Spring Creek Wildlife Management Area: hunting and access
Spring Creek Wildlife Management Area is 960 acres of state land managed by the Minnesota DNR in Becker County, near Ogema, inside Deer Permit Area 297. The DNR's WMA data lists deer, pheasants, bear and small game for it. Hunters registered 224 deer in DPA 297 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 landNational wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areasSpring Creek WMACounty lineLakeHighway
| Size | 960 acres in 4 pieces |
|---|---|
| County | Becker County |
| Deer Permit Area | DPA 297 |
| DNR lists for hunting | deer, pheasants, bear and small game |
| Nearest town (DNR) | Ogema |
| DNR area office | Detroit Lakes |
| Nearest towns | Ogema (next to it), Waubun (3 mi) and White Earth (4 mi) |
What is Spring Creek WMA like?
Most of sections 12 & 13 is a cattail, sedge and Phragmites wetland with scattered willow clumps. The WMA in sections 3 and 10 is a complex of emergent wetlands, shallow semi-permanent marsh dominated by Phragmites and cattails, and upland prairie.
Management includes enhancing waterfowl production and migration habitat, purple loosestrife control by release of beetles in 1997, and prescribed burning. Spring Creek is a MN Natural Heritage Registry site. Spring Creek WMA contains 3 parcels of marshy waterfowl habitat acquired in 1955 with Pittman-Robertson funds. Dugouts and wildlife food plots have enhanced the areas for waterfowl production, especially mallards and blue-winged teal. Visitors may see magpies, harriers, and savannah sparrows.
In the DNR's words, from its wildlife management area data.
What can you hunt on Spring Creek WMA?
The DNR's WMA data lists deer, pheasants, bear and small game for Spring Creek WMA. Each follows the statewide season and, for deer, the bag limit of the permit area.
What are the rules on Spring Creek WMA?
Open to hunting and trapping in the regular seasons under the DNR's statewide WMA rules.
How many deer are taken around Spring Creek WMA?
Spring Creek WMA lies in Deer Permit Area 297. The DNR registered 224 deer in DPA 297 in 2025, against 204 in 2024.
| DPA | Spring Creek WMA acres in it | Deer, 2025 | Deer, 2024 | Deer, 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DPA 297 | 960 | 224 | 204 | 145 |
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 Spring Creek WMA?
From Ogema, go 1.25 m. W on CSAH 18, 1 m. N on 208th Avenue, 1.75 m. W on 380th Street, 1.5 m. N on CSAH 107. For sections12 & 13, go.25 m. W on CSAH 18.
Nearest towns: Ogema (next to it), Waubun (3 miles), White Earth (4 miles) and Callaway (9 miles). Highways within 5 miles: MN 113, US 59 and MN 224.
What other public land is near Spring Creek WMA?
DNR WMAs within 10 miles:
- Waubun WMA: 2,412 acres, next to it
- Ogema Springs WMA: 680 acres, 1 mile away
- Coburn WMA: 400 acres, 1.5 miles away
- White Earth WMA: 43 acres, 2.3 miles away
- Teiken-dalve WMA: 73 acres, 3.8 miles away
- Moccasin WMA: 294 acres, 4.4 miles away
Public land within 3 miles of Spring Creek WMA
Counting Spring Creek WMA itself, 5,389 of the 38,889 acres within 3 miles of its boundary are public land open to the public (13.9%), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public).
| Manager | Acres within 3 miles |
|---|---|
| State wildlife management areas | 3,887 |
| National wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas | 1,422 |
| State forest and other DNR land | 80 |
Questions hunters ask
Where is Spring Creek WMA?
In Becker County, near Ogema. The DNR's directions: From Ogema, go 1.25 m. W on CSAH 18, 1 m. N on 208th Avenue, 1.75 m. W on 380th Street, 1.5 m. N on CSAH 107. For sections12 & 13, go.25 m. W on CSAH 18.
Which deer permit area is Spring Creek WMA in?
Deer Permit Area 297. Its bag limit and firearms dates apply.
How much public land is around Spring Creek WMA?
5,389 acres within 3 miles of its boundary, Spring Creek WMA included, by PAD-US 4.1. 6 other WMAs are within 10 miles, the closest Waubun WMA (next to it).
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Where these facts come from
- Area description, species, rules and directions: DNR, Spring Creek 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.