Carlos Avery WMA

The Carlos Avery WMA wildlife work area

A prescribed burn at the Carlos Avery Wildlife Mangement Area.

Hunters, trappers and wildlife watchers in the Anoka and Chisago county area benefit from the management, habitat and oversight work of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area office.

Wildlife Supervisor Jim LaBarre along with a full-time staff of three and an office manager oversee 25,000 acres of forest, sweeping grasslands, wetlands and small lakes that provide extensive outdoor recreation opportunities just 30 miles north of the Twin Cities. This popular hunting and wildlife watching area includes 23 actively managed pools that provide waterfowl habitat across more than 11,700 acres.

Wetlands cover nearly two-thirds of the WMA. These extensive marshes, along with intensively managed uplands, are home to uncommon species and are favorites to hunters, trappers and bird and wildlife watchers.

Master plan update

Help us chart the future

A master plan provides strategic guidance and direction to management of the WMA during the next 10 years. Carlos Avery's plan was last revised in 1977 so it is important for the 2024 update to address environmental changes, advances in scientific knowledge and changes in public values and use.

The public scoping process for the Carlos Avery WMA Plan ended on March 15, 2024. The plan is now being written by an interdisciplinary DNR team and the full draft plan will be ready for public review in fall 2024.

Master plan questions?

Adam Kokotovich
Policy and Planning Consultant
DNR Fish and Wildlife Division
651-259-5186
[email protected]

Our work

• Maintaining 68 public use facilities (gates, parking lots and water accesses), 39 miles of access roads (grading, mowing and plowing), and 110 miles of boundary.
• Planting wildlife food plots (2016: 50 acres corn, 25 acres rye, 8 acres radish/turnip).
• Writing plans for and conducting prescribed burns (2016: 3 plans written or updated, 5 burns completed for 560 acres).
• Helping plan and coordinate three special hunts (deer and duck hunts for hunters with mobility impairments and a controlled duck hunt primarily for youth and senior hunters).
• Reviewing, recommending and prioritizing land acquisitions (2016: reviewed 8, recommended 5, 1 acquired to date).
• Issuing special use permits for activities that require them (80-100 special use permits issued annually for coon hunting, trapping, predator calling, research etc.).