Bremer County, Iowa: deer harvest and public hunting land
Bremer County covers 439 square miles around Waverly. Hunters reported 1,254 deer here in the 2025 season, 532 of them antlered bucks, through the DNR's harvest reporting. That is up 13% from 2024, and the most in the 5 years shown. 3.3% of Bremer County is public land open to the public, the largest share public hunting areas on the DNR atlas (8,793 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and the DNR's public hunting area boundaries.
Data updated October 2026. Harvest: the DNR's harvest reporting results, 2021 to 2025. Land: PAD-US 4.1 and the DNR's Hunting Atlas layer.
Public hunting areas on the DNR atlasCounty conservation board and city landBremer CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 281,235 acres (439 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer reported, 2025 | 1,254 (532 antlered bucks, 112 button bucks, 582 does and doe fawns) |
| Deer zone (2026) | Zone A |
| Public land | 3.3% (9,213 acres) |
| Hunting areas | 22 (8,785 acres inside Bremer County) |
| IHAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Waverly, Sumner, Denver, Shell Rock, Fairbank and Nashua |
How many deer are harvested in Bremer County?
Hunters reported 1,254 deer in Bremer County in 2025: 532 antlered bucks, 112 button bucks, 582 does and doe fawns and 28 bucks that had shed their antlers.
| Season | Deer reported | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Doe fawns | Shed-antler bucks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,254 | 532 | 112 | 552 | 30 | 28 |
| 2024 | 1,108 | 495 | 86 | 491 | 26 | 10 |
| 2023 | 1,093 | 476 | 100 | 462 | 37 | 18 |
| 2022 | 995 | 436 | 95 | 436 | 25 | 3 |
| 2021 | 953 | 413 | 72 | 439 | 27 | 2 |
Source: Iowa DNR harvest reporting (2021 to 2025 seasons), Bremer County. Every county's numbers add up to the DNR's statewide row for each season shown.
How much public land is in Bremer County?
9,213 of Bremer County's 281,235 acres are public land open to the public (3.3%). The biggest share is public hunting areas on the DNR atlas: 8,793 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Bremer County |
|---|---|---|
| Public hunting areas on the DNR atlas | 8,793 | 3.1% |
| County conservation board and city land | 400 | 0.1% |
| Other DNR land | 20 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 9,213 | 3.3% |
Measured by FilledTag inside the county line from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and the DNR's public hunting area boundaries. Hunting rules differ by manager: DNR wildlife management areas and state forests are open to hunting unless posted as a refuge; Corps of Engineers lake land is open in many places under each project's own rules; national wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas follow U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules; county conservation boards set the rules on their own land; state parks are closed to most hunting.
Public hunting areas in Bremer County
Public hunting areas in Bremer County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Sweet Marsh: 3,268 acres
- Wapsie River Greenbelt: 1,928 acres
- Aldo Leopold Wildlife Area: 1,428 acres
- Plum Creek Wildlife: 311 acres
- Heffernan Wildlife Area: 296 acres
- Walnut Bend Wildlife Area: 244 acres
- Seven Bridges Wildlife Area: 208 acres
- North Cedar Park: 193 acres
- Cedar Bend Park: 188 acres
- Cedar Bend Wildlife Area: 118 acres
- Avenue of the Saints Lake and Rec. Area: 115 acres
- Wilson Grove Wildlife Area: 90 acres
- North Woods Park: 76 acres
- Cedar River Wildlife Area: 59 acres
- J.j. Lyons and Sons Wildlife Area: 52 acres
- Woods Pasture: 51 acres
- Buck Creek Wildlife Area: 50 acres
- Ringneck Wildlife Area: 38 acres
- Snyder Access - Bremer: 26 acres
- Shell Rock Wildlife Area: 20 acres
- Dillon Wildlife Area: 16 acres
- Brooks/Lease Prairie: 10 acres
How do you get to Bremer County?
Highways through it: IA 27 (about 46 miles inside), US 218 (about 44 miles inside), US 63 (about 38 miles inside), IA 3 (about 23 miles inside) and IA 93 (about 16 miles inside). Towns inside: Waverly, Sumner, Denver, Tripoli, Janesville and Frederika. Nearby: Shell Rock (on the line), Fairbank (2 miles), Nashua (3 miles) and Fredericksburg (4 miles).
Which counties border Bremer County?
Bremer County touches 6 other counties. Their latest DNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | IHAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floyd County | 1,063 | 2025 | 0.7% | |
| Butler County | 1,211 | 2025 | 2.8% | 1 |
| Fayette County | 2,128 | 2025 | 1.8% | 5 |
| Buchanan County | 1,032 | 2025 | 1.1% | 1 |
| Chickasaw County | 1,197 | 2025 | 1.1% | 1 |
| Black Hawk County | 938 | 2025 | 3% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Bremer County in 2025?
Hunters reported 1,254 deer: 532 antlered bucks, 112 button bucks and 582 does and doe fawns (DNR). In 2024: 1,108.
Is there public hunting land in Bremer County?
Yes. 9,213 acres, 3.3% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and the DNR's public hunting area boundaries, the largest share public hunting areas on the DNR atlas (8,793 acres). The DNR's atlas shows 22 public hunting areas here.
Does Bremer County have IHAP land?
Not on the DNR's IHAP layer.
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Where these numbers come from
- Deer harvest: Iowa DNR harvest reporting (2021 to 2025 seasons).
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and the DNR's public hunting area boundaries. public hunting areas: Iowa DNR public hunting areas (Hunting Atlas layer). IHAP land: Iowa DNR Iowa Habitat and Access Program (IHAP) tracts.
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 cartographic county boundaries. Highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, places.
FilledTag is not part of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Numbers are copied from the DNR and the federal sources above, or measured from their maps; nothing on this page is estimated by FilledTag.
Iowa hunting Floyd County Butler County Fayette County Buchanan County Chickasaw County Black Hawk County