Mountrail County, North Dakota: PLOTS, WMAs and public hunting land
Mountrail County has 15,528 acres of PLOTS, private land open to walk-in hunting, inside its line (48 tracts centered in the county), 3 wildlife management areas with 4,818 acres, and 111,672 acres of other public land, by the 2026 maps NDGF publishes. Together that is 10.6% of the county's 1,242,483 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)BLMCorps of EngineersState trust landState park (rules vary)PLOTS (private land open to hunting)Mountrail CountyNeighboring countiesLake or riverHighway
| Size | 1,242,483 acres (1,941 square miles) |
|---|---|
| PLOTS land inside the county line | 15,528 acres |
| PLOTS tracts centered in the county | 48 |
| Wildlife management areas | 3, 4,818 acres |
| Other public land | 111,672 acres |
| State trust land open to walk-in hunting | 32,286 acres (Trust Lands) |
| Deer units | Deer unit 3A3, Deer unit 3B1, Deer unit 3A1, Deer unit 3B2 |
| Pronghorn units | Pronghorn unit 13A |
| Towns | Stanley, Parshall, New Town, Palermo and White Earth |
How much PLOTS walk-in land is in Mountrail County?
15,528 acres inside the county line, 1.2% of the county; 48 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 Mountrail County?
3 WMAs, 4,818 acres in all, largest first:
- Van Hook WMA: 4,740 acres
- Palermo WMA: 39 acres
- White Earth Valley WMA (Mountrail County): 39 acres
How much public land is in Mountrail County?
9.4% of the county is public land: 116,727 acres, counting the WMAs. The largest share is Corps of Engineers, 62,659 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of the county |
|---|---|---|
| Corps of Engineers | 62,659 | 5% |
| State trust land | 32,632 | 2.6% |
| PLOTS (private land open to hunting) | 15,528 | 1.2% |
| Waterfowl production area | 11,029 | 0.9% |
| NDGF wildlife management area | 5,055 | 0.4% |
| National wildlife refuge (rules vary) | 4,754 | 0.4% |
| BLM | 598 | under 0.1% |
| State park (rules vary) | 224 | under 0.1% |
State trust land by the access status the Department of Trust Lands gives each tract (the department's own acres): 32,286 acres open and 160 acres closed.
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 Mountrail County?
Each unit's 2026 lottery, for the whole unit:
| Unit | Acres in the county | Share of the county | Licenses, 2026 | Applicants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer unit 3A3 | 711,038 | 57.2% | 2,500 | 3,269 |
| Deer unit 3B1 | 270,374 | 21.8% | 850 | 2,203 |
| Deer unit 3A1 | 219,370 | 17.7% | 4,000 | 3,713 |
| Deer unit 3B2 | 41,701 | 3.4% | 750 | 789 |
| Pronghorn unit 13A | 489,604 | 39.4% | 60 | 1,099 |
Lottery: NDGF deer lottery statistics; NDGF pronghorn lottery statistics; NDGF elk lottery statistics.
How do you get around Mountrail County?
Highways: US 2 (about 80 miles in the county), ND 1804 (about 56 miles in the county), ND 8 (about 41 miles in the county), ND 23 (about 32 miles in the county), ND 37 (about 9 miles in the county) and ND 50 (about 8 miles in the county). Towns: Stanley, Parshall, New Town, Palermo, White Earth, Plaza and Ross.
How do the counties around Mountrail compare?
| County | PLOTS acres | PLOTS tracts | WMA acres | Other public acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burke | 33,891 | 150 | 528 | 51,123 |
| Dunn | 6,762 | 22 | 7,460 | 96,268 |
| McKenzie | 9,525 | 21 | 18,092 | 621,251 |
| McLean | 34,694 | 163 | 30,311 | 172,650 |
| Ward | 19,948 | 70 | 40 | 31,108 |
| Williams | 16,874 | 71 | 6,989 | 91,574 |
Questions hunters ask
How much PLOTS land is in Mountrail County?
NDGF's 2026 PLOTS map shows 48 tracts centered in Mountrail County, covering 15,528 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 Mountrail County?
Yes, 3: Van Hook (4,740 acres), Palermo (39 acres) and White Earth Valley (Mountrail County) (39 acres).
Which deer units are in Mountrail County?
Unit 3A3 (57.2% of the county), unit 3B1 (21.8% of the county), unit 3A1 (17.7% of the county) and unit 3B2 (3.4% of the county), by NDGF's unit map.
Can you hunt state trust land in Mountrail County?
Yes, where it is open. The Department of Trust Lands lists 32,286 acres as open and 160 acres as closed in Mountrail County. Its map shows each tract's status.
Get a North Dakota hunt plan when they open
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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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