A Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) is an administrative coverage that identifies a geographic area (i.e. numbered divisions of the Province of Ontario) which serves as a land base for wildlife research and management. These units have been developed in Ontario based on a number of factors including the environmental requirements of principal wildlife species, ecosystems, and consideration of suitability of boundaries to traditional and future users, landowners, municipalities and other jurisdictions. Boundaries are generally described by rivers, lakes, roads, and other features easily recognized on the ground. A few exceptions occur where less visible criteria (for example, township/district boundaries) have been used in the absence of suitable physical features.

The Intended Use and Purpose for Collecting the Data Set or Information Holding: WMUs are used for a number of wildlife management purposes, one of which is to indicate the relevant geographic areas of Ontario where hunting open seasons and harvest quotas apply.

Supplementary tables can be used and are available for download from the additional documentation section. This layer is part of what was known as the OMNR Non-Fundamental Dataset.