The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources opened two new wildlife management areas in Eastern and Southern Kentucky recently.
The combined locations – one in Lowmansville and the other in Russell Springs – add 1,337 acres to the state’s public lands. In total, the KDFWR manages about 1.7 million acres.
The two new properties were purchased with Kentucky Stream and Wetland Restoration Program funds, a “fee-in-lieu-of” program for stream and wetland restoration projects through conservation easement or purchase. Developers make mitigation payments into the fund, which is used to “produce cleaner water, reduce soil erosion and improve fish and wildlife habitat on pre-approved project sites on both public and private lands,” the agency said.
“Restoration planning for both properties is in the early stages, and the timing and scope of future work have not yet been determined,” Derek Beard, assistant director of KDFWR, said of the two new properties in a Nov. 4 news release.
The new Muddygut Wildlife Management Area in Lawrence County includes 465 acres of “forested drainages, steep hillsides, and narrow valley bottoms with remnants of old mining and commercial activities.” It includes the Muddygut Branch which flows into Levisa Fork, and the public can hunt small game, deer and turkey there.
In Russell County, 872 acres along the Cumberland River are now the Crow Creek Wildlife Management Area. It has steep terrain and forested habitat offering game hunting.
There are no fees to use public lands. However, hunting licenses and permits are required for those sports.
The state wildlife agency has a map of public lands available online.
