Towns: Hardwick
Acreage: 1,937
Wildlife Management Zone: 6
Description
Muddy Brook is an extensive property made up of two parcels. The smaller, northern tract is a mix of abandoned pastures and orchards, marsh, swamp, and upland forest. The larger southern tract, bisected by Patrill Hollow Road, contains mixed upland oak-hickory and white pine forest, remnant sandplain communities, and acidic shrub marshes. Muddy Brook is an exceptionally unique area given the glacial lake delta that supports a fire-adapted sandplain ecosystem containing pitch pine, scrub oak, dwarf chestnut oak, American hazelnut, lowbush blueberry, huckleberry and interspersed patches of little bluestem.
Location, access, & parking
Parking areas are located off Patrill Hollow Road and Muddy Brook Road with parking available at each location for about 6 vehicles. See WMA map.
Note: WMAs are intentionally wild, visitors will find natural landscapes rather than maintained trails.
Habitat management
MassWildlife has completed a 500-acre barrens restoration project at Muddy Brook WMA to provide habitat for wildlife. Restoring barrens at this location is critical to conserving plants, insects, and animals—including 75 species on the Massachusetts Endangered Species List—that depend on these uncommon habitats. These management practices also benefit many game species.
Learn more about MassWildlife’s habitat management activities.
Hunting & fishing opportunities
The recent forest cut creating early successional habitat has greatly enhanced wildlife habitat. Particularly, food sources for white-tailed deer and black bear in this area are now abundant. Muddy Brook and its associated marshes and swamps provide excellent habitat for waterfowl and aquatic furbearer species including North American beaver, river otter, mink, and muskrat. Warm water fish species are abundant in Muddy Brook and the numerous beaver impoundments along its length.
Wildlife viewing & other features
This fire-adapted sandplain ecosystem contains glacial outwashes, eskers, and frost bottoms that may be of interest to geology, botany, and moth/butterfly enthusiasts. Patches of young forest and wetland complexes provide good opportunities for viewing moose. As a result of habitat restoration efforts, long-absent birds like the eastern whip-poor-will, along with pollinators and specialized plants, are returning to the area. Biologists monitoring the native pollinating insects at Muddy Brook WMA observed a dramatic, positive increase as a result of restoration activities. Within one year after prescribed burns, an abundance of lowbush blueberries, native little blue stem grasses, and scrub oaks are now established in the treated areas.
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.