Ruffed grouse and turkey occur in Les Newell Wildlife Management Area and may be hunted in season. A variety of forest songbirds, woodpeckers, and raptors occur in this large forest tract.

Les Newell Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is made up of more than 10 separate parcels varying in size and topography and totaling 7,988 acres. The properties are spread out over four towns: Barnard, Bridgewater, Sherburne, and Stockbridge. They are owned by the State of Vermont and managed by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. The timber rights on the WMA are owned by the A. Johnson Company. Much of the land surrounding Les Newell is owned by timber companies; therefore Les Newell is part of a large (50,000 acre), relatively undeveloped area. This area has been known historically as the Chateauguay. The region has been enjoyed for many years by snowmobilers, horseback riders, hunters, trappers, birdwatchers, and other people who take pleasure in recreating in remote forest settings.

The small village of Notown can be found in the southern portion of the main parcel. The WMA can be accessed by Stony Brook Road or Taggart Hill Road in the town of Stockbridge. In Barnard, Smith Hill Road bisects the WMA east of Delectable Mountain. The Appalachian Trail crosses the WMA near the southern border of the largest parcel.

Les Newell WMA is located in the Southern Green Mountains biophysical region of Vermont. Elevations reach heights of 2,625 feet on Sable Mountain in central Stockbridge and just over 2,500 feet between Burbee Peak and Quimby Mountain on the Stockbridge-Shelburne border. The terrain is steep and rocky.

The WMA is completely forested with red and sugar maple, yellow birch, beech, balsam fir, hemlock, and red spruce. The entire WMA is considered a black bear production habitat.

Several of the parcels contain beaver-dominated wetlands, including Nyes Swamp in Barnard. An abundance of small streams flow through many of the parcels and vernal pools are scattered throughout.