Three Eastern Hotspot WMAs
The NWTF and its partners have worked hard to make these Southern turkey hunting hot spots even hotter.
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Photo courtesy Florida Fish and Wildlife conservation commission |
Florida’s J.W. Corbett WMA
Tucked away in the pristine southern Florida landscape is more than 60,000 acres of land that many consider to be a turkey hunting paradise. The J.W. Corbett WMA is located within the boundaries of Palm Beach and Martin counties. The area hosts a variety of wildlife, including white-tailed deer, feral hogs, sandhill cranes and the much sought after Osceola wild turkey.
NWTF Projects > For the past three years, the NWTF Florida State Chapter has contributed approximately $15,000 toward habitat improvement projects within the WMA. Workers and volunteers have implemented prescribed fires, created wildlife openings and overseen supplemental plantings in the area. A variety of soft mast trees, native shrubs and food plots were included in these plantings. In addition, Florida Super Fund dollars have allowed WMA staff to work on approximately 20,000 acres of habitat that will benefit both wildlife and hunters in years to come. The WMA staff has also worked hand in hand with volunteers from the local NWTF chapter to complete these and other wildlife projects that have dramatically improved the entire area.
Florida’s Osceola WMA
The northeastern region of the Sunshine State encompasses the enormous Osceola WMA in Baker and Columbia counties. Hunters can practically get lost inside the 266,000 acres that make up this scenic and ecologically diverse management area. There are currently more than 50 miles of trails that twist and wind through the cypress swamps, sandhills and open flatwoods of the Osceola. Ocean Pond Lake is located just inside the WMA and is loaded with various species of freshwater fish like the largemouth bass.
This unique location is also home to black bear, bobcat, white-tailed deer and the Eastern wild turkey.
NWTF Projects >The Osceola WMA is cooperatively managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and lies within the Osceola National Forest. The Florida State NWTF Chapter contributed $10,000 over the last two years to the USDA Forest Service for a number of habitat improvement projects. The Florida State Chapter also spent an additional $10,000 over the last three years to fund wildlife opening plantings, which resulted in about 300 acres a year of improved habitat. Lastly, the NWTF partnered with the USDA Forest Service to for a $260,000 stewardship project aimed at thinning timber on about 500 acres inside of the WMA.
Georgia’s Dixon Memorial State Forest (WMA)
The Dixon Memorial State Forest is a very bio-diverse woodland wildlife sanctuary that encompasses nearly 15,000 acres of the Okeefenokee Swamp and 16,500 acres of forest terrain. The entire area is managed as a Wildlife Management Area and currently ranks as the fourth largest WMA in Georgia. There are approximately 170 acres of food plots and at least 55 acres of natural openings. This WMA is open for public hunting from Aug. 15 until May 15.
NWTF Projects > Spring 2007 ended with thousands of acres scorched by a series of wildfires. As part of a $1.1 million dollar longleaf grant, the NWTF and volunteers planted 1,500 acres of longleaf pine. — Travis Faulkner