The primary purposes of Tioughnioga Wildlife Management Area (WMA) are for wildlife management, wildlife habitat management, and wildlife-dependent recreation. This WMA totals 3,737 acres and is located in southwestern Madison County between the villages of New Woodstock and Erieville, about six miles southeast of Cazenovia. Tioughnioga lies in the physiographic region of New York known as the Appalachian Highlands with the many hills and valleys of the region forming a rolling topography. The area is on a divide that separates the St. Lawrence River drainage from the Susquehanna River drainage and has an altitude ranging from 1,500 to 2,100 feet above sea level.
Prior to 1935, the area was used for dairy farming. However, poor soils, harsh climate, and difficult economic conditions resulted in much of the area being purchased by the US Department of Agriculture as part of a resettlement program. The land was later transferred to New York State.