Texas Wildlife Management Areas are divided into seven regions of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department with the goal of managing and conserving the natural and cultural resources of Texas. There are under management of the Division of Wildlife often referred to as a WMA.
WMA areas Area 1: Panhandle/High Plains Wildlife District includes five WMAs Area 2: Prairies and Lakes Area 3: Pineywoods Area 4: Gulf Coast Area 5: South Texas Plains Area 6: Hill Country Area 7: Big Bend Country
There is some confusion as there are also listed eight Wildlife Management Areas that roughly coincide with the 10 ecoregions.
Trans Pecos High Plains/Panhandle Cross Timbers Hill Country Post Oak Savannah Pineywoods Oak Prairie South Texas Plains
WMA list The following are all designated Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in Texas:
NameCountySizeDescriptionRegionAlabama Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) Trinity County14,561 acresPart of the Davy Crockett National ForestArea 3Alazan Bayou WMANacogdoches County2,063 acresPurchased in 1991 for bottomland hardwood forest preservation around the Angelina River that includes Loco Bayou and Moral Creek.Area 3Angelina-Neches/Dam B WMA Jasper County and Tyler County12,636 acresLocated at the fork of the Angelina River, Neches River and the B.A. Steinhagen Reservoir. 7,000 acres are part of the reservoir.Area 3Atkinson Island WMA Harris and Chambers County150 acresLocated on the southern end of Atkinson Island and acceptable by boat only. The WMA was donated by Conoco, Inc. as a non-game wildlife preserve.Area 4Bannister WMASan Augustine County25,695 acresPart of the Angelina National Forest under a memorandum of understanding with the US Forest Service. The WMA is situated on a peninsula extending into Sam Rayburn Reservoir and is designated an eastern wild turkey restoration site.Area 3Big Lake Bottom WMA Anderson CountyPurchased 1990Area 2Black Gap Wildlife Management Area (WMA) Brewster CountyApproximately 103,000 acres/additional 16,000 acres being addedLocated 55 miles south of Marathon Big Bend National Park
The Texas Game and Oyster Commission purchased 54,000 acres from the Combs Cattle Company in 1948. Location is 55 miles south of Marathon. Shares 25 miles of the Rio Grande with the Mexican State of Coahuila to the south and where the Serranias del Burro and Sierra del Carmen mountain ranges. Native bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis mexicana) was almost extirpated but re-introduction efforts have proven successful. are being added to the WMA with a 2018 approved purchase plan.Area 7Caddo Lake WMAMarion County and Harrison County8,005 acresA state park managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and operated as a WMA. Large portion purchased in 1992. Chosen as a wetland of international importance, specifically as a waterfowl habitat and protected under the Ramsar Convention. Contains a permanently flooded and largest bald cypress swamp in the world as well as a seasonally flooded bottomland hardwoods."Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area". Out About Texas. Retrieved February 20, 2019.Area 3Caddo National Grasslands WMAFannin County17,873 acresDesignated a National Grassland.Caddo WMA: Designated National Grassland (§ 213.1). Retrieved February 17, 2019. Operated under two units: Ladonia Unit and the Bois D'Arc Unit.Area 2Candy Cain Abshier WMA Chambers County207 acresPurchased in 1990 and located near Smith Point along Galveston and Trinity Bay. A birding center with an observatory, a hawk watchtower.Area 4Cedar Creek Islands WMAHenderson County160 acresThree islands in Cedar Creek Reservoir.Area 2Chaparral WMA La Salle County and Dimmit County15,200Purchased from the Light family in 1969, as a research and demonstration facility, with funds provided by the Pittman–Robertson Act. In 2008 a destructive fire burned over 60,000 acres including ninety-five percent of the WMA. Area 5Cooper WMADelta County, Hopkins County19,280 acresAdjacent to Jim Chapman Lake/Cooper DamArea 2D.R. Wintermann WMAWharton County246 acresA wetlands area was created with water from the Colorado River that attracts migratory birds including bald eaglesArea 4East Texas Conservation CenterA TPWD Jasper Fish Hatchery that started in 1932.Area 3Elephant Mountain WMABrewster County23,147 acresLocated 26 miles south of Alpine the land was donated in 1985. Wildlife includes the desert bighorn-sheep, pronghorn antelope, scaled quail, as well as the whiptail lizards, and spadefoot toads.Elephant Mountain WMA. Retrieved February 17, 2019.Area 7Gene Howe WMAHemphill County5,886 acresUsing Pittman-Robertson funds the WMA was purchased in 1950 and 1951.Area 1Gene Howe WMA - W.A. "Pat" Murphy UnitLipscomb County432 acresA unit of the Gene Howe WMA that includes 89 acres of creek bottom. The unit is used for instructional, educational, and research purposes.Area 1Guadalupe Delta WMA Calhoun County, Victoria County and Refugio County 7411.34 acresThe WMA has four units: Mission Lake Unit (4,447.62 acres), Hynes Bay Unit (1007.72 acres), Guadalupe River Unit (1138 acres), and the San Antonio Unit (818 acres). State and federally threatened species observed: brown pelican, reddish egret, white-faced ibis, wood stork, bald eagle, white-tailed hawk, peregrine falcon, and whooping crane. Rare/endangered species: diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin littoralis).Area 4Gus Engeling WMAAnderson County11,000-acres21 miles northwest of Palestine. The unit was named for the first biologist assigned to the area who was killed by a poacher just before Christmas in 1951."Gus Engeling Wildlife Management Area". