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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

DNR reinstates refuge status for Little Rice Lake

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 12/20/18

LITTLE RICE LAKE—Ducks will continue to find protection here following a decision by the Department of Natural Resources to reinstate the lake as a game refuge beginning next year.

DNR …

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DNR reinstates refuge status for Little Rice Lake

Posted

LITTLE RICE LAKE—Ducks will continue to find protection here following a decision by the Department of Natural Resources to reinstate the lake as a game refuge beginning next year.

DNR officials say the decision came after public input showed overall support for the refuge, which was enacted several years ago to encourage ducks to remain in the area longer during the hunting season.

Attendees at a public meeting on the issue in October were largely oppposed to reinstating the refuge, but written comments expressed much more support for the proposal. DNR officials reported that they received 16 letters on the subject, while six members of the public spoke at the public meeting, held in Tower.

Originally established in 2012 in northern St. Louis County, its refuge status was reviewed after five years to determine if the refuge should be continued.

Overall, the majority of waterfowl hunters supported the refuge re-establishment as did the Minnesota Waterfowl Association, Izaak Walton League, and the U.S. Forest Service.

According to the DNR, weekly migratory waterfowl counts and waterfowl season hunter harvest surveys on adjacent Big Rice Lake, conducted over the past five years, suggest the refuge was successful at providing an undisturbed feeding and resting location for migratory waterfowl.

As a state game refuge, Little Rice Lake is closed to hunting and trapping from Sept. 1 through Nov. 30 each year. The refuge, which includes the lake and forest bog perimeter, is about 288 acres.  The refuge remains open to wild ricing and cranberry picking.