FAW_504_18

RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

NEARBY ATTRACTIONSVisitors to the region may enjoy visiting Whitewater State Park, an angler’s paradise with brown, brook, and rainbow trout swimming in its streams, a sandy swimming beach, year-round interpretive programs and visitor center, hiking trails, and camping. Camping is also available at Carley State Park and Trout Valley State Forest Campground near Weaver. (Camping is not allowed at WMAs.) Crystal Springs Fish Hatchery lies 2 miles east of Elba. The 110-foot Elba Fire Tower, constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1936, offers spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. The Marnach House, southeast Minnesota’s oldest surviving example of traditional European construction, was built 1857-1860 and restored through an international collaboration with Luxembourg in the early 1990s. Occasional public events provide guided tours of the interior.

Whitewater is Minnesota’s eighth largest Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Its location within a couple hours of the Twin Cities, roughly midway between Rochester and Winona, makes it one of the more popular.

Minnesota has more than 1,400 WMAs that protect about 1.29 million acres of habitat all across the state, providing recreational opportunities for hunters, trappers and wildlife watchers.

You can find more information about Whitewater and other WMAs, including detailed maps, on the DNR’s website:www.mndnr.gov/wmas

These activities are permitted on the Whitewater and McCarthy Lake WMAs: · Hunting and fishing in accordance with

state regulations · Hiking, cross-country skiing, and

snowshoeing, both on and off designated trails

· Picking fruit and mushrooms for personal use

These activities are allowed only with a permit available from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) area wildlife manager: · Trapping · Cutting commercial timber · Cutting fuel wood for home use · Hunting raccoon with dogs

WILDLIFEWhitewater is home to a variety of wildlife. Commonly hunted species found there include white-tailed deer, turkeys, ruffed grouse, and squirrels. Waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, and aquatic furbearers benefit from the 15 water impoundments that are drawn down every few years to mimic natural drought cycles and to encourage aquatic plant regeneration that attracts invertebrates. Wildlife watchers can spot sandhill cranes, ducks, geese, swans, black terns, hawks, eagles, owls, and many other birds, both residents and those passing through during spring and fall migrations.

State Game Refuge RestrictionsWhitewater WMA includes a 2,300 acre State Game Refuge. The refuge is closed to deer hunting and waterfowl hunting. It is open, however, to small game and turkey hunting (spring and fall) as well as wildlife watching, hiking, and foraging. It is also open to trapping with a permit issued by the area manager. The refuge area is open for the youth deer season in October and a special hunt during the 3B firearm deer season. Individuals interested in the special hunt should check application deadlines and rules in the Hunting and Trapping Regulations Handbook each year.

These activities are prohibited in a WMA: · Camping · Riding horses · Target shooting · Operating snowmobiles or

all-terrain vehicles · Collecting plants or animals for

commercial purposes · Leaving equipment overnight, including

boats, decoys, deer stands, hunting blinds, and trail cameras

· Consuming alcoholic beverages

MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIESOverall management at Whitewater emphasizes maintaining a diverse mosaic of native plant communities. Typical management may include a variety of activities: • Efforts to control invasive species. • Prescribed fire to regenerate native

plants and maintain prairie, savanna, and oak woodland communities.

• Timber harvests aimed at providing different forest age-classes to benefit white-tailed deer, ruffed grouse and wild turkeys.

• Cooperative farming agreements where food plots are consistent with management goals.

• Maintaining or enhancing user access via improvements to parking lots and hunter trails.

• Water level manipulation in wetlands to maintain and improve habitat for shorebirds, waterfowl, amphibians, insects, and furbearers.

www.mndnr.gov/wmas

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA RULES

Located just a couple miles north of the Whitewater WMA, 4 miles southeast of Kellogg on US Hwy. 61, McCarthy Lake WMA’s 3,129 acres include mixed upland and lowland hardwoods with oak, maple, ash, birch, cottonwood, and willow. Upland fields consist of native warm and cool season grasses. The former channel of the Zumbro River dissects the unit and creates numerous wetlands. Recreation is dominated by waterfowl hunting, deer hunting, trapping, fishing, and general wildlife watching.

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WHITEWATERAND McCARTHY LAKE WMAs

WHITEWATERAND McCARTHY LAKE WMAs

www.mndnr.gov/wmas

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WMAs

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Located inOlmsted, Winona

and Wabasha Counties

CALL USNew longer hours

License, titling and registration: M-F 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.General information: M-F 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

888-MINNDNR or 651-296-6157

mnwildlife mn_wildlife

Turn in Poachers24-hour hotline, 800-652-9093

500 Lafayette RoadSt. Paul, MN 55155-4040

888-MINNDNR or 651-296-6157www.mndnr.gov

The Minnesota DNR prohibits discrimination in its programs and services based on race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, public assistance status, age, sexual orientation or disability. Persons with disabilities may request reasonable modifications to access or participate in DNR programs and services by contacting the DNR ADA Title II Coordinator at info.dnr@state.mn.us or 651-296-6157. Discrimination inquiries should be sent to Minnesota DNR, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155-4049; or Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C. Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20240.

©2018, State of Minnesota, Department of Natural Resources.

Publication printed using vegetable-based ink and paper containing 30% post-consumer waste.

Minnesota DNR Whitewater WMA Office15035 Hwy 74Altura, MN 55910507-796-3281

Minnesota DNR Region 3 Headquarters1200 Warner RoadSt. Paul, MN 55106651-259-5756

The story of Whitewater WMA began with events that happened thousands of years ago to shape the area’s geology. While most of Minnesota was once covered with glaciers that left behind deposits of rocks, sand and soil known as “drift,” southeast Minnesota was untouched by the most recent glaciation. Referred to as the “Driftless Area,” this part of the state has numerous streams fed by cold, clean groundwater that have carved out valleys in the limestone bedrock. The unit is named for one such stream, the Whitewater River, a designated trout stream that bisects the WMA.

Acquisition of land for the wildlife area began in 1931 when the Rochester Chapter of the Izaak Walton League advocated for preservation of a portion of the Whitewater Valley. Since then the unit has grown to 27,400 acres, a mosaic of plant communities and habitat types, including some that are rare. Mixed hardwoods of oak, hickory, maple, basswood, and walnut cover the steep hillsides. Bluff prairies dot south-facing slopes while trout streams dissect the valley floor. Seventeen wetlands (both naturally occurring and man-made) dapple the valley.

Dan Oehmigen

Bohlincreative | Dreamstime.com

Minnesota Wildlife Management Areas

Please do not park in front of gates, respect “No Motorized Vehicle” signs, and pack out what you packed in.

Whitewater’s location within an easy drive of major population centers make it a popular destination. Recreation in the WMA is dominated by hunting and fishing. Approximately 48 percent of the use is deer hunting. Hunters also pursue ruffed grouse, waterfowl, wild turkey, and squirrel, while trappers seek furbearing mammals. The streams of the Whitewater Valley are popular with trout anglers. Birders, sightseers and hikers enjoy the area’s beauty, particularly when the leaves turn in the fall. The area is also open to cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Springtime brings many shed hunters looking for lost deer antlers.

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Whitewater WMAWildlife Management Areas

State Forests

Minnesota State Parks

Scientific and Natural Areas

National Wildlife Refuges

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