Pierce County, North Dakota: PLOTS, WMAs and public hunting land
Pierce County has 30,886 acres of PLOTS, private land open to walk-in hunting, inside its line (144 tracts centered in the county), 3 wildlife management areas with 1,585 acres, and 26,779 acres of other public land, by the 2026 maps NDGF publishes. Together that is 8.6% of the county's 692,706 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)BLMState trust landPLOTS (private land open to hunting)Pierce CountyNeighboring countiesLake or riverHighway
| Size | 692,706 acres (1,082 square miles) |
|---|---|
| PLOTS land inside the county line | 30,886 acres |
| PLOTS tracts centered in the county | 144 |
| Wildlife management areas | 3, 1,585 acres |
| Other public land | 26,779 acres |
| State trust land open to walk-in hunting | 13,535 acres (Trust Lands) |
| Deer units | Deer unit 2K2, Deer unit 2E, Deer unit 3A4 |
| Towns | Rugby, Balta, Wolford, Barton and Orrin |
How much PLOTS walk-in land is in Pierce County?
30,886 acres inside the county line, 4.5% of the county; 144 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 Pierce County?
3 WMAs, 1,585 acres in all, largest first:
- Buffalo Lake WMA: 836 acres
- Horseshoe Lake WMA: 644 acres
- Balta Dam WMA: 105 acres
How much public land is in Pierce County?
4.1% of the county is public land: 28,363 acres, counting the WMAs. The largest share is state trust land, 13,821 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of the county |
|---|---|---|
| PLOTS (private land open to hunting) | 30,886 | 4.5% |
| State trust land | 13,821 | 2% |
| Waterfowl production area | 12,816 | 1.9% |
| NDGF wildlife management area | 1,584 | 0.2% |
| BLM | 120 | under 0.1% |
| National wildlife refuge (rules vary) | 22 | under 0.1% |
State trust land by the access status the Department of Trust Lands gives each tract (the department's own acres): 13,535 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 Pierce County?
Each unit's 2026 lottery, for the whole unit:
| Unit | Acres in the county | Share of the county | Licenses, 2026 | Applicants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer unit 2K2 | 403,117 | 58.2% | 1,400 | 2,793 |
| Deer unit 2E | 210,767 | 30.4% | 500 | 1,417 |
| Deer unit 3A4 | 78,822 | 11.4% | 2,000 | 3,075 |
| Elk unit E1W | 62,715 | 9.1% | 155 | 2,760 |
Lottery: NDGF deer lottery statistics; NDGF pronghorn lottery statistics; NDGF elk lottery statistics.
How do you get around Pierce County?
Highways: ND 3 (about 50 miles in the county), US 2 (about 34 miles in the county), ND 17 (about 32 miles in the county), ND 19 (about 17 miles in the county), ND 30 (about 12 miles in the county) and ND 60 (about 4 miles in the county). Towns: Rugby, Balta, Wolford, Barton, Orrin and Selz.
How do the counties around Pierce compare?
| County | PLOTS acres | PLOTS tracts | WMA acres | Other public acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benson | 13,083 | 69 | 1,360 | 23,055 |
| Bottineau | 5,564 | 26 | 2,346 | 39,727 |
| McHenry | 19,631 | 85 | 1,132 | 68,154 |
| Rolette | 5,114 | 31 | 8,033 | 12,875 |
| Sheridan | 24,551 | 100 | 28,151 | 42,970 |
| Towner | 10,665 | 48 | 345 | 16,511 |
| Wells | 23,307 | 88 | 11,854 | 17,525 |
Questions hunters ask
How much PLOTS land is in Pierce County?
NDGF's 2026 PLOTS map shows 144 tracts centered in Pierce County, covering 30,886 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 Pierce County?
Yes, 3: Buffalo Lake (836 acres), Horseshoe Lake (644 acres) and Balta Dam (105 acres).
Which deer units are in Pierce County?
Unit 2K2 (58.2% of the county), unit 2E (30.4% of the county) and unit 3A4 (11.4% of the county), by NDGF's unit map.
Can you hunt state trust land in Pierce County?
Yes, where it is open. The Department of Trust Lands lists 13,535 acres as open and 160 acres where the lessee must be told first in Pierce 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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