[1][2] After being identified as an opportunity to conserve diverse wildlife habitat in an area undergoing suburbanization, the WMA was acquired by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) in 2010.

[4] Mattaponi WMA covers 2,542 acres (10.29 km2) in Virginia's upper coastal plain, 1.3 miles (2.1 km) west of Bowling Green in Caroline County.

Its boundaries contain both upland forests, various types of wetlands, and open water habitats, including two rare oxbow lakes found within bottomlands where the Mattaponi once flowed.

[1][5][6] Management at Mattaponi WMA focuses on enhancing wildlife habitat, using techniques such as selective timber harvest, prescribed burns, and controlling water levels within wetlands and ponds.

[6][7] Other game bird species, such as bobwhite quail and woodcock, are also found at the property and benefit from management that periodically clears portions of the landscape of mature vegetation.