Mattaponi Wildlife Management Area

Mattaponi Wildlife Management Area
Wetlands at Mattaponi Wildlife Management Area
Location within Virginia
Location	Caroline County, Virginia
Nearest city	Bowling Green
Coordinates	38°03′48″N 77°23′40″W / 38.0634°N 77.3944°W / 38.0634; -77.3944Coordinates: 38°03′48″N 77°23′40″W / 38.0634°N 77.3944°W / 38.0634; -77.3944
Area	2,542 acres (10.29 km2)
Established	March 30, 2011 (2011-03-30)
Governing body	Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

Mattaponi Wildlife Management Area is a 2,542-acre (10.29 km²) Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Caroline County, Virginia. Located west of Bowling Green, the area protects a mixture of wetlands and upland forests at the confluence of the Mattaponi and South rivers.

Prior to state ownership, the land that was to become Mattaponi WMA was used for timber production and rock quarrying. After being identified as an opportunity to conserve diverse wildlife habitat in an area undergoing suburbanization, the WMA was acquired by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) in 2010. The total purchase price of $7.6 million was shared between VDGIF and several partners, including The Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land, and Ducks Unlimited. A significant portion of funding – $1.4 million – was provided by the U.S. Department of Defense as part of a program to protect lands in the vicinity of Fort A.P. Hill.

Mattaponi WMA was officially opened to the public on March 30, 2011.

Mattaponi WMA covers 2,542 acres (10.29 km²) in Virginia's upper coastal plain, 1.3 miles (2.1 km) west of Bowling Green in Caroline County. It borders five miles (8.0 km) of the upper Mattaponi River and one and a half miles (2.4 km) of the South River; the confluence of the two streams is located at the southern end of the WMA. Its boundaries contain both upland forests, various types of wetlands, and open water habitats, including two rare oxbow lakes found within bottomlands where the Mattaponi once flowed.