Maine's Wildlife Management Areas

Use the scroll bar or your mouse wheel to scroll down and view maps of Wildlife Management Areas. Alternatively, click on the navigation links above to go to specific sections of the Story Map. Once at a Regional Section, click the right arrow to navigate to the next map, or the left arrow to return to the previous map. To view map legends, click on the "Legend" symbol on the bottom left of each map. To find more about WMA Access Points, click on the Access point symbols on each map for an informational pop-up. If the pop-up is partially hidden, click and hold your mouse and drag the map until the pop-up becomes entirely visible. To return the map to its original position, click on the "Home" button in the lower right corner.

If you are using the Story Map on a phone, you may need to click on the buttons in the upper right (arrows pointing in opposite directions) of each map to view it. This will temporarily dismiss the text and expand the map to full screen. To return to the text, click on the same button again to return the map to its original size.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife manages 71 Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) across the state.  

The mission and purpose of the State owned WMAs is to provide a statewide, ecologically based system of land holdings for the protection and enhancement of important wildlife habitats that also provide opportunities for all types of public recreation, where those forms of recreation do not unduly impact the wildlife resources. Wildlife Management Areas also serve as demonstration areas where the public can see and learn about wildlife and habitat management techniques and practices that could also be implemented on private lands.

The WMAs help to further the Department's mission as outlined in Statute 12 to:

• Preserve, protect and enhance fish and wildlife resources of the State
• Encourage the wise use of these resources
• Ensure coordinated planning for the future use and preservation of these resources
• Provide for effective management of these resources

In general, all of the WMAs are open for recreational use and enjoyment. Camping and fires are not permitted, except on Swan Island in the Kennebec River where camping facilities are provided.

Hunting/Trapping: Unless otherwise provided, WMAs are open to the hunting and trapping of all game animals under the provisions of state and federal laws and regulations. Special permits are required to place stands or blinds for more than one day, to trap or to place or hunt over bait for any species. Please visit the  Hunting Areas section of the hunting law book  or trapping law book for more information or  contact your regional wildlife biologist. 

ATVs: ATVs are generally allowed on maintained gravel roads that are open for vehicular access and approved ATV trails. To establish an ATV trail, the Department requires abutting landowner permission from where the trail crosses onto a WMA, and where the trail leaves the WMA.

Motor Vehicles: The operation of any motor vehicle, excluding motorboats, within the boundaries of any WMA is prohibited except as provided below:

• on roads not posted as closed or restricted
• on trails designated for their use
• in other areas where their use is specifically authorized

Swimming: Swimming on WMAs is prohibited except at designated locations.

Other:  Storage of personal property, cutting of live or dead trees, extraction or removal of sand or gravel, and unauthorized disposal of any material, by-products, or waste are prohibited on WMAs without written permission of the Regional Wildlife Biologist.

(Disclaimer: The boundaries shown in these maps are for display purposes only. On-the-ground boundaries for Wildlife Management Areas are maintained with red painted blazes and signage.)

Wildlife Management Areas are owned and maintained by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Their operation and maintenance are supported by your fees, as well as revenue from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses, and federal monies under the  Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Program .

Please note: all photos used in this application are copyrighted by their respective photographers and are not to be copied or used without permission.

Region A, in southern Maine, contains 12 Wildlife Management Areas. (NOTE: In Region A, there are two wildlife sanctuaries that overlap with a portion of Wildlife Management Area land. While almost all Wildlife Management Areas [WMAs] allow hunting and trapping, the portion of WMAs covered by Wildlife Sanctuaries are not open to hunting or trapping. In Region A, the following apply:

1. The Limington, Hollis and Waterboro Sanctuary overlaps with part of the Killick Pond WMA land and the Little Ossipee River WMA land.
2. The Standish Sanctuary overlaps with part of the Steep Falls Wildlife Management Area.

In both sanctuaries mentioned above, a loaded firearm is not allowed on the roads that create the boundaries of the sanctuaries or the Maine Central Railroad right-of-way that bounds the Standish Game Sanctuary.

For more information on Sanctuary boundaries please view  Title 12 on the Maine Legislature website .

Region B, in south-central Maine, contains 25 Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs).

Region C, in Downeast Maine, contains 10 Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). 

Region D, in the Rangeley Lakes region of western Maine, contains 9 Wildlife Management Areas.

