Wapello County, Iowa: deer harvest and public hunting land
Wapello County covers 436 square miles around Ottumwa. Hunters reported 1,310 deer here in the 2025 season, 494 of them antlered bucks, through the DNR's harvest reporting. That is about the same as 2024. 1.5% of Wapello County is public land open to the public, the largest share public hunting areas on the DNR atlas (2,752 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 landIHAP landWapello CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 279,050 acres (436 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer reported, 2025 | 1,310 (494 antlered bucks, 111 button bucks, 695 does and doe fawns) |
| Deer zone (2026) | Zone A |
| Public land | 1.5% (4,200 acres) |
| Hunting areas | 11 (2,751 acres inside Wapello County) |
| IHAP land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | Ottumwa, Eddyville, Eldon, Batavia, Hedrick and Martinsburg |
How many deer are harvested in Wapello County?
Hunters reported 1,310 deer in Wapello County in 2025: 494 antlered bucks, 111 button bucks, 695 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 | 1,310 | 494 | 111 | 653 | 42 | 10 |
| 2024 | 1,306 | 508 | 107 | 625 | 46 | 20 |
| 2023 | 1,253 | 463 | 96 | 649 | 34 | 11 |
| 2022 | 1,434 | 548 | 110 | 722 | 32 | 22 |
| 2021 | 1,260 | 546 | 89 | 587 | 32 | 6 |
Source: Iowa DNR harvest reporting (2021 to 2025 seasons), Wapello County. Every county's numbers add up to the DNR's statewide row for each season shown.
How much public land is in Wapello County?
4,200 of Wapello County's 279,050 acres are public land open to the public (1.5%). The biggest share is public hunting areas on the DNR atlas: 2,752 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Wapello County |
|---|---|---|
| Public hunting areas on the DNR atlas | 2,752 | 1% |
| County conservation board and city land | 1,390 | 0.5% |
| Other DNR land | 29 | under 0.1% |
| State parks and recreation areas | 24 | under 0.1% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 5 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 4,200 | 1.5% |
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 Wapello County
Public hunting areas in Wapello County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Fox Hills Wildlife Area: 1,453 acres
- Pioneer Ridge Nature Area: 446 acres
- Garrison Rock Resource Management Unit: 296 acres
- Kirkville Wildlife Area: 173 acres
- Johnson-Noel Buckeye Wildlife Area: 115 acres
- Devol Area: 79 acres
- Bluewing Marsh - Wapello: 53 acres
- Blanchard Hills Wildlife Area: 47 acres
- Cardinal Wildlife Area: 41 acres
- Sycamore Natural Area: 34 acres
- McNeese Wildlife Area: 14 acres
How do you get to Wapello County?
Highways through it: US 63 (about 53 miles inside), US 34 (about 42 miles inside), IA 149 (about 10 miles inside), IA 16 (about 8 miles inside) and US 149 (about 4 miles inside). Towns inside: Ottumwa, Eddyville, Eldon, Agency, Kirkville and Blakesburg. Nearby: Batavia (on the line), Hedrick (on the line), Martinsburg (on the line) and Floris (2 miles).
Which counties border Wapello County?
Wapello County touches 7 other counties. Their latest DNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | IHAP land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davis County | 1,611 | 2025 | 1.8% | 1 |
| Keokuk County | 1,152 | 2025 | 1.1% | 5 |
| Monroe County | 1,567 | 2025 | 1.9% | |
| Mahaska County | 959 | 2025 | 1.6% | 2 |
| Appanoose County | 2,066 | 2025 | 11.2% | 1 |
| Jefferson County | 1,446 | 2025 | 0.6% | |
| Van Buren County | 2,181 | 2025 | 3.2% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Wapello County in 2025?
Hunters reported 1,310 deer: 494 antlered bucks, 111 button bucks and 695 does and doe fawns (DNR). In 2024: 1,306.
Is there public hunting land in Wapello County?
Yes. 4,200 acres, 1.5% 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 (2,752 acres). The DNR's atlas shows 11 public hunting areas here.
Does Wapello 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 Davis County Keokuk County Monroe County Mahaska County Appanoose County Jefferson County Van Buren County