,012 was added in 1971. 2,000 acres of Green Bay Packaging's Arkansas Mill division land was added to the WMA. The company owns over 250,000 acres in the state and this was part of the companies "Sustainable Forestry Initiative".^[29] Located 12 miles southwest of Clinton the Little Red River bisects the southern area and the Ozark National Forest is the northern boundary.^[30]
Seven Devils WMA	Drew	5,032
Sheffield Nelson Dagmar WMA	Monroe	9,720
Shirey Bay Rainey Brake WMA	Lawrence	10,711
Slippery Hollow Natural Area WMA	Marion	705
Spring Bank WMA	Lafayette	701
St. Francis National Forest WMA	Lee, Phillips
St. Francis Sunken Lands WMA	Craighead, Greene, Poinsett, Clay	27,643		Patchwork of state and privately-held lands along the St. Francis River preserving bottomland hardwood forest river bottoms, well known for waterfowl and deer hunting.^[31]
Stateline Sandponds Natural Area WMA	Clay	4,000
Steve N. Wilson Raft Creek Bottoms WMA	White	4,000
Sulphur River WMA	Miller	16,681
Sweden Creek Natural Area WMA	Madison	137
Sylamore WMA	Baxter, Marion, Searcy, Stone	150,000
Terre Noire Natural Area WMA	Clark	415
Trusten Holder WMA	Arkansas, Desha	8,173
Two Bayou Creek WMA	Ouachita	1,250
W.E. Brewer Scatter Creek WMA	Greene
Warren Prairie Natural Area WMA	Bradley, Drew	2,128
Wedington WMA	Benton, Washington	16,000
White Cliffs Natural Area WMA	Little River	573
White Rock WMA		280,000
Whitehall WMA	Poinsett	111
Winona WMA	Garland, Perry, Saline	160,000

Former WMAs

Name! style="width:*;" scope="col"

County or counties	Area (acres)	Year Established	Year Dissolved	Remarks
Ozark National Forest WMA	Conway, Crawford, Frankliln, Johnson, Madison, Newton, Pope, Searcy, Van Buren, Washington	678,878		2023^[32]	Merged into neighboring WMAs

Notes and References

1. https://www.agfc.com/en/hunting/where-hunt/wildlife-management-areas/ Wildlife Management Areas
2. https://www.arkansaslandcan.org/local-resources/Bayou-Des-Arc-Wildlife-Management-Area/23917 Bayou Des Arc Wildlife Management Area
3. https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/702/ Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area
4. https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/656/ Beaver Lake Wildlife Management Area
5. https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/657/ Bell Slough Wildlife Management Area
6. https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/658/ Benson Creek Natural Area Wildlife Management Area
7. https://www.agfc.com/en/news/2018/04/11/beryl-anthony-wma-to-get-a-boost/ Beryl Anthony Lower Ouachita Wildlife Management Area
8. https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/661/ Big Lake Wildlife Management Area
9. https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/662/ Big Timber Wildlife Management Area
10. https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/663/ Blevins Wildlife Management Area
11. https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/664/ Blue Mountain Wildlife Management Area
12. https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/665/ Brewer Lake Cypress Creek Wildlife Management Area
13. https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/666/ Brushy Creek Wildlife Management Area
14. https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/associations/areas/?area=149 Brushy Creek Wildlife Management Co-op
15. https://www.nps.gov/buff/planyourvisit/hunting.htm NPS: Buffalo National River Wildlife Management Area
16. Pierce, Jason. “Creating the Natural State: Outsiders, Insiders, and the Buffalo National River.” Ozark Historical Review 35 (2006, pp. 34–49)- Retrieved 2019-02-21
17. http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=7 Encyclopedia of Arkansas: Buffalo National River Wildlife Management Area
18. https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/670/ Camp Robinson WMA
19. https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/685/ DeQueen Lake WMA
20. https://www.arkansaslandcan.org/local-resources/Fort-Chaffee-Wildlife-Management-Area/23978 Land Conservation Assistance Network: Fort Chaffee WMA
21. https://www.audubon.org/important-bird-areas/choctaw-island-wildlife-management-area Audubon: Choctaw Island Wildlife Management Area
22. https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/698/ Frog Bayou WMA
23. https://www.agfc.com/en/hunting/migratory-birds/waterfowl/gtr/ Greentree Reservoir Management
24. https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2018/nov/04/duck-hunters-realize-changes-necessary-/ Duck hunters realize changes necessary at green tree reservoirs
25. https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/705/ H. E. Flanagan Prairie Natural Area WMA
26. https://www.wildlifearkansas.com/proposals/2008Preproposals/Cherokee%20Prairies%20exotic%20invasives%20control%20and%20restoration.pdf Nonnative Species Control at the Cherokee Prairies in the Arkansas River Valley
27. https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/706/ Hall Creek Barrens Natural Area WMA
28. https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/756/ R. L. Hankins Mud Creek Upland WMA
29. http://gbp.com/locations/arkansas Arkansas Mill division
30. https://www.agfc.com/en/zone-map/759/ Gulf Mountain WMA
31. Web site: Quake Creates Habitat . . . Fort Smith, AR . October 29, 2012 . 15172460 . .
32. Web site: Arkansas turkey season open for youths . Richard . Ledbetter . April 8, 2023 . Arkansas Democrat-Gazette . Little Rock . WEHCO Media . 1060-4332 . June 5, 2023 .