There’s an aspect of serenity one experiences about 100 yards down the trail of the Forever Wild Gothard-AWF Yates Lake Wildlife Management Area in Tallassee. Nature surrounds as squirrels play on the left and deer, in the distance, on the right.
One step onto a wayward scrap of a branch that cracks under the weight will cause a covey of quail to explode from their home, wings beating on the air as the search for new land begins.
“It measures 5,493 acres,” said Wildlife Biologist Richard Tharp of the Alabama Department of Conservation. “Originally the purchase was 3,518 acres and then we added some more to it.”
The tract was designated as a Community Hunting Area in 2010, shortly after the initial purchase, making it one of the newest areas listed.
According to the area’s listing on Forever Wild: “The Yates Lake West Tract in Elmore County consists of pine-hardwood hills and creek valley on the western shore of scenic Yates Lake.”
According to Tharp, the Forever Wild Gothard-AWF Yates Lake WMA offers activities for both hunters and outdoor enthusiasts.
In terms of hunting, the area shapes up perfectly for big game (deer and turkey), squirrel, rabbit, quail and waterfowl, according to Tharp.
In terms of outdoor activities, there’s plenty of room for hiking, photography, biking, birding and fishing.
“Since it’s one of our smaller WMAs, we don’t have a check station, so it’s basically a wild guess as to how many people use it a year,” said Tharp. “But in the last couple of years, hunting has grown fairly significantly. We get a fairly large number of calls about where it is and the dates of hunts. That has picked up a pretty good bit.”
While the last youth deer hunt of the year was in November, a handful of adult gun-hunt dates remain: Dec. 20-26, Jan. 3-9 and 17-31. Gun hunters are allowed one deer per day (doe or antlered buck) according to the Alabama Department of Conservation.
Archery hunts are scheduled all season, through Jan. 31. The only caveat to both hunts: Spotted fawns are off limits.
“It takes a while for the information to leak out,” said Tharp. “Some people don’t want to go until there is proof that it’s good hunting. And then you have a lot of people traveling now to go hunt different areas of the state. The (Yates WMA) has some nice hardwoods on it and a lot of hills and hollows. As word gets out, people will become more interested in checking it out.”
Animals, other than deer, are also in season.
Squirrel and rabbits can be hunted until Feb. 28, but are off limits on days of scheduled gun (deer) hunts. Crow and quail are also in season until the end of February.
According to Outdoor Alabama, there are 30 Wildlife Management Areas stretched from the top of the state to the bottom and from border to border. For additional information on them, or to obtain a hunting or fishing license, visit Outdoor Alabama’s website at www.outdooralabama.com.
From Wetumpka, take Alabama 14 east approximately 17.1 miles to Alabama 229. Turn left on Kent Road and travel approximately 5.5 miles to the parking lot. A second parking lot is available by turning left onto Alabama 229 and traveling approximately 3.3 miles to Tallapoosa County Road 44 (Upper River Road). Turn right on to County Road 44 and then left onto Dean Circle. Parking is available on the left.
~Story by Griffin Pritchard
