New acreage added to Old Trace Creek Wildlife Management Area

FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 29, 2022) — A recent addition to Old Trace Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Lewis County more than doubles its size.

“The new acreage is close by and almost identical to the terrain of the existing Old Trace Creek WMA," said Nathan Gregory, coordinator for the Northeast Wildlife Region of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “The area has moderately steep slopes. It is about 95 percent forested with some small fields."

The new 550-acre Staggs Branch addition lies just north of Old Trace Creek WMA near the small community of Head of Cedar on KY 59. Staggs Branch is a tributary of Grassy Fork, which flows into Laurel Fork of Kinniconick Creek, a historic muskellunge stream.

The oak and hickory forest on the property provides excellent habitat for white-tailed deer, wild turkeys and squirrels.

“There is also potential for visitors to encounter upland birds such as ruffed grouse," Gregory said.

The property was purchased with funding from the Kentucky Wetland and Stream Mitigation Program. No general fund tax dollars or license fee dollars were used in this purchase. The program restores streams and wetlands to mitigate impacts to other streams in a particular river drainage. It operates under authority of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, under provisions of the federal Clean Water Act, to allow land uses that impact streams while helping to ensure functional aquatic systems in affected watersheds.

“We purchased this property to perform a stream restoration project on Staggs Branch," said Jessie Boles, Stream Team engineer in the program. “The project is mitigation in the Big Sandy River watershed."

Boles said the design process for the Staggs Branch stream restoration project is underway. Restoration work will follow.

There is a fenced off parking area off KY 59 that will be graveled by late spring. The new addition to Old Trace Creek WMA will be open to public use in time for the youth-only and general statewide spring turkey hunting seasons. Old Trace Creek WMA is open under statewide hunting regulations and bag limits.

A map of the area is available online at fw.ky.gov.