Located on 188 acres in Burlington, the Intervale Wildlife Management Area (WMA) was created to mitigate the loss of wetlands due to construction of Route 127. The land belongs to the Vermont Agency of Transportation, which bought it in 1987. There are two parcels. The Cattail Marsh Unit consists of 122 acres of wetland. The Howe Farm Unit is 66 acres of riparian upland and wetland. The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is charged with wildlife habitat conservation and development, and has wildlife management rights and responsibilities. The WMA is open to fishing and trapping. The City of Burlington has a firearm discharge ordinance that effectively prohibits hunting with firearms. Access to the Howe Farm piece is at the end of Ethan Allen Parkway in the new North End. Cross the bridge spanning Route 127 and go through the gate on the east side. There is no parking at the gate; visitors must park on the Ethan Allen Parkway. There is no parking near the Cattail Marsh Unit, nor any easy access. The Intervale WMA is part of a larger wetland complex in the floodplain of the Winooski River. The soils are fertile clays. There is a natural oxbow, stretches of open water, ditches and leads, deep bulrush marsh, and an extensive cattail marsh. There are small areas of open fields and brushy old fields. Strumose sunflower, creeping love-grass, cursed crowfoot and small bidens are rare plants that have been found in the Intervale.