The Wabu Woods Natural and Scientific Area (NSA) lies adjacent to Deer Lake in the North-East corner. Originally established in 1983 via the gift of a tract of land from the Abby Weed Grey Estate, it became part of the DNR’s NSA program in 1994. In 2026 the final steps were taken to place an additional parcel into the Wabu Woods, including 435 feet of Deer Lake shoreland. The Wabu Woods now includes over a half mile of shoreland and 140 forested acres. There can be no further development of this land, including even established trails, but it is open to the public. The new Wabu Woods is the land directly below the Overlook for the “Pretty View of the Three Points” (see photo above).
Further Information on NSAs, and the Wabu Woods in particular, can be found Here:
https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/snas/detail.html?id=sna01048
https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/snas/rules.html
Here is a summary of the Wabu Woods Expansion:
2018-2026 Deer Lake Lakeshore Conservation Project
During 2021, DLA purchased 43 acres of unimproved land including 435′ of natural forested Deer Lake shoreline critical to Deer Lake water quality. This land is juxtaposed to the existing Wabu Woods Scientific and Natural Area (SNA). In 2023, DLA donated the land to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for the purpose of conserving Deer Lake water quality and expanding Wabu Woods SNA. The land was officially designated as an addition to Wabu Woods SNA by the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on March 9, 2026.
The DNR and DLA is hosting a dedication ceremony at 1pm on Thursday June 25, 2026. The celebration is to be held at the Deer Lake Overlook on County Hwy 62 https://goo.gl/maps/dHt6wtzvg3UYwvRL9?g_st=ac.
Here’s a summary description of the 2018-2026 Deer Lake Lakeshore Conservation Project:
Background More than four decades ago, in a significant, far-sighted, and generous donation, longtime Deer Lake property owner Abby Weed Grey donated to the Nature Conservancy approximately 100 acres of land including about 2000′ of forested Deer Lake shoreline. The Nature Conservancy eventually conveyed the land to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for the purpose of establishing Wabu Woods Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) near the NE corner of Deer Lake. The DNR formally established Wabu Woods SNA on January 11, 1994.
Deer Lake Association 2021 Land Purchase and 2023 Land Donation
The Deer Lake Association (DLA) is a 501(c)(3) all-volunteer Minnesota non-profit serving as a steward for Deer Lake, a public water body owned by the people of Minnesota. DLA is organized primarily to conserve and improve Deer Lake water quality.
In 2018, DLA learned that unimproved land contiguous to Wabu Woods SNA had been listed for sale by the Lauterbach family, whose ancestors and extended family owned and cared for the land for more than a century (the Carl and Evelyn Haakinson family). This land, like Wabu Woods, serves as a critical natural buffer for Deer Lake water quality. DLA representatives traveled to St. Paul early in 2019 to meet with DNR SNA officials and present an idea to acquire the for-sale land to conserve Deer Lake and expand Wabu Woods.
That meeting began a years-long series of ideas, proposals, negotiations, progress, set-backs, and agreements. DLA engaged with the Lauterbach family, raised funds from generous donors, partnered with the Minnesota Land Trust, negotiated and signed a complex four-party purchase agreement, then closed three sequential real-estate transactions on September 15, 2021, including DLA’s purchase of approximately 43 unimproved acres of land and 435′ of Deer Lake forested shoreline. DLA and the MN DNR collaborated to solve for regulatory objections, then DLA donated the land to the DNR for the purpose of conserving Deer Lake and expanding Wabu Woods SNA.
DLA’s land donation transaction was recorded by Itasca County on October 10, 2023. The land was officially designated as an addition to Wabu Woods SNA by the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on March 9, 2026.
Wabu Woods SNA
The expanded Wabu Woods SNA now includes approximately 140 acres of land including 1/2 mile of forested natural Deer Lake shoreline. This expansion stands as an enduring conservation legacy from the Deer Lake Association, the Minnesota Land Trust, and the Lauterbach family to current and future DLA members, Deer Lake property owners, and the people of Minnesota.
Funding
No existing DLA funds were used for this project. All associated project costs were funded by new donations raised specifically for this purpose.
Stewards
Current volunteer DNR Stewards for Wabu Woods SNA are longtime DLA members David & Margaret Duxbury. Abby & Don Marier are founding DLA members who served as the first Wabu Woods Stewards. Abby Marier is namesake to Abby Weed Grey, her beloved Aunt.