Catoosa Wildlife Management Area is a large game-management area on the Upper Cumberland Plateau in Morgan, Cumberland and Fentress counties in Tennessee in the United States. It comprises 96,000 acres (332 km2) of wild land administered by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA). The Management Area is funded by hunters and fishermen, and is popular with all outdoors enthusiasts, including backpackers, and whitewater rafters. It has many trails for hiking, of which the most notable is the Cumberland Trail. It also has gravel roads and dirt track four-wheel drive roads for motorized exploration. Catoosa ranges from gentle rolling hills to some of the most rugged and extreme terrain in the country. Many rivers and streams have cut deep canyons into the Cumberland Plateau and Cumberland Mountains of the Management area allowing for beautiful vistas. Catoosa and several other WMAs are closed to entry between sunset and sunrise in order to reduce the effect of the activities that are considered incompatible to established wildlife management practices. Because WMAs were purchased with funds generated by hunters, the TWRA regards hunting as the main priority on these areas. Off-road vehicles and horses are permitted, but only on certain roads and trails. Overnight camping is allowed on designated areas by permission of the area manager. Geography and ecology The Catoosa WMA lies within the Emory River drainage, which is divided by a number of major stream drainages, including the Obed River, Daddy's Creek, Clear Creek, and Otter Creek. The Emory River meets the Obed River in the southeast corner of the area. The terrain is moderately rolling, ranging in elevation from to , with deep canyons cut by the streams. Over 98 percent of the WMA is forested and the wildlife populations have been restored. The healthy deer herd regularly produces trophy bucks for hunters, and wild turkey numbers are growing fast. Other game animals include European wild boar, fox squirrels, gray squirrels, ruffed grouse, raccoons, quail, rabbits, and mourning doves. Game fish include smallmouth bass, rock bass, bluegill, and muskellunge. History The first use of the plateau was as hunting grounds. Artifacts found in caves and rock shelters suggest Mississippian and later Cherokee hunters camped here but never established permanent dwellings. The hunting grounds were visited seasonally by the Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Shawnees, and were the subject of repeated conflicts. In the eighteenth century, longhunters came to hunt game, and English, Scots-Irish