Virginia Wildlife Management Areas Explained

Virginia Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) are state-managed protected areas that exist primarily for the benefit of wildlife. Within the Commonwealth of Virginia, 46 tracts of land have been protected as WMAs, covering a total of over 216000acres. They are managed and maintained by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.^[1]

Purpose

WMAs in Virginia differ from other state-managed protected areas in that they are solely intended to preserve and improve wildlife habitat, with a particular focus on game animals, and to provide public space for hunting and fishing activities. Other protected areas in the state, such as state parks, state forests, and natural area preserves, may protect habitat but are also expressly managed to provide space for public recreation, research, timber production, and/or rare species conservation.^[2]

Land acquisition and maintenance funds for WMAs are ultimately provided by hunters and anglers, through license fees and taxes levied on gear. These fees are collected on a national level through the Pittman–Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, and distributed proportionally to individual states. Some WMA lands were originally donated to the state for wildlife purposes, rather than purchased.^[2]

Public use and access

Although maintained for the primary benefit of hunters and anglers, other recreational pursuits are permitted within Virginia's WMAs. Hiking, primitive camping, horseback riding, and bird-watching is allowed on many WMA properties. Prohibited activities include swimming, mountain biking, organized sports, and ATV use. Boats, when permitted, must typically be non-motorized.^[2]

To utilize WMA land for any purpose, visitors ages 17 or older must possess a valid hunting or fishing permit, or a current Virginia boat registration. In the absence of these documents, visitors must obtain a daily or annual WMA Access Permit that allows entry to WMA lands.^[3]

List of Virginia Wildlife Management Areas

The following table lists Virginia's 46 WMAs .^[4]

WMA name	City, county or counties^[5]	Area	Major waterbodies	Notes
		2217acres
		7564acres
		2208acres^[6]		Contiguous with Big Woods State Forest.
		3164acres	Briery Creek Lake
		4540acres
		4485acres		Comprises two separate tracts, one of which is contiguous with Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.
		5218acres
		25477acres	Laurel Bed Lake
		1882acres
		1400acres		Formerly known as the Elm Hill Wildlife Management Area.
		637acres
		5414acres		Contiguous with Fairy Stone State Park.
		3084acres
		2000acres		Located west of Big Woods WMA
		3963acres	Lake Thompson^[7]
		530acres
		33319acres		Contiguous with George Washington National Forest and Goshen Pass Natural Area Preserve.
		1175acres
		9023acres		The first VDGIF-managed property, initially purchased in 1930.
		6400acres	Hidden Valley Lake
		14283acres
		3908acres
		2910acres
		1213acres
		450acres		Managed as a waterfowl refuge; hunting not permitted.
		2542acres^[8]
Mattaponi Bluffs	Caroline	470acres	Mattaponi River
		301acres		Adjacent to Marine Corps Base Quantico.
		7642acres		Extent of the WMA's tidal marshland is greatly reduced at high tide.
Oakley Forest	Spotsylvania	4459acres
		934acres
		4463acres
		1546acres	Atlantic Ocean (Back Bay)
		1537acres
		10870acres		Contiguous with Shenandoah National Park.
Robert W. Duncan	Caroline	1300acres	Mattaponi River
		5574acres		Primarily protects tidal marshland on Virginia's eastern shore.
		4232acres		Includes examples of karst topography.
		4996acres		Owned by Appalachian Power and managed by VDWR.^[9]
		1138acres
		2678acres
		13428acres
		1044acres		Received from Dominion Energy via The Conservation Fund as mitigation for allowing the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline to cross the James River WMA^[10]
		2600acres
		271acres^[11]
		2748acres

External links

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries: Wildlife Management Areas

Notes and References

Web site: Wildlife Management Areas . Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries . December 30, 2016.
Book: Gooch . Bob . Enjoying Virginia Outdoors: A Guide to Wildlife Management Areas . 2000 . University Press of Virginia . Charlottesville . 0813919614 . 1–5.
Web site: Access Permit . Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources . 2023. 31 January 2023.
Web site: Virginia WMA Locator. 31 January 2023. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
Unless otherwise noted, information included in this column is sourced from individual pages listed at: Web site: Wildlife Management Areas . Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries . December 20, 2016.
Web site: VDGIF purchases Parker's Branch . Richmond Times-Dispatch . November 17, 2016 . Clarkson, Tee . January 18, 2017.
Web site: Lake Thompson. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. 31 January 2023. 2023.
Book: For the Love of the Land - 100 Conservation Stories from Across Virginia . Mattaponi Wildlife Management Area . 21 . Piedmont Environmental Council . January 17, 2017.
Web site: Smith Mountain Cooperative WMA. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. 2023. 31 January 2023.
Web site: Dominion pays for transfer to state of scenic property in Nelson to compensate for pipeline's impact on state land. subscription. Richmond Times-Dispatch. Martz. Michael. 17 October 2018. 31 January 2023.
Web site: Weston WMA. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. 2023. 31 January 2023.