The Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area was established in 1950 to provide breeding and migrational habitat for waterfowl. Owned by the State of Vermont and managed by the Fish and Wildlife Department, it has grown through acquisition and development, including the construction of 16 water level control structures, into a protected and managed area of 2,858 acres of wetlands, grasslands, woodlots, and agricultural fields. Habitat productivity is enhanced through periodic mowing, burning, water level manipulation, and agricultural activities that benefit more than 250 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Funding has come primarily from hunters through a federal tax on sporting arms and ammunition and through license purchases. An operational dairy farm acquired in 1976 as an addition to the area serves as a refuge, and its cultivated fields provide feeding and resting areas for thousands of migrating waterfowl during October and November. A four-acre pond 250 yards southwest is drawn down each summer and planted to grain crops or allowed to reseed naturally to moist soil plants, then reflooded in late September to create additional feeding, watering, and resting habitat for ducks and geese. Several nearby privately owned agricultural fields are leased to the Fish and Wildlife Department for public goose hunting in October and November. Hunting is by permit only and provides a regulated harvest of a renewable resource while helping reduce crop damage on private lands by foraging geese. Most of the area is open for waterfowl hunting in the fall and for other wildlife-related recreational activities throughout the year, while restricted refuge areas are clearly marked to prevent disturbance to resting and feeding waterfowl.
