Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area

Wildlife studies conducted on the area, initiated by the Montana Fish & Game, prior to formal acquisition and subsequent development in 1953.

A System of dikes, ditches, and water control structures were developed to control water levels. Islands have also been constructed to provide waterfowl nesting and roosting sites.

Altering the vegetative structure and composition of the area has been beneficial to waterfowl and upland game bird production by increasing more desirable and palatable plant species.

Limited cultivated grain (wheat/barley) fields and food plots on the WMA provide food for waterfowl and upland birds and help limit waterfowl depredation on surrounding farms.

Certain dikes, roads, and parking lots have been graveled, and sanitary facilities have been constructed at the area’s most popular recreational sites. See the WMA Map and Information section for further information. All improvements, opportunities, and maintenance of the WMA are funded primarily by hunting license dollars.

The area is managed primarily for waterfowl production and public hunting and viewing opportunity. Providing habitat for upland game birds and other seasonal bird use is also a continued management goal, often going hand in hand with waterfowl-focused habitat improvements. Habitat management may include fluctuating water levels to improve lake/pond productivity and various forms of upland field maintenance, such as modifying (improving) nesting/brood rearing cover habitat and noxious weed control.

A variety of waterfowl, albeit at varying degrees. More common species include mallard, gadwall, northern shoveler, teal species, northern pintail, American wigeon, Canada goose and American coot. A full species list that includes occurrence information can be seen by viewing the  Freezout Lake WMA birding brochure. 

Light geese (Lesser Snow [left] and Ross' [right]), which usually begin arriving around the latter half of October and linger until the onset of severe winter weather, may be present in large numbers.

Beginning in 1970, a limited number of permits for hunting swans was established for use on the WMA. Since that time, these permits have been expanded to portions of counties in the Freezout Lake area, although the vast majority of hunting opportunity and subsequent harvest occurs on the WMA.

Upland game bird hunters will also find ring-necked pheasants, Hungarian (Gray) partridge and sharp-tailed grouse.

For further information about hunting, that includes hunting license requirements, bag limits, and season dates, please visit the  Hunting page  on FWP's website.

A portion of the WMA is seasonally closed to all public entry to provide security for migrating waterfowl. See the WMA Map tab for delineation of this boundary. The closed area closes at the beginning of the general waterfowl season and lasts through November 19. The closed area then reopens on November 20 for general public access, to include hunting (usually by this date the majority of the area has frozen over and waterfowl activity on the area is quite limited). Sportsmen and women hunting waterfowl along the boundary of the closed area may enter the closed area during the closure period to retrieve downed waterfowl without firearms in their possession.

The WMA also provides licensed trappers with the opportunity to harvest furbearers, primarily muskrats, during the late fall through early spring. Several hundred muskrats may be harvested from the area, in addition to mink, raccoons, fox, coyote, and skunks. Beyond the recreational opportunity, trapping also serves as an important management tool to limit potential negative effects furbearers (muskrats) and predators have on habitat and/or bird survival and nest depredation. Visit the Trapping and Furbearer  page on FWP's website for further information.

During this period, visitors may observe hawks and owls, including rough-legged hawks, the rare gyrfalcon and, occasionally, snowy owls. Upland game birds (pheasant, Hungarian partridge, and sharp-tailed grouse), mule and white-tailed deer, red fox, coyotes, and jackrabbits may also be seen.

The spring period gives way to the waterfowl migration with birds sometimes arriving in spectacular numbers. Canada geese, mallards and northern pintails are usually the first to arrive, with light geese and swans peaking toward the end of March, pending weather. The courtship displays of short-eared owls mark the beginning of the breeding season, and nesting activities of other birds abound throughout the area. Shorebirds typically begin arriving around mid-April.

Early in the summer, nesting season is in full swing. Broods of waterfowl, upland birds and other water birds (American avocets, black-necked stilts, black-crowned night herons, long-billed curlews, marbled godwits, etc.) can be readily observed.  The Freezout Lake WMA birding brochure  provides tips on where to look for a wide range of species. Late summer provides a chance to view shorebirds and passerine bird species on southerly migrations.

Starting in September, fall waterfowl migrations begin with teal species and northern pintails commonly arriving first. Peak light goose and swan migration typically occurs in early November, pending weather. The flights of migrants continue until freezeup, when the last waterfowl leave the area.