Dunn County, North Dakota: PLOTS, WMAs and public hunting land
Dunn County has 6,762 acres of PLOTS, private land open to walk-in hunting, inside its line (22 tracts centered in the county), 2 wildlife management areas with 7,460 acres, and 96,268 acres of other public land, by the 2026 maps NDGF publishes. Together that is 8.3% of the county's 1,332,594 acres.
Data updated October 2026. PLOTS, WMAs, trust land and federal land: NDGF map layers, 2026. Lottery: NDGF 2026.
NDGF wildlife management areaNational wildlife refuge (rules vary)National grasslandBLMCorps of EngineersState trust landState park (rules vary)PLOTS (private land open to hunting)Dunn CountyNeighboring countiesLake or riverHighway
| Size | 1,332,594 acres (2,082 square miles) |
|---|---|
| PLOTS land inside the county line | 6,762 acres |
| PLOTS tracts centered in the county | 22 |
| Wildlife management areas | 2, 7,460 acres |
| Other public land | 96,268 acres |
| State trust land open to walk-in hunting | 25,673 acres (Trust Lands) |
| Deer units | Deer unit 3D1, Deer unit 3B2, Deer unit 4A, Deer unit 3D2 |
| Pronghorn units | Pronghorn unit 09A, Pronghorn unit 08A, Pronghorn unit 09C |
| Towns | Killdeer, Dodge, Halliday, Dunn Center and Manning |
How much PLOTS walk-in land is in Dunn County?
6,762 acres inside the county line, 0.5% of the county; 22 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 Dunn County?
2 WMAs, 7,460 acres in all, largest first:
- Killdeer Mountains WMA: 6,995 acres
- Lost Bridge WMA: 465 acres
How much public land is in Dunn County?
7.8% of the county is public land: 103,728 acres, counting the WMAs. The largest share is Corps of Engineers, 51,485 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of the county |
|---|---|---|
| Corps of Engineers | 51,485 | 3.9% |
| State trust land | 25,818 | 1.9% |
| BLM | 15,022 | 1.1% |
| NDGF wildlife management area | 7,460 | 0.6% |
| PLOTS (private land open to hunting) | 6,762 | 0.5% |
| State park (rules vary) | 5,357 | 0.4% |
| National wildlife refuge (rules vary) | 3,896 | 0.3% |
| National grassland | 47 | under 0.1% |
State trust land by the access status the Department of Trust Lands gives each tract (the department's own acres): 25,673 acres open.
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 Dunn County?
Each unit's 2026 lottery, for the whole unit:
| Unit | Acres in the county | Share of the county | Licenses, 2026 | Applicants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer unit 3D1 | 529,110 | 39.7% | 900 | 921 |
| Deer unit 3B2 | 480,148 | 36% | 750 | 789 |
| Deer unit 4A | 203,204 | 15.2% | 350 | 1,543 |
| Deer unit 3D2 | 120,132 | 9% | 1,500 | 1,297 |
| Pronghorn unit 09A | 632,073 | 47.4% | 40 | 282 |
| Pronghorn unit 08A | 529,111 | 39.7% | 40 | 369 |
| Pronghorn unit 09C | 171,219 | 12.8% | 40 | 628 |
| Elk unit E2 | 1,332,259 | 100% | 190 | 6,893 |
Lottery: NDGF deer lottery statistics; NDGF pronghorn lottery statistics; NDGF elk lottery statistics.
How do you get around Dunn County?
Highways: ND 22 (about 55 miles in the county), ND 200 (about 47 miles in the county), ND 8 (about 40 miles in the county) and ND 1806 (about 4 miles in the county). Towns: Killdeer, Dodge, Halliday, Dunn Center and Manning.
How do the counties around Dunn compare?
| County | PLOTS acres | PLOTS tracts | WMA acres | Other public acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billings | 12,570 | 27 | 154 | 322,046 |
| McKenzie | 9,525 | 21 | 18,092 | 621,251 |
| McLean | 34,694 | 163 | 30,311 | 172,650 |
| Mercer | 5,089 | 25 | 6,829 | 62,066 |
| Mountrail | 15,528 | 48 | 5,055 | 111,672 |
| Stark | 26,574 | 90 | 1,116 | 8,295 |
Questions hunters ask
How much PLOTS land is in Dunn County?
NDGF's 2026 PLOTS map shows 22 tracts centered in Dunn County, covering 6,762 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 Dunn County?
Yes, 2: Killdeer Mountains (6,995 acres) and Lost Bridge (465 acres).
Which deer units are in Dunn County?
Unit 3D1 (39.7% of the county), unit 3B2 (36% of the county), unit 4A (15.2% of the county) and unit 3D2 (9% of the county), by NDGF's unit map.
Can you hunt state trust land in Dunn County?
Yes, where it is open. The Department of Trust Lands lists 25,673 acres as open in Dunn County, and none closed. 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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