Cinnamon Creek WMA open as improvements begin

Cinnamon Creek and it’s 8,107-acres were added to the other 192 Wildlife Management Areas officially on Aug. 5, 2022.

HYRUM— The Cinnamon Creek Wildlife Management Area was officially opened to the public on Aug. 5 with a ribbon cutting. This area was added to the 192-wildlife management areas in Utah. WMA’s help wildlife in the area by providing winter ranges and feeding grounds for the abundant animals, including big game, in that area.

The land will also be available for people to hunt and fish during the proper seasons and help minimize and mitigate wildlife depredation on private property.

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officially took ownership of its newest wildlife management area after the offering the winning bid in a November 2021 public auction.

The Cinnamon Creek runs through the property and is an important summer range for mule deer, elk and moose. Gamebirds such as the sharp tailed-grouse and greater sage-grouse also live on the property, and native Bonneville cutthroat trout swim in its creeks and streams.

Cinnamon Creek and it’s 8,107-acre WMA is located 15 miles south of the Hardware WMA, just off of Ant Flat Road and features rolling sagebrush hills dotted with stands of aspen trees.

A section of the property has thick forests and a canyon that runs through it.

Getting this property is a major win for wildlife and wildlife enthusiasts,” Daniel Olson, regional habitat manager for the DWR, said. “When the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration put the property up for bid last fall, plenty of parties, including private developers, wanted it.

“Fortunately, conservation groups, a federal partner and the Utah Legislature, led by Rep. Casey Snider, came through with the funding needed to win the bid and preserve the area for wildlife.”

Four conservation groups, including the Mule Deer Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife could see the huge benefit of having the property. They all joined with the state and provided extensive funding for the purchase of the property. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, a federal partner, also contributed significant funding to buy the land.

The entrance to the WMA was rebuilt and expanded, and a new culvert was placed at the start of the entrance road to reduce the chance of flooding on the road. The entrance road was in rough shape, so a new road was built on the hill leading into the WMA.

“Most of the roads on the WMA are in bad shape,” Olson said. “Recreational users have also created roads where roads shouldn’t be. Providing nice roads for people to travel on, and closing the spur roads that have developed through the years, are among our first priorities.”

Fortunately, the habitat on the WMA is in decent shape.

“There’s not a heavy weed component on the WMA,” Olson said. “I’m confident the area will respond well to our habitat reclamation efforts.”

However, fences on the WMA are either in poor condition or nonexistent in some areas. “Properly fencing the property is going to keep us busy for a long, long time,” he said.

WMAs provide vital winter ranges and feeding grounds for many wildlife species, including big game.

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