Lee County, Iowa: deer harvest and public hunting land
Lee County covers 539 square miles around Fort Madison. Hunters reported 2,257 deer here in the 2025 season, 824 of them antlered bucks, through the DNR's harvest reporting. That is down 2% from 2024. 6.3% of Lee County is public land open to the public, the largest share other DNR land (11,381 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 atlasOther DNR landState parks and recreation areasCounty conservation board and city landLand trusts and other open landLee CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 344,822 acres (539 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer reported, 2025 | 2,257 (824 antlered bucks, 219 button bucks, 1,204 does and doe fawns) |
| Deer zone (2026) | Zone A |
| Public land | 6.3% (21,755 acres) |
| Hunting areas | 11 (8,792 acres inside Lee County) |
| IHAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Fort Madison, Keokuk, Donnellson, Farmington, Hillsboro and Salem |
How many deer are harvested in Lee County?
Hunters reported 2,257 deer in Lee County in 2025: 824 antlered bucks, 219 button bucks, 1,204 does and doe fawns and 10 bucks that had shed their antlers.
| Season | Deer reported | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Doe fawns | Shed-antler bucks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,257 | 824 | 219 | 1,129 | 75 | 10 |
| 2024 | 2,305 | 828 | 226 | 1,149 | 81 | 21 |
| 2023 | 2,054 | 770 | 181 | 1,031 | 58 | 14 |
| 2022 | 2,181 | 873 | 171 | 1,070 | 54 | 13 |
| 2021 | 1,746 | 731 | 163 | 799 | 46 | 7 |
Source: Iowa DNR harvest reporting (2021 to 2025 seasons), Lee County. Every county's numbers add up to the DNR's statewide row for each season shown.
How much public land is in Lee County?
21,755 of Lee County's 344,822 acres are public land open to the public (6.3%). The biggest share is other DNR land: 11,381 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Lee County |
|---|---|---|
| Other DNR land | 11,381 | 3.3% |
| Public hunting areas on the DNR atlas | 8,788 | 2.5% |
| County conservation board and city land | 1,582 | 0.5% |
| Federal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakes | 4 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 21,755 | 6.3% |
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 Lee County
Public hunting areas in Lee County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Shimek State Forest - Lick Creek Unit: 2,415 acres
- Shimek State Forest - Croton Unit: 2,045 acres
- Shimek State Forest - Farmington Unit: 1,612 acres
- Shimek State Forest - Donnellson Unit: 1,038 acres
- North Winds Conservation Area: 907 acres
- North Heron Bend: 197 acres
- Turkey Run Wildlife Area - Lee: 167 acres
- Amborn-Pagin Wildlife Area: 135 acres
- Denning Conservation Area: 116 acres
- Sugar Creek Bottoms: 107 acres
- Burk's Lost Creek Run WMA: 53 acres
How do you get to Lee County?
Highways through it: US 61 (about 59 miles inside), US 218 (about 54 miles inside), IA 27 (about 47 miles inside), IA 16 (about 29 miles inside) and IA 2 (about 23 miles inside). Towns inside: Fort Madison, Keokuk, Donnellson, Montrose, West Point and St. Paul. Nearby: Farmington (on the line), Hillsboro (2 miles), Salem (3 miles) and Middletown (4 miles).
Which counties border Lee County?
Lee County touches 3 other counties. Their latest DNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | IHAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry County | 1,448 | 2025 | 0.9% | |
| Van Buren County | 2,181 | 2025 | 3.2% | |
| Des Moines County | 1,561 | 2025 | 5.8% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Lee County in 2025?
Hunters reported 2,257 deer: 824 antlered bucks, 219 button bucks and 1,204 does and doe fawns (DNR). In 2024: 2,305.
Is there public hunting land in Lee County?
Yes. 21,755 acres, 6.3% 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 other DNR land (11,381 acres). The DNR's atlas shows 11 public hunting areas here.
Does Lee County have IHAP land?
Not on the DNR's IHAP layer.
Get a Iowa hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for Iowa are coming. Join the list and you'll hear first. The first 50 hunters in each new state get their plan free.
Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Iowa included.
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 Henry County Van Buren County Des Moines County