Podunk Wildlife Management Area: hunting, map and deer in WMU J2
Podunk Wildlife Management Area is 892 acres of Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department land in Orange County, inside WMU J2. VFWD's sheet says it is open to regulated hunting, trapping, fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing. A legal buck here needs at least one antler with two or more points 1 inch or longer, and hunters took 1,462 deer in WMU J2 in 2025.
Data updated October 2026. Boundary: ANR. Description: VFWD's Podunk WMA sheet, last edited 9/30/22. Seasons: VFWD 2026 Vermont White-tailed Deer Seasons.
Fish and Wildlife landState forestPodunk WMAWMU lineHighway
| Size | 892 acres (ANR) |
|---|---|
| County | Orange |
| Wildlife Management Unit | WMU J2 |
| VFWD region | Central |
| Open to (VFWD) | regulated hunting, trapping, fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing |
| Game named on VFWD's sheet | white-tailed deer, black bear, moose, wild turkey, ruffed grouse and snowshoe hare |
| Legal buck, 2026 | At least one antler with two or more points 1 inch or longer |
| Deer taken in WMU J2, 2025 | 1,462 (742 bucks) |
| Nearest villages | Fairlee (8 mi), Chelsea (8 mi) and South Royalton (10 mi) |
What is Podunk WMA like?
VFWD describes where it is: "Podunk Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is located in the east central Vermont town of Strafford, due west of Miller Pond." Of the land: "The WMA lies within the Ompompanoosuc River watershed and is mostly forested with a mix of sugar maple, white birch, beech, some red oak, balsam fir, red spruce, hemlock, and plantations of white and red pines and Norway spruce." "Elevations range from 1,900 feet on McMaster Hill to 1,300 feet at the lowest point in the WMA." On its past: "No one is sure how the WMA received its name, but Podunk is a Natick Indian word meaning "a boggy place." The WMA, however, is an upland environment." On its animals: "Game animals include white-tailed deer, black bear, moose, coyote, fox, snowshoe hare, fisher, bobcat, and grey squirrel." The sheet names white-tailed deer, black bear, moose, wild turkey, ruffed grouse and snowshoe hare among its wildlife. On parking: "A developed parking lot is located off the Class 4 road on the east end of the WMA."
Quoted from VFWD's Podunk WMA sheet. VFWD notes its WMA maps are a general guide, not survey boundaries.
When can you hunt Podunk WMA in 2026?
Seasons follow WMU J2: archery October 1 to December 15, youth and novice weekend November 7 to 8, regular season November 14 to 29 and December muzzleloader November 30 to December 13. A legal buck needs at least one antler with two or more points 1 inch or longer. Fall turkey: bow and arrow October 1 to November 13; shotgun or bow October 24 to November 1.
| WMU | WMA acres in it | Deer, 2025 | Bucks, 2025 | Bears, 2025 | Legal buck |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMU J2 | 892 | 1,462 | 742 | 135 | two points on one antler |
Seasons: VFWD 2026 Vermont White-tailed Deer Seasons; VFWD 2026 Vermont Hunting and Trapping Seasons. Harvest: VFWD 2025 White-tailed Deer Harvest Report; VFWD 2025 Black Bear Harvest Report.
How do you get to Podunk WMA?
Highways within five miles: VT 113, VT 132 and VT 244. Nearest villages: Fairlee (8 miles), Chelsea (8 miles), South Royalton (10 miles) and Norwich (11 miles). Other WMAs nearby: West Fairlee (3 miles), Kibling Hill (4 miles), Clover Hill (5 miles).
Questions hunters ask
Can you hunt on Podunk WMA?
Yes. VFWD's sheet says Podunk WMA is open to regulated hunting, trapping, fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing. Seasons and the legal buck rule follow WMU J2: a buck needs at least one antler with two or more points 1 inch or longer, and the 2026 regular deer season runs November 14 to 29.
What WMU is Podunk WMA in?
WMU J2. Hunters took 1,462 deer in WMU J2 in 2025, 742 of them bucks, and 135 bears (VFWD).
Where is Podunk WMA?
VFWD: "Podunk Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is located in the east central Vermont town of Strafford, due west of Miller Pond." The nearest villages are Fairlee (8 miles), Chelsea (8 miles) and South Royalton (10 miles).
What game lives on Podunk WMA?
VFWD's sheet for the area names white-tailed deer, black bear, moose, wild turkey, ruffed grouse and snowshoe hare. It does not count them; the WMU figures on this page are the nearest harvest numbers.
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Where these facts come from
- Boundary and acres: Vermont ANR land units (Wildlife Management Areas). Description: VFWD's WMA sheets, linked from its regional WMA pages.
- Seasons: VFWD 2026 Vermont White-tailed Deer Seasons; VFWD 2026 Vermont Hunting and Trapping Seasons. WMU harvest: VFWD 2025 White-tailed Deer Harvest Report; VFWD 2025 Black Bear Harvest Report.
- Public land around it: Vermont ANR land units (state forests, parks and Fish and Wildlife land) for state land; USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US 4.1) for federal land. Highways and villages: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, places.
FilledTag is not part of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.