Arkansas Game & Fish Commission

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Name & Zone: Bayou Meto - Zone 010

PDF Map 704 KB
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PDF Map  11.4 MB
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County: Arkansas, Jefferson

AGFC Interactive  Map

Zone : 1-877-367-3559

Flash Map - Northside 2.0 MB
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Flash Map - Southside 2.7 MB
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Seasons & Regulations

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Note:  This document does not contain waterfowl or turkey hunting regulations.

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About the Name: The area has several unofficial names, most of which are still in use by the public. The Bayou Meto Public Shooting Area, Public Shooting Grounds, Shooting Grounds, Welfare Hole, Wabbaseka Scatters or just the Scatters are names still commonly used in reference to the WMA. Bayou Meto Game Restoration Project was the area’s original name.
Ownership: Bayou Meto WMA is owned by the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission with four private in-holdings consisting of 380 acres. The in-holdings are posted against trespassing.
Age: Acquisition began in 1948. 
Purpose: The management goal on Bayou Meto WMA is to balance the relative quantitative and qualitative aspects of the wildlife population while insuring optimal harvest of the surplus. The natural woodlands/wetlands complex of the management area provides diverse habitat for a unique wildlife community. Management activities are directed at improving the quality of habitat for all wildlife species inhabiting the WMA.
Description: Bayou Meto is one of the largest state-owned wildlife management areas in the nation, encompassing 33,832 acres in Arkansas and Jefferson counties. The topography is generally flat with little more than an 11-foot change in elevation over the entire area. Elevations range from 174 to 185 feet above Mean Sea Level. The area has a north-south elongation, with the southernmost extension of the area separated from the main body by a distance of one mile. The WMA consists of 88 miles of exterior boundary and 4.25 of interior boundary.

There are 16 all-weather (graveled) roads on Bayou Meto, totaling 17.4 miles. In addition approximately 25 secondary (non-graveled) roads, totaling 41 miles are scattered throughout the area. Vehicular traffic is not permitted on non-graveled roads. 

There are eight permanent streams, totaling 30.5 miles including Five Forks, Wabbaseka Bayou, Government Cypress Slough, Bear Bayou, Dry Bayou, West Bayou, Cross Bayou, Little Bayou Meto and Big Bayou Meto. Twelve intermediate streams, totaling 23 miles in length form an extensive drainage network which feeds the major permanent waterways. Seventeen ditches totaling 26 miles contribute to the flooding and drainage. The largest and most significant is the Salt Bayou Ditch which extends eight miles into the WMA.

Six lakes, totaling 1,080 acres, are on the area. Halowell Reservoir is the largest, being 600 acres in size, followed by Grand Cypress lake, with 280 acres, Cox Cypress with 150 acres and Wrape Lake with 80 acres.

To attract ducks, about 13000 acres of Bayou Meto are flooded each fall, aided by a series of levees, ditches, water-control structures and plenty of rainfall. In addition, two areas, Halowell Reservoir and the Wrape Plantation, are waterfowl rest areas.

Approximately 30 miles of levees, one dam, thirteen stop-log structures, 77 gated pipes, 73 ungated pipes, four relift pumps, two high-water rock spillways, along with a few beaver dams are used for water manipulation.

The 700-acre Wrape Plantation Waterfowl Rest Area is on the south end of the area. The Game & Fish Residence and Shop Compound at the Wrape Plantation serves as the Bayou Meto sub-headquarters. Under current management, there are approximately 250 acres cooperatively farmed, 265 acres in moist soil units and an 80-acre lake, with the remaining acreage being managed for deer and small game.
Access: Bayou Meto WMA can be reached off several highways, including U.S. highways 79, 165, 152, 88 and 276. There are Arkansas Game & Fish signs on each highway. Area phone 870-873-4651.
Hunting
Opportunities: 		Bayou Meto’s green-timber duck hunting is some of the best in the state and constitutes the heaviest recreational use on the area. The opening days of the season can be very crowded with 1500 to 2000 hunters using the area each day, with the average of 350 hunters daily during the rest of the season. Duck numbers vary from one year to the next depending on the mast crop and water levels.

Deer hunting is good also. During the permit gun hunt, it is not unusual for 40 to 60 bucks to be harvested off the area. Squirrel hunting is usually excellent, but populations fluctuate depending on availability of food. Raccoon hunting is good. Dogs are allowed for squirrel, coon and rabbit hunting. Turkeys were stocked on the area from 1941-1968. Turkey hunting is fair to good with spring flooding often limiting hunter activity and reproductive success of the birds. Alligators also are found on Bayou Meto WMA.
Management
Practices: 		There are 20 food plots on Bayou Meto WMA. They are managed on a two-year rotation. Openings may be control burned, bush-hogged, disked and/or planted to provide supplemental wildlife foods and nesting and bugging areas for turkeys.
Recreation
Other Than
Hunting: 		Fishing opportunities are good on Bayou Meto WMA. Cox Cypress Lake, a 200 acre lake, is noted for excellent crappie fishing in early spring. Wrape Lake, three miles north of Reydel, is an 80-acre man-made reservoir. Both area lakes are stocked yearly with catchable-size channel catfish.
 Other Points
of Interest: 		At the present location of the Wrape Plantation, there was once a thriving logging community known as Anrept. The community was washed away by the flood of 1927. There was a post office a grocery store and even a railroad that went into the bottoms to bring out logs.

Long Bell Lumber Company established a sawmill at what is now the Long Bell Access and reportedly harvested virgin timber from the Government Cypress Area. Several of the area’s interior roads are former railroad spurs on which logs were hauled to the Long Bell Sawmill.
Camping: There are 52 primitive camp sites scattered over the entire area. Maps of the area are furnished by area personnel and the area office. The campsite boundaries are marked with signs.
Restaurants
and Other
Facilities: 		DeWitt has two restaurants and motels located 17 miles east of the area. Stuttgart has several motels and restaurants located 15 miles north of the area.  
Special
Facilities: 		There are thirteen concrete boat ramps with two or more to be made in the near future. There is also an observation tower located on Halowell Reservoir for viewing waterfowl, shorebirds, as well as many other species of birds. This observation tower is named in honor of Mrs. Pat Stephens Johnson, the first and only woman to serve on the commission to date. 
Special
Facts: 		Bayou Meto WMA is the largest state-owned area in Arkansas and one of the largest in the nation, encompassing 33,832 acres. It’s purchase was an historical step for the Commission as it marked the first time the Commission purchased full title to land to be used for public hunting. With all of its recreational opportunities, Bayou Meto WMA takes in more total visitors than any other.
Safety: Like other bottomland areas in Arkansas, Bayou Meto has its share of mosquitoes and topography capable of disorienting hunters. The use of insect repellent and a compass is advisable. It is especially easy to get lost due to the confusing network of waterways and streams. Duck hunters unfamiliar with the area should park boats near the major streams or roads so they can easily be found when returning from the hunt. There are four private in-holdings to avoid. The roads are graveled and in excellent condition.