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Canton, Massena restricted wildlife management areas open Aug. 17-30

Posted 8/12/13

The Department of Environmental Conservation will open restricted portions of the Upper and Lower Lakes and Wilson Hill wildlife management areas to visitors for a two-week period, according to a …

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Canton, Massena restricted wildlife management areas open Aug. 17-30

Posted

The Department of Environmental Conservation will open restricted portions of the Upper and Lower Lakes and Wilson Hill wildlife management areas to visitors for a two-week period, according to a prepared DEC press release.

The public will have access to the restricted portions of the wildlife management areas Saturday, Aug. 17 through Friday, Aug. 30.

“These special areas offer a variety of natural habitats for people to experience and provide excellent wildlife viewing opportunities,” said DEC Regional Wildlife Manager James Farquhar.

“Opening these refuge wetland areas to the public for a limited period gives visitors a chance to connect with nature through hiking, canoeing and bird watching, with minimal impacts on wildlife,” he said.

This marks the 18th year DEC will open the wetlands to expanded public access. For most of the year the wetlands are off limits to the public to provide feeding and resting areas for migratory waterfowl.

The restricted areas are also used by a number of endangered, threatened, and rare species including bald eagles, black terns, and northern harriers or marsh hawks.

By late August the nesting and brooding season is mostly complete and the fall migration period has not yet begun, allowing DEC to grant the public access, according to DEC staffers.

Upper and Lower Lakes are located about two miles west of Canton, along state route 68. This restricted area, the largest in the region, is an 8,770-acre upland/wetland complex between the Grasse and Oswegatchie rivers, staffers said.

Created in the 1950s during the construction of the St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project, Wilson Hill is located approximately six miles west of Massena, off state route 37. Situated along the St. Lawrence River, the 3,434-acre area consists of several large pools of open water marsh, bordered by a combination of cattails, brushy wetlands, forest, and upland meadow, DEC officials said.

Construction projects are underway at Wilson Hill to improve the habitat for fish and wildlife. Visitors are asked to avoid construction activity.

For more information visit www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/8282.html or call the regional office at 785-2263.