Palo Alto County, Iowa: deer harvest and public hunting land
Palo Alto County covers 570 square miles around Emmetsburg. Hunters reported 279 deer here in the 2025 season, 163 of them antlered bucks, through the DNR's harvest reporting. That is up 14% from 2024. 3.1% of Palo Alto County is public land open to the public, the largest share public hunting areas on the DNR atlas (10,389 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 landCounty conservation board and city landIHAP landPalo Alto CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 364,494 acres (570 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer reported, 2025 | 279 (163 antlered bucks, 14 button bucks, 97 does and doe fawns) |
| Deer zone (2026) | Zone A |
| Public land | 3.1% (11,259 acres) |
| Hunting areas | 33 (10,387 acres inside Palo Alto County) |
| IHAP land | 5 sites, 667 acres |
| Towns in and near it | Emmetsburg, West Bend, Graettinger, Fenton, Whittemore and Plover |
How many deer are harvested in Palo Alto County?
Hunters reported 279 deer in Palo Alto County in 2025: 163 antlered bucks, 14 button bucks, 97 does and doe fawns and 5 bucks that had shed their antlers.
| Season | Deer reported | Antlered bucks | Button bucks | Does | Doe fawns | Shed-antler bucks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 279 | 163 | 14 | 95 | 2 | 5 |
| 2024 | 244 | 136 | 17 | 83 | 5 | 3 |
| 2023 | 370 | 208 | 30 | 127 | 4 | 1 |
| 2022 | 360 | 204 | 17 | 133 | 2 | 4 |
| 2021 | 312 | 195 | 8 | 102 | 7 | 0 |
Source: Iowa DNR harvest reporting (2021 to 2025 seasons), Palo Alto County. Every county's numbers add up to the DNR's statewide row for each season shown.
How much public land is in Palo Alto County?
11,259 of Palo Alto County's 364,494 acres are public land open to the public (3.1%). The biggest share is public hunting areas on the DNR atlas: 10,389 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Palo Alto County |
|---|---|---|
| Public hunting areas on the DNR atlas | 10,389 | 2.9% |
| Other DNR land | 442 | 0.1% |
| County conservation board and city land | 419 | 0.1% |
| National wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas | 9 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 11,259 | 3.1% |
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 Palo Alto County
Public hunting areas in Palo Alto County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Dewey's Pasture Complex: 2,160 acres
- West Fork Wildlife Area - Palo Alto: 1,892 acres
- Silver Lake - Palo Alto: 848 acres
- Five Island Lake: 643 acres
- Blue Wing Marsh: 580 acres
- Rush Lake - Palo Alto: 533 acres
- Blue Wing Marsh WPA: 445 acres
- Virgin Lake: 402 acres
- Watson Heritage Area: 363 acres
- Fallow Marsh: 301 acres
- West Fork Wetlands: 271 acres
- Dewey's Pasture Complex WPA: 249 acres
- Prairie Gold Wildlife Area: 243 acres
- Whitetail Flats Wildlife Area - Palo Alto: 237 acres
- Burns Prairie: 160 acres
- Hauschen Wildlife Area: 147 acres
- Brushy Bayou Recreation-Wildlife Area: 132 acres
- Sportsmans Recreation Area: 81 acres
- Basswood Recreation Area: 80 acres
- Bluestem Meadow Wildlife Area: 79 acres
- Fallow Marsh WPA: 76 acres
- Glacial Ridge Wildlife Area: 72 acres
- Elk Lake Wetland Complex: 65 acres
- Huston Prairie: 62 acres
- Perkin's Marsh: 60 acres
- Rogers Wildlife Area: 57 acres
- Robert Mulrony Recreation Wildlife Area: 50 acres
- Larson Prairie: 33 acres
- Riverview Wildlife Area: 17 acres
- River Runner Access: 15 acres
- Roads End Prairie Wildlife Area: 13 acres
- Rossiter Wildlife Area: 11 acres
- Plantation Wildlife Area: 10 acres
Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Palo Alto County Waterfowl Production Area (787 acres).
IHAP land in Palo Alto County
The DNR's IHAP layer shows 5 tracts in Palo Alto County, 667 acres of private land leased for walk-in hunting. Nearly every tract is walk-in only, September 1 to May 31, by the DNR's notes. DNR: IHAP.
How do you get to Palo Alto County?
Highways through it: IA 4 (about 28 miles inside), US 18 (about 27 miles inside) and IA 314 (about 6 miles inside). Towns inside: Emmetsburg, West Bend, Graettinger, Curlew, Ruthven and Mallard. Nearby: Fenton (on the line), Whittemore (on the line), Plover (2 miles) and Ringsted (3 miles).
Which counties border Palo Alto County?
Palo Alto County touches 7 other counties. Their latest DNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | IHAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County | 461 | 2025 | 3.9% | 5 |
| Emmet County | 237 | 2025 | 5.3% | 1 |
| Kossuth County | 382 | 2025 | 1.6% | 8 |
| Humboldt County | 214 | 2025 | 0.5% | 1 |
| Dickinson County | 304 | 2025 | 11.1% | 1 |
| Pocahontas County | 136 | 2025 | 1.3% | |
| Buena Vista County | 174 | 2025 | 1.5% | 1 |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Palo Alto County in 2025?
Hunters reported 279 deer: 163 antlered bucks, 14 button bucks and 97 does and doe fawns (DNR). In 2024: 244.
Is there public hunting land in Palo Alto County?
Yes. 11,259 acres, 3.1% 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 (10,389 acres). The DNR's atlas shows 33 public hunting areas here.
Does Palo Alto County have IHAP land?
Yes. 5 tracts, 667 acres, 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 Clay County Emmet County Kossuth County Humboldt County Dickinson County Pocahontas County Buena Vista County