(Region E, in the Moosehead Lake area of Maine, contains 2 Wildlife Management Areas) 

Region F, in the Lincoln-Millinocket area of Maine, contains 7 Wildlife Management Areas

Region G, in Aroostook County, contains 4 Wildlife Management Areas

Tip: Zoom in on the map to see labels or click on an island for more information

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife's (MDIFW) Coast of Maine Wildlife Management Area (COMWMA) is composed of coastal islands and ledges of importance to the State's coastal wildlife resources. The COMWMA spans the length of the Maine coast from Saco Bay in York County to Cobscook Bay in eastern Washington County and includes 301 individual islands and ledges. The management area includes not only islands and ledges owned by MDIFW, but also islands and ledges owned by various other state agencies such as Department of Conservation, which has transferred management authority to MDIFW. 

The islands and ledges that make up this management area range in size from approximately 250 acres (Great Duck Island - Frenchboro) to less than 1/4 acre, the majority being smaller than 2 acres. The management area as a whole is believed to exceed 2,000 acres in size. Recent records suggest that 21 species of colonial waterbirds nest on 192 islands and ledges in the COMWMA. Maine's island nesting colonies currently include the southernmost significant breeding sites for several species, such as common eiders, common puffins, razorbills, black guillemots, and great cormorants. They also mark the northern breeding limits of snowy egrets, glossy ibis, little blue herons, tricolored herons, cattle egrets, and great egrets. 

Nesting colonies of the following also occur on the islands: Arctic terns, common terns, roseate terns, herring gulls, great black-backed gulls, laughing gulls, Leach's storm-petrels, double-crested cormorant, black-crowned night herons, and great blue herons. Colonies range in size from a few pairs to thousands of nesting pairs. The seclusion offered by the islands and general lack of mammalian predators, allow for such concentrations to exist and is a major reason Maine's seabird colonies persist today. 

In addition to colonial waterbirds, a wide variety of other birds nest on the islands including, but not limited to: bald eagles, ospreys, spotted sandpipers, American oystercatchers, savannah sparrows, and yellow warblers. 

Large numbers of shorebirds, passerines, and raptors use coastal islands for staging areas during migration. Many islands and ledges in the COMWMA offer migrating shorebirds suitable, relatively undisturbed, roosting areas during high tide when mainland mudflats are unavailable for feeding. Shorebirds on mainland roost sites are often exposed to high levels of disturbance from recreationalists. Many ledges and islands in COMWMA provide gray and harbor seals, the primary marine mammals of Maine’s near-shore waters, with “haul out” and “pupping” sites. Both species of seal feed during high tide and “haul out” on ledges to rest during low tide. Seals spend a large amount of time hauled out during July and August when they are molting. Pregnant females seek out protected areas on ledges and islands to have their pups. Gray seals give birth in January and February and harbor seal pups are born from late April to mid-June.  

Several COMWMA islands and ledges, such as Great Spoon, South Popplestones, Black Horse Island and Spirit Ledge, in Jericho Bay, offer feeding and roosting winter habitat for purple sandpipers and harlequin ducks. Both species are often found sharing the same rockweed covered ledges; the sandpipers feeding on invertebrates above the water line and the Harlequins feeding on invertebrates below. The eastern population of harlequin ducks is listed by the Canadian Wildlife Service as Endangered in Canada and MDIFW has listed this population as Threatened in Maine. An estimated 1,000 harlequins, more than half the eastern North American population, winters in outer Jericho and Penobscot Bays. Although an estimate of purple sandpipers is lacking, it is believed that New Brunswick and eastern Maine support the largest known wintering purple sandpiper population in North America.

In 2018, the Coast of Maine Wildlife Management Area was renamed the Alan E. Hutchinson Wildlife Management Area in honor of Alan Hutchinson, who served as the Leader of MDIFW's Coastal Wildlife Study and then in 1984 became the first Non-game and Endangered Species Coordinator for the Department. During his time at MDIFW, Alan championed the Department’s acquisition of islands and ledges that would become the foundation for what would become the Coast of Maine Wildlife Management Area. He later went on to serve as Executive Director at the Forest Society of Maine (FSM) in 1997. During his 20 years of leadership, FSM gained national recognition for innovative strategies and extensive stewardship of working forest lands, at a time when the future of Maine’s vast woodlands was increasingly uncertain. Sadly, Alan Hutchinson died unexpectedly on August 27, 2017.  

Access:

Most of the islands in this management area have access restrictions during critical nesting periods for various bird species. Please contact the appropriate MDIFW Regional Office for more information.

Region A (Gray): (207) 287-2345

Region B (Sidney): (207) 287-5300

Region C (Jonesboro): (207) 255-2080 

Recreational Opportunities:

The  Maine Island Trail Association  is an organization that is responsible for access to a 375 mile water trail allowing access to public and private lands including some of COMWMA islands. Many of COMWMA islands provide waterfowl hunting opportunities and abundant wildlife watching, while a few do provide deer hunting opportunities for those looking for an adventurous challenge. Camping is not allowed on any of the islands that make up the Coast of Maine Wildlife Management Area.