Boyd Sartell Wildlife Management Area Addition

In 2013, The Trust for Public Land protected 227 acres as an addition to the MN DNR’s Boyd Sartell Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Rice County. This land consists of oak islands, grassy knolls, Big Woods and tamarack forests, and significant shoreline on Little Mud Lake and Shields Lake, the source of the Cannon River. The property also contains seasonally flooded wetlands and other critical habitats for waterfowl and wetland wildlife ranging from sedge wrens and ring-necked ducks, sandhill cranes and trumpeter swans, to species in greatest conservation need, like colonial waterbirds, and Blanding’s turtles.

The 227-acre addition protects part of a large, relatively unfragmented habitat corridor—a rare entity in south-central Minnesota. On top of all of the great habitat benefits, it also provided additional quality hunting opportunities for deer, waterfowl and turkeys, as well as angling opportunities within an hour of the Twin Cities. The acquisition was funded by the Outdoor Heritage Fund and the Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) program.