![Tyson Foods Plant [Photo: Food Manufacturing]](https://southarkansassun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/iStock_1185520857__1_.5e441daa51cca-600x337.jpg)
![Silverado Senior Living Management Inc. [Photo: Los Angeles Times]](https://southarkansassun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/download-6-4-600x337.jpg)
![China's Wuhan Institute of Virology [Photo: Nature]](https://southarkansassun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/d41586-021-01529-3_19239608-600x337.jpg)
In recent years the number and acreage of state wildlife management areas has grown considerably.
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) now owns, leases or manages more than 85 wildlife management areas (WMAs) for public use — hunting, fishing, hiking, and other nature-related activities.
Many of these public-use areas have special regulations and hunting season dates that differ from statewide seasons. Some of the areas offer quota hunts, and/or hunts for mobility-impaired persons.
The wildlife species hunted and trapped on these areas include: small game (squirrel, rabbits, quail and ruffed grouse), migratory birds and waterfowl, furbearers, wild turkeys, white-tailed deer, black bear and elk.
Kentucky’s public hunting areas are organized into five regions based on geographical features: Purchase Region, Green River Region, Bluegrass Region, Northeast Region and Southeast Region.
There are 18 public hunting areas in the 31 counties of the Bluegrass Region, which is bordered on the north by Boone County, on the west by Jefferson County, Marion County on the south, and Bourbon County on the east.
Two of the most popular areas in the region are: Kentucky River WMA, 3,643 acres in Henry and Owen counties, and Taylorsville Lake WMA, 9,419 acres in Spencer, Anderson and Nelson counties.
Both WMAs offer excellent deer hunting opportunities.
There are 21 public hunting areas in the 22 counties of the Northeast Region, which is bordered on the north by Bracken County, on the west by Montgomery County, Pike County on the south, and Boyd County on the east.
One of the most popular areas in the region is Paintsville Lake WMA, 11,222 acres in Johnson and Morgan counties which offers a quota elk hunt, and hunting during bear season, in addition to other species.
Land swap
On November 27, 2024 a land swap in the Purchase Region was announced that will increase waterfowl hunting opportunities at the 4,258-acre Obion Creek WMA.
KDFWR swapped 665 acres of its 6,425-acre West Kentucky Wildlife Management Area in McCracken County to the Australian nuclear fuel enrichment company Global Laser Enrichment for 1,043 acres near the Mississippi River in Fulton County.
KDFWR commissioner Rich Storm said the land swap was “a creative and carefully constructed exchange” that will benefit both wildlife and nearby communities.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said it’s “an important step in a potential major economic development project in McCracken County that will create up to 300 full-time jobs for Kentuckians.”
The Choate Tract, as the new acreage in Obion Creek WMA will be called, is expected to open to hunting and fishing in spring of 2025.
Historically, the property has been in agriculture, but portions are frequently flooded by the Mississippi River.
In 2023, the property was enrolled into the Wetland Reserve Easement Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Resource Conservation Service, with longterm plans to restore the property to a bottomland hardwood forest and wetland complex that will be attractive to waterfowl.
The regulations for hunting on public-use areas are lengthy and vary from area to area. For details click here fw.ky.gov/Public-Land-Hunting.
