Paul and Toni Fox Burns WMA
Phone: (254) 434-3184
Address:
4567 CR 477
May, TX 76857
Contact:
Devin Erxleben
Dates Open:
Limited public access is offered during land management workshops, field days, WMA tours, and public hunts. Public hunting opportunities are offered through drawn permit hunts, during specific dates and times, with a Special Drawn Permit. For information about drawn hunts, please go to Public Hunting in Texas & Access to TPWD Lands.
Description
The Paul and Toni Fox Burns Wildlife Management Area is located in northeastern Brown County in the Cross Timbers and Prairies Ecosystem. The WMA consists of 2,178 acres of rolling grassland and limestone uplift dominated by mixed oak communities.
The Burns WMA was acquired by TPWD during 2023 by way of a private donation and using Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Program funds. Originally part of the Colonel Burns Ranch, much of the property received extensive mechanical brush removal and reseeding of native grasses to promote native wildlife habitat. Prior to ownership, TPWD Wildlife Division staff provided years of technical guidance to help guide conservation efforts on the ranch. During 2012, Dr. Paul and Toni Burns were awarded the Lone Star Land Steward Award for their efforts in conservation. The diversity of ecological sites and soil types provides for a wide diversity of woody and herbaceous vegetation on the Burns WMA. The property supports abundant wildlife including white-tailed deer, Rio Grande wild turkeys, black-capped vireos, a diversity of pollinators, and many other species. The Burns WMA operates jointly with the nearby McGillivray and Leona McKie Muse WMA and provides areas to demonstrate habitat development and wildlife management practices to landowners and other interested groups; develop new techniques for managing wildlife populations and habitat through on-the-ground research designed for local issues and conditions; and provide public hunting and appreciative use of wildlife in a manner compatible with the resource.
