Big Woods Heritage Wildlife Management Area

Named for the woodlands that once covered 2 million acres of south-central Minnesota, the Big Woods Heritage Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is part of a larger effort to protect and recover native habitats for wildlife and recreation in this much-changed region. In 2017, The Trust for Public Land protected this new WMA south of Montgomery which features rolling upland mixed forest, grassy knolls, and wetland habitat and is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including colonial-nesting waterfowl, other water birds, and Blanding’s turtles. Only an hour’s drive from the Twin Cities, the 130-acre WMA provides new public access for recreation, including quality hunting for waterfowl, deer, pheasant, and turkeys. Funding for this project was provided from the Outdoor Heritage Fund as recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council.