Mud Creek Wildlife Management Area

 

Description

Mud Creek Wildlife Management Area is located in Vermont’s northwestern corner in the town of Alburgh. Its 1,151 acres are mostly marshland, with a small upland component. It’s owned by the State of Vermont and managed by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. The property extends from the Canadian border south to the mouth of Mud Creek in Lake Champlain’s Ransom Bay. The heart of the marsh can only be accessed by small boat.

History
The area around Alburgh and Swanton has a long history of occupation by Native Americans, notably the Abenaki Tribe. Both Anglo-Europeans and French Canadians later settled in this part of Vermont. Alburgh was chartered to Ira Allen in 1781; the town was named after him. Early settlers were mostly occupied with clearing forest and farming in the rich Champlain Valley soils; the latter is still the main land use in the Mud Creek drainage.

This WMA is a patchwork of many small land purchases. The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department made its first acquisition in 1953, using Pitman Robertson funds. The Nature Conservancy facilitated some of the most recent land acquisitions.

Habitat

Mud Creek is a sluggish stream that begins in Canada and flows south to Lake Champlain. There is a water control structure that has raised the water level and created more marshland.
Mud Creek WMA is a mix of cattail-dominated emergent marsh, deep bulrush marshes and forested swamp. Forest swamp communities include red maple-black ash, spruce-fir-tamarack and red maple-northern white cedar.At the mouth of the Creek there is a small section of lake sand beach.

A rare plant called Torrey’s rush occurs in the marsh, as well as other interesting plants such as matted spike-rush, yellow water-crowfoot, nodding trillium and cattail sedge.
Vermont’s endangered spiny softshell turtle is sometimes a summer visitor.

Fish and Wildlife

Wildlife

Some mammals that might be encountered are white-tailed deer, gray squirrel, raccoon, beaver, muskrat, mink and otter.

Birds

There are excellent birding opportunities for wetland species such as pied-billed grebe, least bittern, sora, Virginia rail, American coot and common moorhen. The endangered black tern has nested here. Wetland-dwelling songbirds include eastern kingbird, belted kingfisher, marsh wren, swamp sparrow and northern waterthrush.

Upland game species in the WMA are ruffed grouse, turkey and woodcock. Breeding waterfowl include Canada goose, black and wood ducks, mallard, hooded merganser, blue-winged teal and goldeneye, with other species during migration.

Reptiles and Amphibians

Many species of herptiles can be found at Mud Creek WMA. Look for blue-spotted, spotted and red-backed salamanders, newts, and green, pickerel, northern leopard and wood frogs. The rare western chorus frog may also be present. Turtle species include snapping turtles, painted and northern map turtles. State-endangered spiny softshell turtles are sometimes found near the mouth of Mud Creek. Northern water and garter snakes are also present.

Fish

Fishing is allowed on the Controlled Hunting portion of the WMA through September 1st. Yellow perch, bullhead and northern pike are some species that may be caught.

 

Usage

Mud Creek WMA is open to regulated hunting, trapping, fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing. Hunting and trapping are allowed using a controlled permit process. Hunting in the Controlled Hunting Area is by permit only.

Fishing is allowed on the Controlled Hunting portion of the WMA through September 1st. Yellow perch, bullhead and northern pike are some species that may be caught.

Notes

Video of Mud Creek Wildlife Management Area

Directions

 

Take RT 78 west from I-89 in Swanton, VT. From the Northway (I-87) take RT 11 in Champlain, NY east to RT 2, then take RT 2 to the stoplight at the intersection of RT 78 and turn left.

The best access is from RT 78 as it crosses the Creek, where there is an old railroad bed that has been made into a biking and hiking path. There are times when access along the path is restricted.

Please read and follow  the posted regulations.
Green Woods Road in Alburg cuts through the northern end of the WMA.

 

 

 

Other Articles on Lake Champlain Valley WMA's:

• East Bay Wildlife Management Area
• East Creek Wildlife Management Area
• Sandbar Wildlife Management Area
• The Narrows Wildlife Management Area
• Bird-watching Opportunities at Vermont WMA’s

Ausable Marsh Wildlife Management Area

 

 

Description

The Ausable Marsh Wildlife Management Area is a 660-acre parcel next to Lake Champlain along U.S. Highway Route 9 in the Town of Peru, Clinton County, New York. Its primary purpose is for wildlife management, wildlife habitat management, and wildlife-dependent recreation.

