Lake of the Woods Crown Land
A vast expanse of the Lake of the Woods area falls under Crown land management. Indian reserves are located in several of the sites.

The types of use of some of the areas include:

Lake of the Woods (11,800 hectares)
Provincial Park, Natural Environment
Includes mainland and islands in south Lake of the Woods, including Painted Rock, Splitrock, Dawson, Bigsby and Three Sisters Islands.

Lake of the Woods Islands (45,773 hectares)
Conservation Reserve - Recommended (Ontario's Living Legacy)
Islands and peninsulas containing the provincially rare Bur Oak, Savannah plant communities, 3 plant species considered rare in Ontario, spawning grounds, red and white pine, bald eagles and white pelicans. The region, noted for recreational and tourism, represents a convergence of the forest regions known as Prairie (western), Boreal (northern) and Great Lakes – St. Lawrence (southeastern.)

Lake of the Woods Waters (2,059 hectares)
Conservation Reserve
Waters along the Sable Islands Provincial Nature Reserve protecting fish and wildlife habitat.

Aulneau Interior (2,348 hectares)
Conservation Reserve
Located within the Aulneau Peninsula Enhanced Management Area, in the middle of Lake of the Woods.

Aulneau Peninsula (79,243 hectares)
Enhanced Management Area - Fish and Wildlife
Located in the centre of Lake of the Woods, with access limited to water and air, the peninsula contains old growth forest, wildlife habitat and archaeological sites.

Sable Islands (2,078 hectares)
Provincial Park. Nature Reserve
Part of the Sable Islands in the southern Lake of the Woods, regulated as a nature reserve. Adjacent waters used for bait fishing. With beach dunes, wetlands and rare plants, the area protects a significant waterfowl staging and breeding area. Abutting the park, on the Lake of the Woods bed – Sable Island Waters Conservation Reserve.

General Use Areas: Comprising the majority of Crown land use in the region, covering over 760,000 hectares, some of the general use areas and allowed activity include:

Eastern Peninsula – remote, private recreational opportunities; sport and commercial fishing.

Western Peninsula - significant mineral potential, forestry (part of the Kenora Forest), recreational potential for hiking and hunting; no roads exist on the remote peninsula; resource extraction activities encouraged.

Northern Peninsula - most heavily cottaged area of the lake, development controlled by the Clearwater Bay Restricted Area Order; sport and commercial fishing; portions of the Lake of the Woods Islands Conservation Reserve are located here. Clearwater Bay, Echo Bay and Cul de Sac are important and sensitive Lake Trout waters on Lake of the Woods.

Sioux Narrows - recreational centre for the middle Lake of the Woods area lodges and cottage subdivisions; portions of the Lake of the Woods Islands Conservation Reserve are here; designated tourism lake - Berry Lake.
Whitefish Bay - sport fishing (lake trout); outdoor recreation; portions of the Lake of the Woods Islands Conservation Reserve are here.

Kenora-Keewatin - residential and industrial development; designated tourism lakes include Armstrong, Black Sturgeon, Blindfold, Corn, Culloden, Longbow, Lulu and the Winnipeg River.

Shoal Lake - supplies drinking water to the City of Winnipeg under the Shoal Lake Restricted Area Order; cottage development and commercial fishing; mineral potential.

Nestor Falls / Morson - rural residences, limited farming, commercial fur harvest, aggregate extraction, timber, hunting moose, deer, bear and small game, angling, wild rice harvest; designated tourism lakes- Caliper and Pinus Lakes; protection of Indian pictographs on Splitrock Bay.