Catoosa Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Cumberland, Morgan and Fentress Counties is open for the season. Visitors will notice charred lands, a result of WMA land management practices, when traveling in the Peavine, or central portion of the WMA.
Intentional fires are set at specific times of year to control woody, invasive growth that affects overall habitat for game species such as deer, turkey and quail. However, this type of management is beneficial for far more. Any visitor to the WMA will notice unique grasses, flowers and towering short-leaf pine, a direct result of burning.
WMA managers are not the first to utilize this form of management. Settlers used fire to maintain pastures for cattle and Native Americans used fire to maintain grasslands for hunting purposes.
Today’s managers utilize fire in similar ways. Fire clears out undesired, woody plants and promotes plants that provide food and cover.
Managers are especially interested in providing food and cover for quail. Quail habitat has declined as forests habitat replaces the once abundant grassland habitat on the plateau. According to Marc Lipner, TWRA biologist, “It’s very gratifying to maintain these unique habitats and provide not only hunting opportunities but wildlife viewing for WMA visitors. Tending to WMA lands is a passion of all WMA managers and we hope residents visit and take advantage of these unique, historic habitats.”
Visitors can listen for the call of the Bobwhite Quail or enjoy spring blooming flowers along the 130 plus miles of roadway or hike the nearly 200 miles of trails.
Hunters can take advantage of special hunts on this and other managed WMAs. Funding to support management on many WMAs comes from revenue generated by hunters and anglers. For information on how you can help support these areas visit: https://apps.tn.gov/twrafund/.
Storm cleanup is still underway and visitors should be aware of overhead dangers when parking vehicles and walking trails throughout the entire WMA.