For thousands of years, the Ausable River has deposited material where it meets Lake Champlain, creating a fertile delta at the river’s mouth which has been used by humans for centuries. Prior to state ownership, the area was used primarily for agriculture and timber harvesting.

This WMA’a land was acquired from the Peru Development Company in 1950. Now it is managed by the DEC for recreational and scientific purposes, including: natural resources education, wildlife observation and photography, fishing, trapping, hunting, and canoeing. One of the primary aims is to offer nesting and feeding habitat to a variety of waterfowl.

 

Habitats

Ausable Marsh WMA consists of 12 ecological communities that range from emergent marsh to floodplain forest. This habitat variety supports diverse fish and wildlife populations. DEC employs various management techniques within some of these different habitats to improve breeding and feeding conditions for many wildlife species.

One of these ecological communities is the marsh headwater stream. This area has populations of brown bullhead and has breeding habitat for northern pike and largemouth bass. The plentiful supply of fish within the marsh and the Ausable River (especially landlocked Atlantic Salmon) lures not only anglers but osprey, a threatened species in New York, to the Ausable Marsh.

To increase the breeding success of the vulnerable osprey, DEC, with help from New York State Electric and Gas, has placed 2 artificial osprey nest platforms in the WMA. As a result, ospreys have successfully bred and raised young at Ausable Marsh.

 

Fish and Wildlife

Ausable Marsh wildlife habitats range from marsh and sandy dunes to floodplain forest. These habitats support many types of fish and wildlife. Streams, marsh and the Ausable River are breeding grounds for several species of fish and frogs, which attract several mammal species and many types of birds. A variety of turtles can be seen basking on logs in the mid-summer sun.

 

 

Wildlife to Watch

Black bear, Great blue heron, Wood duck, Osprey, Bald eagle, Eastern bluebird, Beaver, Muskrat, Snapping turtle

Where to Watch

Accessible trail and Viewing platform

 

Usage

Hunting and Trapping

Ausable Marsh Wildlife Management Area is open to the public throughout the year. Hunting and trapping are allowed in season on the entire area in accordance with the Environmental Conservation Law and regulations. (See: NY hunting seasons and NY trapping seasons)

Fishing

There are multiple waters bodies within this WMA, or that can be accessed from, the Ausable Marsh WMA.

Lake Champlain has a variety of fish species. Yellow perch, sunfish, pike, bullhead can all be fished in Dead Creek, trout and salmon in the Ausable River, and bass, bullhead, and catfish in the Little Ausable River.

 

The following activities are prohibited in Ausable Marsh WMA:

• Using motorized vehicles, including: all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, motorboats
• Swimming or bathing
• Camping
• Using metal detectors, searching for or removing historic or cultural artifacts without a permit
• Damaging or removing gates, fences, signs or other property
• Overnight storage of boats
• Cutting, removing or damaging living vegetation
• Construction of permanent blinds or other structures such as tree stands
• Littering
• Storage of personal property

 

Notes

Outdoor Safety Tips

Ticks are active when temperatures are above freezing but especially in the late spring and early fall. Deer ticks can transmit Lyme and several other diseases.

Practice ‘Leave No Trace Principles’ when recreating on state land to enjoy the outdoors responsibly; minimize impact on the natural resources and avoid conflicts.

Accessibility

The Ausable Marsh Wildlife Management Area has a wheelchair accessible wildlife viewing platform along the Ausable Point Campground Road.

The viewing platform has its own parking area with one designated parking spot for people with disabilities with parking for two more vehicles. A level board walk extends out into the marsh terminating at the viewing platform. There is a large bench on the platform and room for several wheelchairs.

 

Directions

 

From Exit 35 of the Adirondack Northway (I-87). Turn east on Bear Swamp Road (Route 442). Take Bear Swamp Road about 3 miles to State Route 9. Ausable Marsh WMA can be accessed from several points along Route 9.

• Turn left on State Route 9 north to use the Ausable Point Campground Road which will be on the right in about 0.4 miles.
• Turn right on State Route 9 south to use the Ausable Marsh Access Road which will be on the left in 0.1 mile.
• The Ausable Point Campground boat launch to use Lake Champlain is on the Ausable Point Campground Road
• The boat launch to use Ausable March and Dead Creek is located on The Ausable Point Campground Road at the main parking area just before entering the Campground/Day Use Area through the toll both