New York State Wildlife Management Areas

New York State owns and maintains more than 85 Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs), with a total area of more than 200,000 acres (810 km²).^[1] The Wildlife Management Areas Program is administered by the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). These lands have been acquired primarily for the production and use of wildlife, and many of the WMAs are used extensively for hunting, fishing, and trapping.^[2] The first source of funding 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 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]

References

External links

• Glass, Ronald J. (1988-07-28). "Habitat Improvement Costs on State-Owned Wildlife Management Areas in New York" (PDF). U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Retrieved 2008-09-14.  Research paper NE-621.