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Kimberly Clark Wildlife Area

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Kimberly Clark Wildlife Area is a 8,700-acre property located 12 miles west of Phillips in Price County. The property consists of bracken fern grasslands, upland aspen/fir, northern hardwoods and tamarack/black spruce bog.

Find Kimberly Clark Wildlife Area by taking County Highway W west of Phillips for 12 miles, then north on Up River Road, or 16.5 miles and then north on Price Lakes Road.

Management Objectives

This wildlife area dates to 1945 with the purchase of 1,600 acres of land as part of the deer yard program. It was known as the Price Creek deer yard. In 1963, the DNR obtained a gift of 5,240 acres near the deer yard from the Kimberly-Clark Corp. This is when the property became known as the Kimberly Clark Wildlife Area. Since then, supplemental purchases have increased the size to 8,700 acres.

This wildlife area has three nesting pairs of osprey and an active eagle nest. Over the past 10 years, osprey chicks from this area have been sent to Iowa to help bolster their osprey population. A small remnant sharp-tailed grouse population lives on the property and surrounding lands. In the early 1990s, this wildlife area had the second highest population of sharp-tailed grouse in the state.

Today, this property is primarily managed for sharp-tailed grouse, deer, turkey and bear. Prescribed burning is used to maintain about 4,000 acres of early successional habitat for sharp-tailed grouse. Deer, wolves, coyotes, badgers, foxes, sandhill cranes and numerous other species use these open areas regularly. Over 17 miles of firebreaks have been created and several small flowages are maintained for waterfowl and wild rice production. The remaining acreage is managed for wood fiber production.

For more information on master planning for this and other wildlife areas around the state, visit the property planning page.

Recreation

The Kimberly Clark Wildlife Area offers many recreational opportunities:

  • Auto travel (from Nov. 1st until breakup);
  • Birding;
  • Canoeing;
  • Cross-country skiing (no designated trail);
  • Fishing;
  • Hiking;
  • Hunting;
  • Snowshoeing (no designated trail);
  • Trapping;
  • Wild edibles/gathering; and
  • Wildlife viewing.

Maps

Download [PDF] a general map of this property.

Download [PDF] a detailed road and trail map of this property.

If you are interested in exploring this property further, you can access an interactive map.

Adopt a Fish or Wildlife Area

 

Find out more about how to adopt this wildlife area.