Burleigh County, North Dakota: PLOTS, WMAs and public hunting land
Burleigh County has 56,293 acres of PLOTS, private land open to walk-in hunting, inside its line (131 tracts centered in the county), 13 wildlife management areas with 13,280 acres, and 54,594 acres of other public land, by the 2026 maps NDGF publishes. Together that is 11.6% of the county's 1,067,872 acres.
Data updated October 2026. PLOTS, WMAs, trust land and federal land: NDGF map layers, 2026. Lottery: NDGF 2026.
NDGF wildlife management areaWaterfowl production areaNational wildlife refuge (rules vary)Corps of EngineersBureau of ReclamationState trust landPLOTS (private land open to hunting)Burleigh CountyNeighboring countiesLake or riverHighway
| Size | 1,067,872 acres (1,669 square miles) |
|---|---|
| PLOTS land inside the county line | 56,293 acres |
| PLOTS tracts centered in the county | 131 |
| Wildlife management areas | 13, 13,280 acres |
| Other public land | 54,594 acres |
| State trust land open to walk-in hunting | 27,744 acres (Trust Lands) |
| Deer units | Deer unit 2J1, Deer unit 3C, Deer unit 2I, Deer unit 3B3 |
| Towns | Bismarck, Lincoln, Regan, Wing and Menoken |
How much PLOTS walk-in land is in Burleigh County?
56,293 acres inside the county line, 5.3% of the county; 131 PLOTS tracts are centered in the county. PLOTS (Private Land Open To Sportsmen) is private land the owner has opened to walk-in hunting through NDGF. The NDGF PLOTS Guide map (2026) shows each tract.
Which wildlife management areas are in Burleigh County?
13 WMAs, 13,280 acres in all, largest first:
- MacLean Bottoms WMA: 3,883 acres
- Kimball Bottoms WMA: 2,877 acres
- Apple Creek Bottoms WMA: 1,081 acres
- Rice Lake WMA: 1,010 acres
- Art Brazda WMA: 916 acres
- Arena Lake WMA: 797 acres
- McKenzie Slough WMA: 796 acres
- Russ Stuart WMA: 758 acres
- Robert W. Henderson WMA: 575 acres
- Wilton Mine WMA: 193 acres
- Moffit WMA: 159 acres
- Bunker Lake WMA: 156 acres
- Phoenix Township WMA: 79 acres
How much public land is in Burleigh County?
6.4% of the county is public land: 67,882 acres, counting the WMAs. The largest share is state trust land, 27,970 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of the county |
|---|---|---|
| PLOTS (private land open to hunting) | 56,293 | 5.3% |
| State trust land | 27,970 | 2.6% |
| NDGF wildlife management area | 13,288 | 1.2% |
| Waterfowl production area | 11,918 | 1.1% |
| National wildlife refuge (rules vary) | 11,530 | 1.1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 1,750 | 0.2% |
| Corps of Engineers | 1,426 | 0.1% |
State trust land by the access status the Department of Trust Lands gives each tract (the department's own acres): 27,744 acres open and 160 acres where the lessee must be told first.
Measured by FilledTag inside the Census county line from NDGF PLOTS Guide map layers (WMAs, PLOTS, trust land, federal land); overlapping maps are counted once.
Which hunting units are in Burleigh County?
Each unit's 2026 lottery, for the whole unit:
| Unit | Acres in the county | Share of the county | Licenses, 2026 | Applicants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer unit 2J1 | 676,839 | 63.4% | 900 | 1,372 |
| Deer unit 3C | 207,139 | 19.4% | 800 | 1,431 |
| Deer unit 2I | 99,254 | 9.3% | 1,200 | 2,200 |
| Deer unit 3B3 | 84,640 | 7.9% | 600 | 1,188 |
Lottery: NDGF deer lottery statistics; NDGF pronghorn lottery statistics; NDGF elk lottery statistics.
How do you get around Burleigh County?
Highways: US 83 (about 106 miles in the county), I-94 (about 74 miles in the county), ND 1804 (about 51 miles in the county), ND 14 (about 34 miles in the county), ND 36 (about 32 miles in the county) and ND 810 (about 10 miles in the county). Towns: Bismarck, Lincoln, Regan, Wing, Menoken, Driscoll and Apple Valley.
How do the counties around Burleigh compare?
| County | PLOTS acres | PLOTS tracts | WMA acres | Other public acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmons | 24,546 | 93 | 4,228 | 45,735 |
| Kidder | 21,021 | 73 | 4,750 | 43,844 |
| McLean | 34,694 | 163 | 30,311 | 172,650 |
| Morton | 14,574 | 54 | 8,576 | 25,700 |
| Oliver | 2,071 | 12 | 965 | 7,599 |
| Sheridan | 24,551 | 100 | 28,151 | 42,970 |
Questions hunters ask
How much PLOTS land is in Burleigh County?
NDGF's 2026 PLOTS map shows 131 tracts centered in Burleigh County, covering 56,293 acres inside the county line. PLOTS is private land the owner has opened to walk-in hunting; NDGF's PLOTS Guide shows each tract and its rules.
Are there wildlife management areas in Burleigh County?
Yes, 13: MacLean Bottoms (3,883 acres), Kimball Bottoms (2,877 acres), Apple Creek Bottoms (1,081 acres), Rice Lake (1,010 acres), Art Brazda (916 acres) and Arena Lake (797 acres), and 7 more.
Which deer units are in Burleigh County?
Unit 2J1 (63.4% of the county), unit 3C (19.4% of the county), unit 2I (9.3% of the county) and unit 3B3 (7.9% of the county), by NDGF's unit map.
Can you hunt state trust land in Burleigh County?
Yes, where it is open. The Department of Trust Lands lists 27,744 acres as open and 160 acres where the lessee must be told first in Burleigh County. Its map shows each tract's status.
Get a North Dakota hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for North Dakota 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, North Dakota included.
Where these numbers come from
- PLOTS, WMAs, trust land and federal land: NDGF PLOTS Guide map layers (WMAs, PLOTS, trust land, federal land); NDGF PLOTS Guide map (2026).
- Units and lottery: NDGF hunting unit maps; NDGF deer lottery statistics.
- County line, highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 boundaries, TIGER/Line and Gazetteer.
FilledTag is not part of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. PLOTS tracts change each year; check NDGF's current PLOTS Guide before you go.
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