Fillmore County, Minnesota: public hunting land
Fillmore County has 18,432 acres of public land open to the public, 3.3% of the county, the largest share state forest and other DNR land (9,032 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public). The DNR's map shows 14 wildlife management areas here covering 4,976 acres, the largest Choice WMA (1,665 acres in the county). Deer here are counted by deer permit area: DPA 647 (1,444 deer in 2025), DPA 648 (1,763 deer in 2025), DPA 655 (451 deer in 2025) and DPA 649 (3,806 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 landState parksCounty, city and regional landFillmore CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 551,688 acres (862 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Public land | 3.3% (18,432 acres) |
| WMAs | 14 (4,976 acres) |
| Walk-In Access | None mapped this year |
| Deer permit areas | DPA 647, DPA 648, DPA 655, DPA 649, DPA 645, DPA 646 |
| Towns | Rushford Village, Spring Valley, Chatfield, Preston, Racine and Stewartville |
How much public hunting land is in Fillmore County?
18,432 of the county's 551,688 acres are public land open to the public (3.3%). 15,163 acres of that are state wildlife, state forest or federal land, where hunting is the rule rather than the exception.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Fillmore County |
|---|---|---|
| State forest and other DNR land | 9,032 | 1.6% |
| State wildlife management areas | 6,131 | 1.1% |
| State parks | 3,250 | 0.6% |
| County, city and regional land | 19 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 18,432 | 3.3% |
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 Fillmore County by PAD-US, besides the WMAs: R J D Memorial Hardwood State Forest (8,711 acres).
Which wildlife management areas are in Fillmore County?
14, largest first.
| WMA | Acres in the county | DNR lists for hunting |
|---|---|---|
| Choice WMA | 1,665 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game |
| Beaver Creek WMA | 781 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and mourning doves |
| Schueler WMA | 610 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, mourning doves and small game |
| Seven Springs WMA | 340 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game |
| Goethite WMA | 304 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and mourning doves |
| Dr. Johan C. Hvoslef WMA | 295 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, mourning doves and small game |
| Rush Creek Woods WMA | 250 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game |
| Chosen Valley WMA | 197 | deer, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Nosek WMA | 141 | deer, pheasants and small game |
| Upper Iowa River WMA | 130 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and mourning doves |
| Spring Valley WMA | 81 | deer, pheasants, mourning doves and small game |
| Cherry Grove WMA | 78 | deer, pheasants, mourning doves, bear and small game |
| William Pease WMA | 65 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game |
| Yucatan WMA | 39 |
How many deer are taken in Fillmore County?
The DNR counts deer by permit area, not by county. Fillmore County lies in 6 permit areas; the largest share is in DPA 647 (47% 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 647 | 47% | 1,444 | 2025 |
| DPA 648 | 38.5% | 1,763 | 2025 |
| DPA 655 | 5.4% | 451 | 2025 |
| DPA 649 | 5.4% | 3,806 | 2025 |
| DPA 645 | 3.3% | 1,722 | 2025 |
| DPA 646 | 0.5% | 2,832 | 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 Fillmore County?
Highways: MN 16 (about 48 miles in the county), US 52 (about 35 miles in the county), MN 43 (about 25 miles in the county), MN 30 (about 21 miles in the county) and US 63 (about 17 miles in the county). Towns: Rushford Village, Spring Valley, Chatfield, Preston, Rushford, Lanesboro, Harmony and Canton.
Questions hunters ask
What is the largest public land in Fillmore County besides the WMAs?
By PAD-US 4.1: R J D Memorial Hardwood State Forest (8,711 acres in the county). The largest kind of public land here is state forest and other DNR land, 9,032 acres.
What is the largest WMA in Fillmore County?
Choice WMA, with 1,665 acres inside the county. The county has 14 WMAs in all.
Does Fillmore 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 Fillmore County in?
DPA 647 (47%), DPA 648 (38.5%), DPA 655 (5.4%), DPA 649 (5.4%), DPA 645 (3.3%) and DPA 646 (0.5%). Bag limits and firearms dates follow the permit area.
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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 647 DPA 648 DPA 655 DPA 649 DPA 645 DPA 646 Mower County Winona County Houston County Olmsted County