Kelley Farms, always a land of opportunity, will be more so as a wildlife management area

If he had known that nearly 2,000 acres of the Washington County cattle ranch he established in 1958 would be converted to a state wildlife management area, James E. Kelley would have been pleased.

Or so it would seem.

Kelley, who died in 1989 at age 93, was a prominent Twin Cities attorney, businessman and sportsman who won the state trapshooting championship in 1937, breaking 199 out of 200 clays — good enough for enshrinement in the Minnesota Trapshooting Association Hall of Fame.

Burnishing further his outdoorsman's cred, Kelley in 1965 established the members-only Maple Island Hunt Club on the grounds of his Kelley Land and Cattle livestock operation, which is located on both sides of County Road 15 about 10 miles north of Stillwater.

The $20 million acquisition of about two-thirds of the property, or 1,820 acres, will be the largest ever completed using money from the Outdoor Heritage Fund, created in 2008 by voters' enactment of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment to the state constitution.

Kelley Land and Cattle Co., also known as Kelley Farms, is now owned by James Kelley's heirs. The property is considered prime because of its location near the metro and because its cattle and sheep have been grazed rotationally on its vast grasslands, leaving them virtually in their natural state. Also its woods, wetlands and small lakes have been well cared for in the more than half-century since Kelley purchased the property.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will own and operate the 1,820-acre parcel as a wildlife management area, after the nonprofit Trust for Public Land (TPL), acting as an intermediary, completes its purchase with the $20 million Outdoor Heritage Fund allotment and donates the property to the DNR. The purchase and transfer are expected to occur by year's end.

The property's remaining 685 acres are being bought by Washington County for inclusion in the Big Marine Park Reserve. Hiking, horseback and mountain biking trails are planned for the park, as well as an archery course and multiple types of camping areas.

Unknown exactly is how this newest state wildlife area will be managed, though the DNR intends, with the help of various nonprofits, to restore its wetlands and invigorate its woods and uplands, with the intention of aiding wildlife.

That said, its structure will be different from other WMAs, that much appears certain.

One reason?

"Dog training will be part of the discussion,'' said DNR Fish and Wildlife Division Director Dave Olfelt.

That's because a big part of the current goings-on at Kelley Farms involves the training, testing and field-trialing of retrieving, flushing and pointing dogs. For $375 a year, dog owners can practice with their Labradors, springers, setters or other sporting dogs on grounds that are ideal for the purpose.

Dog clubs also hold tests and field trials at Kelley Farms.

"There are not a ton of those kinds of training opportunities elsewhere in Minnesota,'' Olfelt said.

That's true in part because on virtually all of the state's more than 1,500 WMAs, it's illegal to run dogs from mid-April to mid-July, when pheasants and other birds are nesting.

"We haven't figured out yet how exactly this WMA will be managed,'' Olfelt said. "But we'll pull together internal and external parties and flesh out a plan.''

One DNR idea, in addition to allowing dog training, is to use the new WMA as a place to introduce adults and kids to outdoor activities, including hunting.

There's also interest in ensuring this WMA is made accessible to physically challenged people, said Deputy DNR Fish and Wildlife Division Director Pat Rivers. Whether this involves boardwalks or similar pathways to a lake, a fishing pier or special gates, remains to be decided.

"But I do think there are ways we can make it more accessible than a typical WMA is,'' Rivers said.

Homes that have sprung up around Kelley Farms in the past 30 years pose another consideration. As far back as 1997, some neighbors complained to the local township board about the sound of gunfire from Maple Island Hunt Club.

A news report that year quoted a Kelley Farms spokesman saying that about 40,000 rounds were fired the first year the club opened and the number hadn't increased in the years since.

Traffic issues, including parking, also have been raised by neighbors, but Rivers said adequate vehicle spaces will be penciled in during planning.

Rivers added that Kelley Farms' location and established use as a dog training and testing area virtually ensure its popularity as a WMA, albeit one managed differently than other such areas.

Whether, for example, an unlimited number of hunters will be allowed on the property during open seasons is among management issues to consider, Rivers said.

Will there be room at any given time for anyone who wants to hunt? Or will access drawings be necessary to ensure safety and a reasonably high-quality experience?

"Hunting will be part of this WMA,'' Rivers said. "Perhaps we'll have to be thoughtful about how we do it. Maybe not every square inch will be open to hunting at all times.''

Because these issues pose unique WMA management considerations, the DNR didn't seek duck stamp or other federal funds to supplement state money for the property's purchase.

Federal funds sometimes come with strings attached, such as requiring that a WMA be managed primarily to benefit wildlife — not people, or dogs.

A commemoration of the property as a WMA perhaps will be held next summer or fall, Rivers said.

Meantime, dog owners, bird watchers, hunters and Kelley Farms' neighbors, among others, will be watching.

"The purchase of Kelley Farms has been in the works for many years, but now it's happening quickly,'' Olfelt said. "We're in the dreaming phase about what it can become.''