Located in Atlantic and Cape May counties, Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area (WMA) comprises 18,205 acres of tidal marsh, shorelines, woodlands, and fields. An important feature of Tuckahoe WMA is its six coastal waterfowl impoundments, totaling 941 acres. These impoundments are a critical tool in Fish and Wildlife’s ability to manage habitat for New Jersey’s waterfowl.

The agency will be conducting aerial seeding operations in the Tuckahoe WMA impoundments this year. In 2019, impoundments Lester and Mallard were seeded with great success. Following up on this success, in 2021 impoundments Yellow-legs will be seeded and Lester will be reseeded, for a total of 255 acres of impoundment surface area. The impoundments will be seeded with a mixture that includes annual and perennial moist-soil vegetation, to ensure high quality waterfowl foraging habitat is available over the course of several years.

This operation is one among several habitat restoration efforts that Fish and Wildlife is engaged in within the Tuckahoe WMA impoundments. These efforts support our mission of maintaining healthy and abundant wildlife populations in New Jersey, and quality wildlife related recreational opportunities for all New Jerseyans.

These efforts were made possible when, in 2013, the agency worked with Ducks Unlimited to obtain North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant funding to refurbish the Tuckahoe wildlife management area impoundments. The NAWCA grant funds were used to enhance these impoundments from stagnant lake systems into palustrine, emergent habitat to meet bird habitat and population goals. As part of this work, the water control structures were replaced. These enhancements improved habitat conditions and management capabilities to produce critical forage availability for migrating waterfowl and shorebirds.