MINNEAPOLIS _ When Minnesotans think of public lands, they're apt to focus on state parks, state forests, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, other parts of the Superior National Forest, and the mighty Chippewa National Forest in the heart of the north country.
But all around the state in lesser-known pockets of the wild, nature is calling to hunters, anglers, trappers, hikers, birders, nature photographers and adventure-seekers.
Minnesota's network of 1,400 separate Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) cover a combined 1.3 million acres. And even in an era when national public lands are threatened by attacks against preservation, the state is growing its mosaic of taxpayer-owned WMAs by an average of 7,000 acres a year.
The system has its well-known cornerstones like the Thief Lake WMA, where wild elk roam remnant forests in the far northwest. But many other gems are out there to beckon you. What follows are seven special WMAs identified by Outdoors Weekend with guidance from four regional managers inside Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources.
