Texas Just Added a New Wildlife Area After 20 Years in East Texas – Here’s Where

Here is some great news for East Texas. For the first time in almost 20 years, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is adding a Wildlife Management Area.

This new area, called The Trinity River WMA is big, it's about 6,900 acres, located in Anderson County. It will become the Middle Trinity River Ecosystem Project. The area will become part of the Gus Engeling, Richland Creek, Big Lake Bottom and Keechi Creek WMAs, making the area over 38,000 acres of protected land. It will also add over 11 miles of Trinity River frontage.

The land comes from the family of the late Jackie Gragg. The family wanted to see this area protected and after a year and a half of negotiations, it finally happened. This expansion will allow the TPWD to help slow floodwaters and protect natural habitats for wildlife.

Funding for this new Wildlife Management Area came from $10 million from the Migratory Game Bird Stamp Funds and by the Knobloch Family Foundation and the US Fish and Wildlife Services.

Looking towards the future, the TPWD says there will eventually be public access for hunting, fishing and camping. That is always something to look forward to!

You can get more information about Texas Wildlife Management Areas online.