Tuckahoe Lottery Application

NJDEP’s Fish and Wildlife will be implementing a new waterfowl hunting program at Tuckahoe WMA beginning in the October 2021. Tuckahoe WMA has 6 impoundments that total 941 acres. Three impoundments are on the Cape May County (colloquially, Tuckahoe) side of the Tuckahoe River while 3 larger impoundments are on the Atlantic County (colloquially, Corbin City) side (see map on the right).

During the late 2010s, Fish and Wildlife partnered with Ducks Unlimited and the Cape May County Mosquito Commission and procured a $1 million habitat restoration project for these 70-year-old impoundments, paid with Federal funds through the North American Waterfowl Conservation Act. Given this restoration project, the agency has a unique opportunity to manage the Tuckahoe WMA impoundments for a more quality waterfowl hunting experience. Managed waterfowl hunting opportunities that seek to maximize waterfowl use and provide a quality hunting experience are a common practice across the US. Common themes in these programs are that managers provide an attractive food base for waterfowl and reduce disturbance to the area by limiting hunting pressure. At Tuckahoe WMA, moist-soil impoundment management to grow valuable plants like millet, yellow nutsedge, broom sedge and 3-square, is used to provide the waterfowl food base.

Fish and Wildlife’s Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation (R3) Program has worked closely with other agency bureaus, as well as Ducks Unlimited, to develop this managed hunting opportunity which was endorsed by the Fish and Game Council. Collectively, four major objectives of this plan are to:

1. Improve the overall quality of waterfowl hunting at the Tuckahoe WMA impoundments;
2. Provide an opportunity for newly recruited or less experienced waterfowl hunters;
3. Provide a new and improved experience for current waterfowl hunters, and
4. Provide an opportunity that alleviates access and overcrowding constraints that negatively impact waterfowl hunters’ experiences.

Key elements of the program are:

1. Reduce waterfowl disturbance by closing impoundment roads to all vehiclar traffic during the waterfowl hunting season, except on hunt days.
2. Reduce hunting pressure by only allowing waterfowl hunting 3 days/week; Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday (exception: areas will be open Friday, December 24; but closed Saturday, December 25) from dawn to noon.
3. Provide two options of hunting experiences and hunter densities. The Tuckahoe side will have a structured (lottery and drawing for 6 permanent blinds) regime; however, the Corbin City side will have a less structured approach. The less structured strategy is more conducive for Corbin City since it is more than 2 times larger than the Tuckahoe side.

Regulations: both Tuckahoe and Corbin City Sides

• Gates to impoundment roads will be gated and closed to all vehicle traffic from October 9 until January 20. Roads will only be open on hunt days to vehicle traffic from before dawn until 2:00 PM.
• Impoundments will only be open to waterfowl hunting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays (exception: areas will be open Friday, December 24 and closed Saturday, December 25) during the South Zone duck season. Hunting hours on these days will be ½ hr. before sunrise to noon. WATERFOWL HUNTING IS FORBIDDEN ON TUESDAYS, THURSDAYS, AND FRIDAYS AND AFTER 12 NOON ON HUNT DAYS.
• Dikes are closed to small game (e.g. pheasant) hunting at all times.
• No waterfowl hunting is allowed within 450 feet seaward of the dike around the impoundments (see closure map).
• There are no additional hunting restrictions during the September Canada goose or special winter Canada goose seasons.

Regulations: Tuckahoe Side

• 6 permanent hunting blinds are available by lottery only. Any leftover or unclaimed blinds will be assigned on the morning of the hunt.
• Lottery is open September 1-30.
• Blinds hold up to 4 hunters. Hunters awarded a hunt blind in the lottery can bring up to 3 additional guests.
• See additional information by clicking on application link.

Regulations: Corbin City Side

• No permanent blinds allowed. Temporary blinds must be taken down at end of hunt
• No restrictions on number of hunters.
• No restrictions on hunting location.