Hunting & Outdoors
Bankhead National Forest and the Black Warrior WMA
The forest, the wilderness and the WMA on one map, where you stand, the WMA seasons and permits as published, and today's weather alerts. Sources on every section.
Map
- Bankhead Ranger District (national forest)
- Black Warrior WMA
- Sipsey Wilderness
- CSWMA checking station
Where am I?
Your phone's GPS, compared with the boundaries on this page. Your position stays on your device; it is never sent to us.
Boundaries: USDA Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse (Bankhead Ranger District, Sipsey Wilderness, 25,851 GIS acres) and Alabama DCNR (Black Warrior WMA map year 2026-27, 90,268 acres; checking station), fetched Nov 7, 6:11 PM Central and simplified for the web. Both agencies state their GIS data is not a legal boundary and not a survey.
2026-2027 season
Black Warrior WMA: gun deer, by zone
- Zones A and B: gun deer November 7-8, 2026.
- Zone A (gun, antlered bucks only): November 12-15, November 26-29, December 10-13, 2026.
- Zone B (gun, antlered bucks only): November 19-22, December 3-6, December 17-20, 2026.
- Archery hunting is permitted in the zone closed to gun deer hunting.
- Zone B antler rule: to be legal for harvest, antlered bucks in Zone B must have at least four (4) antler points (1 inch or longer) on at least one main beam.
Black Warrior WMA: permits, check-in and licences
- For all hunts, a paper AREA permit and a paper WMA daily permit are required unless you use the Outdoor Alabama WMA Check-In application to check in and out each hunt day.
- Deer and turkey must be reported in Game Check before transport off the area and brought to the check station on mandatory data-collection days; the check station is open 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM on those days.
- Licences: a WMA licence plus an All Game licence for deer and turkey; the Wildlife Heritage licence covers small game except waterfowl.
Transcribed 2026-11-07 from Ala. Admin. Code 220-2-.56, 2026-2027 Wildlife Management Area Hunting Seasons and Black Warrior WMA 2026-27 map and area permit (ADCNR, PDF). The rule is re-issued every July; the official text governs.
Live
Weather alerts for Winston, Lawrence and Cullman counties
No active National Weather Service alerts for these counties as of Nov 9, 7:19 PM Central.
Source: api.weather.gov, zones ALZ014 (Winston), ALZ004 (Lawrence), ALZ016 (Cullman); refreshed every ten minutes.
Closures, burns and fire restrictions
These agencies post without a machine feed, so check them directly before you go:
Your location
“Where am I?” asks your browser for your position only when you tap it, compares it with the boundaries on your device, and shows the result to you. Nothing is sent to Smith Lake NOW or anyone else, nothing is stored, and no account is needed. Your browser's location setting controls it.
Offices and contacts
Bankhead Ranger District (USDA Forest Service)
1070 Highway 33, Double Springs, AL 35553. Monday to Friday 7:30 to 4:00 Central.
205-489-5111SourceADCNR Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, District I (Lawrence, Winston, Cullman)
21453 Harris Station Road, Tanner, AL 35671.
256-353-2634SourceBlack Warrior WMA biologist (as printed on the 2026-27 map)
Kevin Pugh.
256-431-4711SourceAlabama Forestry Commission burn permits
Burn restrictions and permits.
800-392-5679Source
Official maps and guides
- Bankhead District Motor Vehicle Use Map (PDF)
- Bankhead Recreation Map (PDF)
- Sipsey Wilderness Map (PDF)
- National Forests in Alabama maps and guides
- Outdoor Alabama WMA Check-In (app and permits)
- Black Warrior WMA official map and area permit, 2026-27 (PDF)
Present Hunting & Outdoors (one business, $499 a month).
Offline maps and hunting alerts on your phone come with the Smith Lake NOW iPhone app's Hunting & Outdoors release; this page works in any browser with a connection. Lake conditions and Emergency & Medical are one tap away.