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved February 16, 2019.Area 2J.D. Murphree WMAJefferson County24,498 acresThe Big Hill Unit (8,312 acres) was acquired in 1958, the Lost Lake Unit was purchased in 1983, expanded in 1997, and renamed Salt Bayou Unit (15,595 acres). The Hillebrandt Unit (591 acres) was added in 1987. The American alligator is abundant and harvested annually by special drawn permit. Rare/endangered species: piping plover (Charadrius melodus), green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricate), ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), and the Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus). Area 4James E. DaughtreyLive Oak County and McMullen county34,000 acresThe WMA is named after state game warden James E. Daughtrey, who was fatally injured in a vehicle accident while pursuing suspects in McMullen County.Area 5Justin HurstBrazoria County11,93810,311 acres was purchased from 1985 to 1988. Another 1,627 was added in 1998. The land was originally part of the Peach Point Plantation was owned by James F. Perry and his wife Emily, who purchased it in 1832 from her brother Stephen F. Austin, and it was a slave plantation until 1863. Emily gave her son Bryan and his wife Lavinia 200 acres they called the Durazno Plantation and a part of this became the WMA.Area 4Keechi Creek WMALeon County1,500 acresPurchased in 1986 from a wildlife habitat mitigation obligation of the Brazos River Authority because of the land lost from the construction of the Sterling C. Robertson Dam (Robertson County) on Lake Limestone, Navasota River.Area 2Kerr WMA6,493 acresThe WMA was purchased from the Presbyterian MO Ranch Assembly in 1950 under the Pittman-Robertson Act using Federal Aid for Wildlife Restoration Program funds.Area 6Las Palomas WMA, Anacua UnitCameron County222 acresUsed as a dove breeding habitat.Area 5Las Palomas WMA, Lower Rio Grande Valley UnitsCameron County, Hidalgo County and Presidio County3,311 acresLocation is in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.Area 5Lower Neches WMAOrange County near Orange7,998 acresThe WMA is eight miles southwest of Orange with the Sabine Lake on the east side. The Old River Unit borders the Neches River on the north side and has a wildlife viewing platform.Area 4M.O. Neasloney Gonzales County100 acresUsed as a wildlife ecology field.Area 2Mad IslandMatagorda County7,200 acresPurchased in 1987 and located just west of MatagordaArea 4Mason Mountain WMA 5,301A former exotic game ranch acquired through personal donation by the TPWD in 1997. There are species of the scimitar-horned oryx, Gemsbok, common Waterbuck, Greater Kudu, Thomson's Gazelle and the axis deer.Area 6Matador WMACottle County28,183 acresPurchased in 1959 for the purposes of wildlife research, wildlife management, and public use.Area 1Matagorda Island Calhoun County56,688 acresA 38 mile long island that is from one mile to four and one half miles wide. Jointly owned by the Texas General Land Office and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, cooperatively managed as the Matagorda Island National Wildlife Refuge and State Natural Area, by the Texas Parks and Wildlife. The Matagorda Island Light (1852) is still found on the island.Area 4Moore Plantation WMASabine County and Jasper County26,772 acresThe WMA is part of the Sabine National Forest under a cooperative agreement with the US Forest Service (majority land owner), Texas Parks and Wildlife, and the adjacent land owners. The endangered red cockaded woodpecker is present.Area 3Muse WMA (McGillivray and Leona McKie Muse WMA)Brown County1,972.5 acres15 miles northeast of BrownwoodNannie M. Stringfellow Brazoria County3,664 acresThe WMA is located around 5 miles south of Brazoria, 7 miles southeast of Sweeny and northwest of San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge and Justin Hurst Wildlife Management Area. Nature Center Smith County in Tyler82 acresPreviously a bird hatchery and has a pond stocked with rainbow trout.Area 3North Toledo BendShelby adjacent to Toledo Bend Reservoir.3,650 acresManaged under a license agreement with the Sabine River Authority of Texas.Area 3Old Sabine Bottom Smith County5,158 acresLocated five miles northeast of Lindale between the Old Sabine River Channel and the Sabine River.Area 3Pat MayseLamar County8,925 acresApproximately 11 miles northwest of Paris, just southwest of Chicota wraps around the western side of Pat Mayse Lake. Sanders Creek, Craddock Creek and Sand Branch run through the WMA.