Morton County, North Dakota: PLOTS, WMAs and public hunting land
Morton County has 14,574 acres of PLOTS, private land open to walk-in hunting, inside its line (54 tracts centered in the county), 9 wildlife management areas with 8,575 acres, and 25,700 acres of other public land, by the 2026 maps NDGF publishes. Together that is 3.9% of the county's 1,244,859 acres.
Data updated October 2026. PLOTS, WMAs, trust land and federal land: NDGF map layers, 2026. Lottery: NDGF 2026.
NDGF wildlife management areaBLMCorps of EngineersState trust landState park (rules vary)PLOTS (private land open to hunting)Morton CountyNeighboring countiesLake or riverHighway
| Size | 1,244,859 acres (1,945 square miles) |
|---|---|
| PLOTS land inside the county line | 14,574 acres |
| PLOTS tracts centered in the county | 54 |
| Wildlife management areas | 9, 8,575 acres |
| Other public land | 25,700 acres |
| State trust land open to walk-in hunting | 17,934 acres (Trust Lands) |
| Deer units | Deer unit 3E2, Deer unit 3D2, Deer unit 3C, Deer unit 3F2, Deer unit 3E1, Deer unit 3B3 |
| Pronghorn units | Pronghorn unit 11A, Pronghorn unit 09C, Pronghorn unit 06A |
| Towns | Mandan, Almont, Hebron, New Salem and Glen Ullin |
How much PLOTS walk-in land is in Morton County?
14,574 acres inside the county line, 1.2% of the county; 54 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 Morton County?
9 WMAs, 8,575 acres in all, largest first:
- Graner Bottoms WMA: 3,642 acres
- Schmidt Bottoms WMA: 1,314 acres
- Sweet Briar Lake WMA: 927 acres
- Little Heart Bottoms WMA: 666 acres
- Lake Patricia WMA: 642 acres
- Morton County WMA: 638 acres
- Storm Creek WMA: 472 acres
- Fish Creek Dam WMA: 186 acres
- Crown Butte Dam WMA: 88 acres
How much public land is in Morton County?
2.8% of the county is public land: 34,276 acres, counting the WMAs. The largest share is state trust land, 17,963 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of the county |
|---|---|---|
| State trust land | 17,963 | 1.4% |
| PLOTS (private land open to hunting) | 14,574 | 1.2% |
| NDGF wildlife management area | 8,576 | 0.7% |
| Corps of Engineers | 7,698 | 0.6% |
| State park (rules vary) | 837 | 0.1% |
| BLM | 39 | under 0.1% |
State trust land by the access status the Department of Trust Lands gives each tract (the department's own acres): 17,934 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 Morton County?
Each unit's 2026 lottery, for the whole unit:
| Unit | Acres in the county | Share of the county | Licenses, 2026 | Applicants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer unit 3E2 | 571,574 | 45.9% | 1,650 | 1,653 |
| Deer unit 3D2 | 270,821 | 21.8% | 1,500 | 1,297 |
| Deer unit 3C | 210,271 | 16.9% | 800 | 1,431 |
| Deer unit 3F2 | 83,842 | 6.7% | 2,800 | 1,641 |
| Deer unit 3E1 | 79,153 | 6.4% | 1,450 | 1,704 |
| Deer unit 3B3 | 29,198 | 2.3% | 600 | 1,188 |
| Pronghorn unit 11A | 860,667 | 69.1% | 90 | 855 |
| Pronghorn unit 09C | 298,899 | 24% | 40 | 628 |
| Pronghorn unit 06A | 83,914 | 6.7% | 160 | 1,017 |
Lottery: NDGF deer lottery statistics; NDGF pronghorn lottery statistics; NDGF elk lottery statistics.
How do you get around Morton County?
Highways: I-94 (about 123 miles in the county), ND 1806 (about 48 miles in the county), ND 6 (about 32 miles in the county), ND 49 (about 21 miles in the county), ND 21 (about 19 miles in the county) and ND 31 (about 9 miles in the county). Towns: Mandan, Almont, Hebron, New Salem, Glen Ullin, Flasher and Harmon.
How do the counties around Morton compare?
| County | PLOTS acres | PLOTS tracts | WMA acres | Other public acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burleigh | 56,293 | 131 | 13,288 | 54,594 |
| Emmons | 24,546 | 93 | 4,228 | 45,735 |
| Grant | 35,179 | 105 | 480 | 44,995 |
| Mercer | 5,089 | 25 | 6,829 | 62,066 |
| Oliver | 2,071 | 12 | 965 | 7,599 |
| Sioux | 18,036 | 23 | 297 | 55,844 |
| Stark | 26,574 | 90 | 1,116 | 8,295 |
Questions hunters ask
How much PLOTS land is in Morton County?
NDGF's 2026 PLOTS map shows 54 tracts centered in Morton County, covering 14,574 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 Morton County?
Yes, 9: Graner Bottoms (3,642 acres), Schmidt Bottoms (1,314 acres), Sweet Briar Lake (927 acres), Little Heart Bottoms (666 acres), Lake Patricia (642 acres) and Morton County (638 acres), and 3 more.
Which deer units are in Morton County?
Unit 3E2 (45.9% of the county), unit 3D2 (21.8% of the county), unit 3C (16.9% of the county), unit 3F2 (6.7% of the county), unit 3E1 (6.4% of the county) and unit 3B3 (2.3% of the county), by NDGF's unit map.
Can you hunt state trust land in Morton County?
Yes, where it is open. The Department of Trust Lands lists 17,934 acres as open in Morton 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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