Towns: Hubbardston
Acreage: 361
Wildlife Management Zone: 5
Description
The Hubbardston WMA is part of the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Ware River Watershed and is managed cooperatively. The habitat consists of abandoned fields, apple orchards, mixed hardwoods, beaver wetlands, and Cunningham Pond.
Location, access, & parking
There are two main access points with parking, one off of Old Westminster Road and the second off of Route 68. Both are gravel and not maintained in the winter. See WMA map.
Note: WMAs are intentionally wild, visitors will find natural landscapes rather than maintained trails.
Hunting & fishing opportunities
The WMA portion of this DCR property is a pheasant-stocked area with birds released at least once per week during the season. The beaver wetlands provide jump shooting opportunities for waterfowl. Areas that were previously cut now provide thick cover for eastern cottontails and browse for white-tailed deer. Cunningham Pond is a shallow impoundment that has been enlarged by American beavers damming the spillway. It becomes weedy in the summer months but provides good warm water fishing opportunities for panfish such as bluegill, black crappie, and yellow perch through the ice or in the spring. There is no formal boat access but canoes and kayaks may be launched from Old Westminster Road.
Wildlife viewing & other features
This DCR-owned property provides protection for the Ware River watershed, which is used to supplement the Quabbin Reservoir during periods of low water. The thickets and understory provide habitat for songbirds such as brown thrasher, gray catbird, and eastern towhee. Wood duck nest boxes are maintained at Cunningham Pond where beaver and river otter may be observed. With good tracking conditions, signs of fisher, eastern coyote, fox, and other mammals may be found.
Regulations
During the pheasant season, a blaze orange hat must be worn by all hunters except while night-hunting raccoon or opossum or while hunting waterfowl from within a blind or boat. No person shall hunt before sunrise or after sunset during the open season on pheasant, except for the hunting of raccoon or opossum between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. WMA regulations do not apply to the rest of the watershed lands.
Read Wildlife Management Area regulations.
About Wildlife Management Areas
MassWildlife owns and manages over 220,000 acres of land to conserve fish and wildlife habitats and provide access for outdoor recreation. All WMAs are open to hunting, fishing, trapping, and other outdoor recreation activities. Visit the MassWildlife Lands Viewer for an interactive map of MassWildlife properties.
You can support land protection in Massachusetts. Contributions to the Wildlands Fund help pay for the cost of acquiring wildlife habitat. Learn more about the Wildlands Fund.