The primary purposes of Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area (WMA) are for wildlife management, wildlife habitat management, and wildlife-dependent recreation. This WMA is 3607 acres and was named due to its proximity to the junction of the Seneca and Oneida Rivers which form the Oswego. The WMA is situated in Onondaga County about 18 miles north of Syracuse between Baldwinsville and Phoenix. Three Rivers WMA is relatively flat and poorly drained. Visitors should not expect to find rugged terrain or rock climbing potential. Users will find fields, woods, ponds, and marshes. The woodlands, open area, mowed grassland, brush, and wetlands provide diverse habitat for a variety of wildlife species. A network of maintenance and town roads provides easy access throughout the area for various recreational activities identified below. This general region was originally heavily forested with mixed hardwoods and conifers, but was cleared for farming beginning in the late 1780s. Farming continued until 1941 when the federal government purchased the property. New York State acquired the land in 1947 as surplus property. Acreage was also added under the Recreational Bond Act in the 1960s and subsequent acquisition efforts.