Moreland agreed with Robinette. “Some of the locals use it,” he remarked, “but it doesn’t seem to draw hunters from other parts of the state like Jackson-Bienville or Clear Creek.”

Spreading over approximately 14,000 acres, Sabine WMA is owned by two major timber companies. Some smaller tracts belonging to other timber companies and private individuals lie within the area and are accessible by the hunting public.

The terrain varies from rolling hills to creek bottoms. The major timber type is loblolly pine in plantations. Overstory species include these pines, along with red oak, post oak, white oak, hickory and sweetgum. Understory species include yaupon and French mulberry, among other trees.

The creek bottoms’ overstory comprises beech, willow oak, water oak, red maple, black gum, magnolia, southern red oak and sweetgum; understory species include ironwood, dogwood, wild azalea and deciduous holly.

“I think they have been trying to make the season opening dates on Sabine a little bit different,” said Moreland, “which should give hunters who have been hunting other areas the incentive to come to Sabine -- but it doesn’t seem to work. It’s just one of those things.”

State Highway 6 and U.S. Highway 171 are the major roads providing access to the WMA.

THREE RIVERS AND RED RIVER WMAs
Along the Mississippi river on the eastern side of the state are found the Red River and Three Rivers WMAs -- always-productive areas for numbers and quality of deer. Mostly hardwood forest, they’re surrounded by a lot of agricultural land.

Red River WMA is on state Highway 15 approximately 35 miles south of Ferriday in lower Concordia Parish. State highways 15 and 910 and a gravel levee provide all weather access. Gravel oil field roads and numerous woods roads traverse the interior.

Red River consists at present of 41,681 low, flat and poorly drained acres, and is subject to annual flooding by the Red and Mississippi rivers and Cocodrie Bayou. Timber consists of mixed bottomland hardwood. The timber stand is rather sparse over a large part of the area owing to heavy cutting operations undertaken prior to the purchase by the LDWF. Major tree and shrub species in the understory consist of swamp privet, water elm, buttonbush and box elder. Approximately 265,000 hardwood seedlings have been planted on approximately 800 acres of former agricultural land. Abandoned oil well sites and rights of way are clipped annually and maintained as wildlife openings.

In the southern tip of Concordia Parish approximately 50 miles south of Vidalia, Three Rivers WMA lies between the Mississippi and Red rivers just north of Lower Old River. Primary access routes are state highways 15 and 910. Interior access is provided by an all-weather shell road that traverses the entire width of the area just north of the Old River outflow channel and a network of unimproved roads and trails. Boats afford additional access along the Red River and numerous bayous.

Three Rivers WMA, consisting at present of 27,380 acres, contains typically flat to depressed terrain, the only significant changes in relief being elevated roads, levees, and a large artificial sand ridge; numerous small lakes and bayous are formed by this relatively poor drainage pattern. A large portion of the land is subject to annual spring flooding.

SHERBURNE WMA
Access to Sherburne is via Highway 975, which connects with highway 190 at Krotz Springs on the North, and Interstate 10 at Whiskey Bay on the South. Entrance to the interior of the area is possible through a series of all-weather roads, ATV trails, and Big and Little Alabama bayous. Two private boat launches are on the northern portion of Big Alabama Bayou, one public launch is on the northern portion of Little Alabama Bayou, and one public launch is on the southern portion of Big Alabama Bayou.