Agassiz-Olson Wildlife Management Area: hunting and access
Agassiz-Olson Wildlife Management Area is 1,774 acres of state land managed by the Minnesota DNR in Norman County, near Gary, inside Deer Permit Area 265. The DNR's WMA data lists deer, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game for it. Hunters registered 1,177 deer in DPA 265 in 2025.
Data updated October 2026. Area facts: the DNR's wildlife management area data, read 2026-10. Harvest: DNR Deer Harvest Reports, 2021 to 2025.
State wildlife management areasState forest and other DNR landAgassiz-Olson WMACounty lineLakeHighway
| Size | 1,774 acres |
|---|---|
| County | Norman County |
| Deer Permit Area | DPA 265 |
| DNR lists for hunting | deer, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game |
| Nearest town (DNR) | Gary |
| DNR area office | Detroit Lakes |
| Nearest towns | Fertile (6 mi), Gary (7 mi) and Beltrami (7 mi) |
What is Agassiz-Olson WMA like?
This unit is mainly wet prairie with lowland grasses, sedges, and mesic prairie with native upland grasses; with a rare calcareous fen is in the east. A major feature is a flood control structure that allows a 300-acre open-water wetland to form.
Sandhill cranes have nested here. The pool supports waterfowl. Greater prairie-chickens have used open areas for booming grounds. The fen contains a threatened species, hair-like beak-rush, and the uncommon false asphodel and marsh arrow-grass.
In the DNR's words, from its wildlife management area data.
What can you hunt on Agassiz-Olson WMA?
The DNR's WMA data lists deer, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game for Agassiz-Olson WMA. Each follows the statewide season and, for deer, the bag limit of the permit area.
What are the rules on Agassiz-Olson WMA?
Open to hunting and trapping in the regular seasons under the DNR's statewide WMA rules.
How many deer are taken around Agassiz-Olson WMA?
Agassiz-Olson WMA lies in Deer Permit Area 265. The DNR registered 1,177 deer in DPA 265 in 2025, against 1,067 in 2024.
| DPA | Agassiz-Olson WMA acres in it | Deer, 2025 | Deer, 2024 | Deer, 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DPA 265 | 1,774 | 1,177 | 1,067 | 930 |
Harvest for the whole deer permit area, not the WMA alone: Minnesota DNR Deer Harvest Reports (2021 to 2025, 2025 report).
How do you get to Agassiz-Olson WMA?
From Gary, go 5 mile North on MN 32, 4½ miles West on County 5.
There are no parking lots or wheelchair accesible facilities on this WMA.
Nearest towns: Fertile (6 miles), Gary (7 miles), Beltrami (7 miles) and Ada (11 miles). Highways within 5 miles: MN 32.
What other public land is near Agassiz-Olson WMA?
DNR WMAs within 10 miles:
- Agassiz-Nelson WMA: 120 acres, 1.8 miles away
- Prairie Dunes WMA: 1,081 acres, 3 miles away
- Liberty WMA: 1,368 acres, 3 miles away
- Chicog WMA: 2,432 acres, 7 miles away
- Onstad WMA: 280 acres, 7.3 miles away
- Ranum WMA: 183 acres, 9 miles away
Public land within 3 miles of Agassiz-Olson WMA
Counting Agassiz-Olson WMA itself, 2,184 of the 36,183 acres within 3 miles of its boundary are public land open to the public (6%), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public).
| Manager | Acres within 3 miles |
|---|---|
| State wildlife management areas | 1,913 |
| State forest and other DNR land | 271 |
Questions hunters ask
Where is Agassiz-Olson WMA?
In Norman County, near Gary. The DNR's directions: From Gary, go 5 mile North on MN 32, 4½ miles West on County 5.
Which deer permit area is Agassiz-Olson WMA in?
Deer Permit Area 265. Its bag limit and firearms dates apply.
How much public land is around Agassiz-Olson WMA?
2,184 acres within 3 miles of its boundary, Agassiz-Olson WMA included, by PAD-US 4.1. 6 other WMAs are within 10 miles, the closest Agassiz-Nelson WMA (1.8 miles).
Get a Minnesota hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for Minnesota are coming. Join the list and you'll hear first. The first 50 hunters in each new state get their plan free.
Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Minnesota included.
Where these facts come from
- Area description, species, rules and directions: DNR, Agassiz-Olson WMA; Minnesota DNR Wildlife Management Area boundaries, publicly accessible.
- Boundary and acres: the DNR's map layer above. Surrounding public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public).
- Deer harvest: Minnesota DNR Deer Harvest Reports (2021 to 2025, 2025 report).
FilledTag is not part of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Check the DNR's rules and posted signs before you go.