WPAs offer many opportunities for wildlife observation, hiking, hunting, photography, cross-country skiing, education, and interpretation for organized groups. Wildlife often observed on the WPAs includes waterfowl, upland game birds, songbirds, birds of prey, deer, and numerous fur bearers.

Prescribed burning and grazing are preferred treatments for native grasses. When timed properly, these techniques can improve vigor and modify species composition of warm and cool season native grasses. Haying and raking can also improve the vigor of native grasses and DNC. Haying and grazing activities are accomplished by issuing special use permits to private landowners.

Old stands of DNC are occasionally broken out and farmed for successive years and then seeded back to DNC or natives. Cooperative farming agreements are developed with private landowners as cooperators. WPA lands are mostly farmed on a share crop basis. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's portion of the crop is either left standing as a food plot or harvested and used for resident wildlife feeders. Noxious weed management techniques include chemical application, mowing, sheep grazing, and biological controls such as flea beetles on leafy spurge.