Kimberly Clark Wildlife Area

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 Corporation. 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 3 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 sharptail grouse population lives on the property and surrounding lands. In the early 90s, this wildlife area had the second highest population of sharptail grouse in the state. Today this property is primarily managed for sharptail grouse, deer, turkey and bear. Prescribed burning is used to maintain about 4,000 acres of early successional habitat for sharptail 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.