Beltrami County, Minnesota: public hunting land
Beltrami County has 556,547 acres of public land open to the public, 28.5% of the county, the largest share state wildlife management areas (282,770 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public). The DNR's map shows 21 wildlife management areas here covering 282,227 acres, the largest Red Lake WMA (200,230 acres in the county). Deer here are counted by deer permit area: DPA 684 (3,267 deer in 2025), DPA 111 (412 deer in 2025), DPA 110 (1,210 deer in 2025) and DPA 101 (759 deer in 2025).
Data updated October 2026. Land: PAD-US 4.1. Wildlife Management Areas and Walk-In Access: the DNR's map layers, read 2026-10. Harvest: DNR Deer Harvest Reports, 2021 to 2025.
State wildlife management areasState forest and other DNR landNational forestNational wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areasState parksCounty, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landBeltrami CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 1,955,329 acres (3,055 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Public land | 28.5% (556,547 acres) |
| WMAs | 21 (282,227 acres) |
| Walk-In Access | None mapped this year |
| Deer permit areas | DPA 684, DPA 111, DPA 110, DPA 101, DPA 104, DPA 197, DPA 169 |
| Towns | Bemidji, Tenstrike, Wilton, Blackduck, Grygla and Cass Lake |
How much public hunting land is in Beltrami County?
556,547 of the county's 1,955,329 acres are public land open to the public (28.5%). 540,688 acres of that are state wildlife, state forest or federal land, where hunting is the rule rather than the exception.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Beltrami County |
|---|---|---|
| State wildlife management areas | 282,770 | 14.5% |
| State forest and other DNR land | 189,060 | 9.7% |
| National forest | 64,426 | 3.3% |
| State parks | 10,721 | 0.5% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 4,904 | 0.3% |
| National wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas | 4,432 | 0.2% |
| County, city and regional land | 234 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 556,547 | 28.5% |
Measured by FilledTag inside the county line from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public). State wildlife management areas, state forest land and national forests are open to hunting in season; refuges and waterfowl production areas follow U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules; state parks allow hunting only in special hunts; national park land is closed to hunting; city and county parks set their own rules. PAD-US 4.1 leaves out most of the tax-forfeited land Minnesota counties manage, much of it open to hunting, so the public land here may be more than shown; the county land department has the maps.
The largest public areas in Beltrami County by PAD-US, besides the WMAs: Red Lake State Forest (72,505 acres), Chippewa National Forest (64,581 acres), Buena Vista State Forest (18,497 acres), Beltrami Wildlife Management Area (9,156 acres), Big Bog (9,127 acres) and Mississippi Headwaters State Forest (5,552 acres).
Which wildlife management areas are in Beltrami County?
21, largest first.
| WMA | Acres in the county | DNR lists for hunting |
|---|---|---|
| Red Lake WMA | 200,230 | deer, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, sharp-tailed grouse, bear and small game |
| Wapiti WMA | 31,754 | deer, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, sharp-tailed grouse, bear and small game |
| Moose River WMA | 21,275 | deer, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, sharp-tailed grouse, bear and small game |
| Wolf Trail WMA | 7,792 | deer, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, sharp-tailed grouse, bear and small game |
| Hamre WMA | 4,530 | deer, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, bear and small game |
| Carmelee WMA | 3,904 | deer, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, sharp-tailed grouse, bear and small game |
| Willow-Run WMA | 3,554 | deer, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, sharp-tailed grouse, bear and small game |
| Fireweed WMA | 2,266 | deer, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, bear and small game |
| Lee WMA | 2,245 | deer, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, sharp-tailed grouse, bear and small game |
| Gun-dog WMA | 1,357 | deer, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, bear and small game |
| Saw-whet WMA | 1,286 | deer, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, sharp-tailed grouse, bear and small game |
| Benville WMA | 1,194 | deer, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, sharp-tailed grouse, bear and small game |
| James B. Fern WMA | 218 | deer, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, bear and small game |
| Long Lake WMA | 160 | deer, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, bear and small game |
| Steenerson WMA | 159 | deer, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, bear and small game |
| Henry O. Bjoring WMA | 114 | deer, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, bear and small game |
| Woodrow Pediocetes WMA | 70 | deer, sharp-tailed grouse, bear and small game |
| Bemidji Slough WMA | 49 | deer, ducks and geese and ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds |
| Carmen Borgerding WMA | 32 | deer, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game |
| Shooks Slough WMA | 21 | deer, ducks and geese and small game |
| Morph Meadows WMA | 17 | deer, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, bear and small game |
How many deer are taken in Beltrami County?
The DNR counts deer by permit area, not by county. Beltrami County lies in 7 permit areas; the largest share is in DPA 684 (23.4% of the county). Each figure below is for the whole permit area.
| DPA | Share of the county | Deer harvested in the whole DPA | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| DPA 684 | 23.4% | 3,267 | 2025 |
| DPA 111 | 18.3% | 412 | 2025 |
| DPA 110 | 12.4% | 1,210 | 2025 |
| DPA 101 | 7.2% | 759 | 2025 |
| DPA 104 | 3.9% | 450 | 2025 |
| DPA 197 | 3.8% | 1,098 | 2025 |
| DPA 169 | 1.6% | 927 | 2025 |
Harvest: Minnesota DNR Deer Harvest Reports (2021 to 2025, 2025 report). Share of the county measured by FilledTag from the DNR's deer permit areas and the Census county line.
How do you get around Beltrami County?
Highways: MN 89 (about 66 miles in the county), MN 1 (about 61 miles in the county), US 71 (about 51 miles in the county), MN 72 (about 51 miles in the county) and US 2 (about 44 miles in the county). Towns: Bemidji, Tenstrike, Wilton, Blackduck, Kelliher, Turtle River, Solway and Funkley.
Questions hunters ask
What is the largest public land in Beltrami County besides the WMAs?
By PAD-US 4.1: Red Lake State Forest (72,505 acres in the county), Chippewa National Forest (64,581 acres in the county) and Buena Vista State Forest (18,497 acres in the county). The largest kind of public land here is state wildlife management areas, 282,770 acres.
What is the largest WMA in Beltrami County?
Red Lake WMA, with 200,230 acres inside the county. The county has 21 WMAs in all.
Does Beltrami County have Walk-In Access land?
Not on the DNR's 2026 Walk-In Access map. The program is mostly in western and southern Minnesota.
Which deer permit area is Beltrami County in?
DPA 684 (23.4%), DPA 111 (18.3%), DPA 110 (12.4%), DPA 101 (7.2%), DPA 104 (3.9%), DPA 197 (3.8%) and DPA 169 (1.6%). Bag limits and firearms dates follow the permit area.
Get a Minnesota hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for Minnesota 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, Minnesota included.
Where these numbers come from
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public). Wildlife Management Areas: Minnesota DNR Wildlife Management Area boundaries, publicly accessible. Walk-In Access: Minnesota DNR Walk-In Access sites.
- Deer harvest: Minnesota DNR Deer Harvest Reports (2021 to 2025, 2025 report).
- County line: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 cartographic county boundaries. Highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads.
FilledTag is not part of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Numbers are copied from the DNR and the federal sources above, or measured from their maps.
Minnesota hunting DPA 684 DPA 111 DPA 110 DPA 101 DPA 104 DPA 197 DPA 169 Cass County Itasca County Roseau County Hubbard County Marshall County Clearwater County Pennington County Koochiching County Lake of the Woods County