Texas Wildlife Management Areas

47 WMAs and 24 WMA units open to hunting, with acreage, counties, region and whether TPWD holds drawn hunts there.

47WMAs

24WMA units

677,861WMA acres listed

48With drawn hunts

How the WMAs spread across Texas

Counts by TPWD public hunting region, from the WMA list and boundary layer.

The largest WMA by listed acreage is Sam Houston National Forest WMA at 161,508 acres, followed by Black Gap WMA (103,000) and Matagorda Island WMA (56,688). The smallest with a published size is Playa Lakes WMA, Dimmitt Unit at 422 acres. 36 WMAs list a headquarters address on their TPWD page, and 44 entries carry a drawn hunt area code.

TPWD region	WMAs	Units
Panhandle	7	0
Trans-Pecos	3	0
Central Texas	4	0
Dallas/Ft. Worth	5	2
Pineywoods	12	2
Austin/Waco	2	2
Houston/Beaumont	7	5
San Antonio/Corpus Christi	7	13

Every WMA and unit

WMA or unit	Kind	Acres	Counties	Region	Drawn hunts	APH unit
Alazan Bayou WMA whole area	WMA	2,063	Nacogdoches, Angelina	Pineywoods	Yes	747
Alazan Bayou WMA, Blount Tract unit	Unit	2,255	Nacogdoches	Pineywoods	No	747E
Alazan Bayou WMA, Old River Tract unit	Unit	485	Angelina	Pineywoods	No	747W
Bannister WMA whole area	WMA	25,695	San Augustine	Pineywoods	Yes	903
Angelina-Neches/Dam B WMA whole area	WMA	12,636	Jasper, Tyler	Pineywoods	Yes	707
Big Lake Bottom WMA whole area	WMA	4,253	Anderson	Pineywoods	Yes	733
Black Gap WMA whole area	WMA	103,000	Brewster	Trans-Pecos	Yes	701
Caddo Lake WMA whole area	WMA	8,124	Marion, Harrison	Pineywoods	Yes	730
Caddo National Grasslands WMA whole area	WMA	16,140	Fannin	Dallas/Ft. Worth	Yes	—
Caddo National Grasslands WMA, Bois d'Arc Unit unit	Unit	13,360	Fannin	Dallas/Ft. Worth	Yes	901N
Caddo National Grasslands WMA, Ladonia Unit unit	Unit	—	Fannin	Dallas/Ft. Worth	Yes	901S
Chaparral WMA whole area	WMA	15,200	Dimmit, La Salle	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	Yes	700
Cooper WMA whole area	WMA	14,480	Delta, Hopkins	Dallas/Ft. Worth	Yes	731
Alabama Creek WMA whole area	WMA	14,561	Trinity	Pineywoods	Yes	904
Elephant Mountain WMA whole area	WMA	23,147	Brewster	Trans-Pecos	Yes	725
Gene Howe WMA whole area	WMA	5,394	Hemphill	Panhandle	Yes	755
Pat Murphy WMA whole area	WMA	—	Lipscomb	Panhandle	No	706
Guadalupe Delta WMA whole area	WMA	—	Calhoun, Refugio, Victoria	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	Yes	—
Guadalupe Delta WMA, Guadalupe River Unit unit	Unit	1,138	Refugio	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	No	723
Guadalupe Delta WMA, Hynes Bay Unit unit	Unit	1,008	Refugio	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	No	724
Guadalupe Delta WMA, Mission Lake Unit unit	Unit	4,448	Calhoun	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	No	720
Guadalupe Delta WMA, San Antonio River Unit unit	Unit	818	Refugio, Victoria	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	Yes	760
Gus Engeling WMA whole area	WMA	11,095	Anderson	Pineywoods	Yes	754
James E. Daughtrey WMA whole area	WMA	—	Live Oak, McMullen	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	Yes	713
J.D. Murphree WMA whole area	WMA	25,852	Jefferson	Houston/Beaumont	Yes	—
J.D. Murphree WMA, Big Hill Unit unit	Unit	9,861	Jefferson	Houston/Beaumont	No	783N
J.D. Murphree WMA, Salt Bayou Unit unit	Unit	15,397	Jefferson	Houston/Beaumont	No	783S
Justin Hurst WMA whole area	WMA	—	Brazoria	Houston/Beaumont	Yes	721
Justin Hurst WMA, North Stringfellow Pasture unit	Unit	1,409	Brazoria	Houston/Beaumont	No	721D
Keechi Creek WMA whole area	WMA	1,500	Leon	Austin/Waco	Yes	726
Kerr WMA whole area	WMA	6,459	Kerr	Central Texas	Yes	—
Las Palomas WMA whole area	WMA	—	Starr, Hidalgo, Cameron, Willacy	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	Yes	—
Las Palomas WMA, Anacua Unit unit	Unit	220	Cameron	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	No	744
Las Palomas WMA, Arroyo Colorado Unit unit	Unit	—	Cameron	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	Yes	739
Las Palomas WMA, Baird Unit unit	Unit	122	Hidalgo	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	No	710
