Delaware · Public Land · 2026 Edition
Delaware Public Hunting Land 2026: WMAs & Access Rules
2 wildlife management areas tracked here, from 2,700 to 3,100 acres. A hunting license covers you on Delaware WMA land the same as anywhere else in the state — but read the access rules below before you assume that's all you need.
01 — Wildlife management areas
| Area | County | Acres | Species |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assawoman Wildlife Area | Sussex | 3,100 | Waterfowl, Deer, Bobwhite quail |
| Ted Harvey Conservation Area | Kent | 2,700 | Deer, Waterfowl, Small game |
Assawoman, on the Sussex County coast near Frankford, was rebuilt from Depression-era abandoned farmland into managed waterfowl ponds, with deer and bobwhite quail hunted on the upland ground around them. Ted Harvey Conservation Area, just outside Dover in Kent County, spans several separate tracts (Logan Lane, Wilson-Slaughter, Morris, Buckaloo, Roberts, and Island Farm among them) offering both deer and waterfowl hunting close to the state capital. This list is a starting point, not DNREC's full inventory of 19 wildlife areas statewide.
02 — Access rules beyond your hunting license
DNREC manages about 68,000 acres across 19 public wildlife areas — most split into several separate named tracts rather than one contiguous block, so a single WMA's own hunting map often covers multiple non-adjacent parcels with different rules per tract (Deer/Furbearers/Small Game vs. Waterfowl/Gamebirds designations vary tract by tract). A standard Delaware hunting license covers hunting on all of them, no separate area permit — but any registered motor vehicle used to access a wildlife area needs a Conservation Access Pass, and several waterfowl tracts (like the Augustine Wildlife Area blinds used for the September Teal lottery) layer their own permit or lottery system on top.
03 — Where to go next
Verified · Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division of Fish and Wildlife · Last verified 2026-08-13
Publisher's note. WMA list and access rules read from DNREC, retrieved 2026-08-13. Review due 2027-08-01. This is a starting list, not the agency's full WMA inventory — confirm current rules for a specific area before you hunt it.