Sweeney Pond Wildlife Area
Sweeney Pond Wildlife Area is a 281-acre (40 owned, 241 easements) property in Barron County consisting of flowage, marsh, prairie and some upland forest.
Find it by going west of Barron on Highway 8 for 4 miles. Turn south on 11th Street and go 1/2 mile to 13th Avenue and head west 3/4 mile. The property is south of the road.
In this area, there is access to float through the flowage and hunt, trap, or view wildlife. Also, visitors can see wild rice growing in this flowage that’s available for harvest. On the east side of the flowage, explore a prairie and some upland forest where pheasant, turkey, deer and much more are found.
Portions of the eased land is still farmed and contains private structures. Public utilizing the property must be respectful of the eased land and follow all applicable regulations when utilizing the property including not destroying standing crops and not discharging weapons within 100 yards of a structure.
Management Objectives
A dam was built to create the flowage in the 1960s. The town road is both the dam and emergency spillway. The water level may be lowered in early summer to promote the growth of wild rice. The area provides good waterfowl habitat and is occasionally used by trumpeter swans for nesting.
Recreation
The only forms of recreation allowed on the easement parcels of Sweeney Pond Wildlife Area are hunting, fishing and trapping. It is your responsibility to know where you are and what activities are allowed on that property. Please review the Barron County easements code of conduct before accessing the property.
Sweeney Pond Wildlife Area is a collection of private land parcels with permanent hunting and fishing access easements. Many of the properties also include the right to trap. Since private individuals own these properties and many of them are working agricultural property, please be respectful of the landowners who work and live on this collection of properties by following the rules below:
- Access to the properties is by foot travel only. Vehicular access onto the property is not allowed, so do not drive into a private driveway or onto agricultural fields.
- Tree stands and trail camera devices may only be used when actively hunting the property and must be removed and taken with you when leaving the property.
- Parking is allowed along the roads in the right-of-way, which is 33 feet from the center line of county and township roads. Do not block access to any driveways, farm fields or pastures.
- When parking, choose locations that do not prevent passing vehicles from seeing around curves or over hills.
- Do not park in wet areas along the road right-of-way where your vehicle may leave ruts, damage the ground or damage the road right-of-way itself.
- Respect private property by not littering and leaving no trace.
- Discharging a firearm within 100 yards of an occupied residence without the landowners' permission is illegal. Remember, many of these properties have livestock on them, so please avoid spooking them.
Amenities
- Bathroom - none.
- Parking lot - none, but parking is available on the roadside.
- Campground and size - none.
- Trails, Types and Lengths - none.
Maps
Download [PDF] a map of this property.
If you are interested in exploring this property further, you can access an interactive map.
