Sheffield Nelson Dagmar Wildlife Management Area
Location
Monroe County. The WMA is accessible from Interstate 40, exiting either at Brinkley or Biscoe and traveling U.S. Highway 70 west six miles from Brinkley or east 10 miles from Biscoe.
Wildlife Viewing
Visitors may observe many species of wildlife by traveling along the main gravel road through the WMA, including deer, squirrels, cottontails, swamp rabbits, raccoons, opossums, armadillos and a variety of birds. The best viewing opportunities, however, are found by hiking off the main roads or, better yet, from a small boat or canoe launched in Bayou de View, Robe Bayou or one of the WMA lakes — Hickson Lake, Gator Pond, Bowfin Overflow and Teal Pond. (Apple Lake, 400 acres, serves as a waterfowl rest area. Check for closures.) These areas may provide sightings of muskrats, beavers, otters, aquatic turtles, frogs, and during winter, a wide variety of ducks, primarily dabblers such as mallards and wood ducks.
The wetland woods in Dagmar are home to red-headed woodpeckers, great crested flycatchers and prothonotary warblers. Flooded fields often attract shorebirds such as lesser yellowlegs and pectoral and spotted sandpipers. Watch the woodland perimeters for red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks and barred owls. Common breeding birds include green-backed heron, yellow-billed cuckoo, northern parula, Kentucky warbler, common yellowthroat, yellow-breasted chat, summer tanager, ruby-throated hummingbird and indigo bunting. In spring and fall, watch for migrant warblers and vireos. Year-round residents include a variety of woodpeckers, Carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse, great horned owl, screech owl and Carolina wren. Birds uncommon in Arkansas have occasionally turned up here, including American black ducks and tricolored herons.
Description
Dagmar received its name from a small farming community in the vicinity prior to the 1927 flood. Acquisition of the WMA began in 1952; today it covers 9,720 acres. Part of the same wetland complex as the White River and Cache River NWRs, Dagmar shares designation as a "Wetland of International Importance," primarily for the habitat provided to wintering mallards.
A float on Bayou de View will allow views of some of the WMA’s most intriguing residents – bald cypress trees that are 500 to 1,000 years old.
Information
Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, (877) 734-4581.
WMA Information and Maps