Las Palomas WMA, Carricitos Unit unit	Unit	118	Cameron	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	No	714
Las Palomas WMA, Chapote Unit unit	Unit	220	Hidalgo	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	No	718
Las Palomas WMA, Ebony Unit unit	Unit	266	Cameron	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	No	719
Las Palomas WMA, Longoria Unit unit	Unit	374	Cameron	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	Yes	741
Las Palomas WMA, Taormina Unit unit	Unit	600	Hidalgo	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	No	715
Las Palomas WMA, Tucker Unit unit	Unit	175	Cameron	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	No	740
Lower Neches WMA whole area	WMA	7,998	Orange	Houston/Beaumont	No	—
Lower Neches WMA, Nelda Stark Unit unit	Unit	868	Orange	Houston/Beaumont	No	738
Lower Neches WMA, Old River Unit unit	Unit	4,386	Orange	Houston/Beaumont	No	728
Mad Island WMA whole area	WMA	7,714	Matagorda	Houston/Beaumont	Yes	729
Mason Mountain WMA whole area	WMA	—	Mason	Central Texas	Yes	749
Matador WMA whole area	WMA	28,183	Cottle	Panhandle	Yes	702
Matagorda Island WMA whole area	WMA	56,688	Calhoun	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	Yes	722
McGillivray and Leona McKie Muse WMA whole area	WMA	1,972	Brown	Central Texas	Yes	750
Nannie M. Stringfellow WMA whole area	WMA	3,666	Brazoria	Houston/Beaumont	Yes	716
North Toledo Bend WMA whole area	WMA	3,650	Shelby	Pineywoods	No	615
Old Sabine Bottom WMA whole area	WMA	5,727	Smith	Pineywoods	Yes	732
Pat Mayse WMA whole area	WMA	8,925	Lamar	Dallas/Ft. Worth	Yes	705
Paul and Toni Fox Burns WMA whole area	WMA	2,178	Brown	Central Texas	Yes	—
Playa Lakes WMA, Dimmitt Unit whole area	WMA	422	Castro	Panhandle	Yes	736
Playa Lakes WMA, Taylor Lakes Unit whole area	WMA	—	Donley	Panhandle	Yes	751
Powderhorn WMA whole area	WMA	15,093	Calhoun	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	Yes	—
Richland Creek WMA whole area	WMA	—	Freestone, Navarro	Austin/Waco	Yes	—
Richland Creek WMA, Carl Frentress Unit unit	Unit	5,628	Freestone, Navarro	Austin/Waco	Yes	703N
Richland Creek WMA, South Unit unit	Unit	8,974	Freestone, Navarro	Austin/Waco	Yes	703S
Roger R. Fawcett WMA whole area	WMA	5,459	Palo Pinto	Dallas/Ft. Worth	Yes	781
Moore Plantation WMA whole area	WMA	26,772	Sabine, Jasper	Pineywoods	Yes	902
Sam Houston National Forest WMA whole area	WMA	161,508	Montgomery, San Jacinto, Walker	Houston/Beaumont	Yes	905
Sierra Diablo WMA whole area	WMA	11,624	Culberson, Hudspeth	Trans-Pecos	Yes	—
Tawakoni WMA whole area	WMA	2,335	Hunt, Van Zandt	Dallas/Ft. Worth	No	708
Teacup Mountain WMA whole area	WMA	11,091	Foard, Hardeman	Panhandle	Yes	785
Tony Houseman/Blue Elbow Swamp WMA whole area	WMA	—	Orange	Houston/Beaumont	No	712
Trinity River WMA whole area	WMA	—	Anderson	Pineywoods	Yes	—
Welder Flats WMA whole area	WMA	1,480	Calhoun	San Antonio/Corpus Christi	No	—
White Oak Creek WMA whole area	WMA	25,777	Bowie, Cass, Morris, Titus	Pineywoods	Yes	727
Yoakum Dunes WMA whole area	WMA	—	Cochran, Terry, Yoakum	Panhandle	Yes	—

TPWD Find a WMA list, WMA pages, WMA boundary layer and the 2026-27 drawn hunt catalog; checked October 11, 2026. Units carry TPWD APH map booklet numbers.

Sand dunes and desert ridges in the Chihuahuan DesertPhoto: Corey Leopold (CC BY 2.0)

Gravel road through post oak woods in North TexasPhoto: gurdonark (CC BY 2.0)

Blackland prairie meadow full of coneflowersPhoto: sonnia hill (CC BY 2.0)

WMA questions

Do WMAs need the APH permit?

Most WMA hunting is under the $48 Annual Public Hunting permit; some hunts are drawn special permits instead. Each WMA page lists both.

Which WMAs are closed to hunting?

Atkinson Island WMA, Redhead Pond WMA and Playa Lakes WMA – Armstrong Unit are closed, as listed on the public land hub.

What is a WMA unit?

A separately mapped piece of a WMA with its own APH booklet number or drawn hunt code. Several large WMAs are split this way.

Does the APH permit cover camping on WMAs?

The APH permit includes camping access on designated sites where the area allows it; check each WMA page.