Stark County, North Dakota: PLOTS, WMAs and public hunting land
Stark County has 26,574 acres of PLOTS, private land open to walk-in hunting, inside its line (90 tracts centered in the county), 1 wildlife management area with 1,116 acres, and 8,295 acres of other public land, by the 2026 maps NDGF publishes. Together that is 4.2% of the county's 857,850 acres.
Data updated October 2026. PLOTS, WMAs, trust land and federal land: NDGF map layers, 2026. Lottery: NDGF 2026.
NDGF wildlife management areaNational grasslandBLMBureau of ReclamationState trust landPLOTS (private land open to hunting)Stark CountyNeighboring countiesLake or riverHighway
| Size | 857,850 acres (1,340 square miles) |
|---|---|
| PLOTS land inside the county line | 26,574 acres |
| PLOTS tracts centered in the county | 90 |
| Wildlife management areas | 1, 1,116 acres |
| Other public land | 8,295 acres |
| State trust land open to walk-in hunting | 6,150 acres (Trust Lands) |
| Deer units | Deer unit 3E1, Deer unit 3D1, Deer unit 3D2, Deer unit 4D, Deer unit 4C |
| Pronghorn units | Pronghorn unit 07A, Pronghorn unit 08A, Pronghorn unit 11A, Pronghorn unit 09C, Pronghorn unit 02B, Pronghorn unit 01A |
| Towns | Dickinson, Richardton, Belfield, South Heart and Taylor |
How much PLOTS walk-in land is in Stark County?
26,574 acres inside the county line, 3.1% of the county; 90 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 Stark County?
One WMA:
- Adam and Teresa Raab WMA: 1,116 acres
How much public land is in Stark County?
1.1% of the county is public land: 9,411 acres, counting the WMAs. The largest share is state trust land, 6,216 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of the county |
|---|---|---|
| PLOTS (private land open to hunting) | 26,574 | 3.1% |
| State trust land | 6,216 | 0.7% |
| BLM | 1,987 | 0.2% |
| NDGF wildlife management area | 1,116 | 0.1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 86 | under 0.1% |
| National grassland | 6 | under 0.1% |
State trust land by the access status the Department of Trust Lands gives each tract (the department's own acres): 6,150 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 Stark County?
Each unit's 2026 lottery, for the whole unit:
| Unit | Acres in the county | Share of the county | Licenses, 2026 | Applicants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer unit 3E1 | 575,086 | 67% | 1,450 | 1,704 |
| Deer unit 3D1 | 183,488 | 21.4% | 900 | 921 |
| Deer unit 3D2 | 68,860 | 8% | 1,500 | 1,297 |
| Deer unit 4D | 23,251 | 2.7% | 500 | 2,888 |
| Deer unit 4C | 7,164 | 0.8% | 400 | 3,004 |
| Pronghorn unit 07A | 473,317 | 55.2% | 100 | 706 |
| Pronghorn unit 08A | 183,488 | 21.4% | 40 | 369 |
| Pronghorn unit 11A | 101,770 | 11.9% | 90 | 855 |
| Pronghorn unit 09C | 68,860 | 8% | 40 | 628 |
| Pronghorn unit 02B | 23,251 | 2.7% | 55 | 1,056 |
| Pronghorn unit 01A | 7,164 | 0.8% | 130 | 3,044 |
Lottery: NDGF deer lottery statistics; NDGF pronghorn lottery statistics; NDGF elk lottery statistics.
How do you get around Stark County?
Highways: I-94 (about 110 miles in the county), ND 8 (about 27 miles in the county), US 85 (about 24 miles in the county) and ND 22 (about 24 miles in the county). Towns: Dickinson, Richardton, Belfield, South Heart, Taylor and Gladstone.
How do the counties around Stark compare?
| County | PLOTS acres | PLOTS tracts | WMA acres | Other public acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billings | 12,570 | 27 | 154 | 322,046 |
| Dunn | 6,762 | 22 | 7,460 | 96,268 |
| Grant | 35,179 | 105 | 480 | 44,995 |
| Hettinger | 18,227 | 83 | 1,170 | 11,379 |
| Mercer | 5,089 | 25 | 6,829 | 62,066 |
| Morton | 14,574 | 54 | 8,576 | 25,700 |
| Slope | 55,441 | 71 | 964 | 165,081 |
Questions hunters ask
How much PLOTS land is in Stark County?
NDGF's 2026 PLOTS map shows 90 tracts centered in Stark County, covering 26,574 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 Stark County?
Yes, 1: Adam and Teresa Raab (1,116 acres).
Which deer units are in Stark County?
Unit 3E1 (67% of the county), unit 3D1 (21.4% of the county), unit 3D2 (8% of the county), unit 4D (2.7% of the county) and unit 4C (0.8% of the county), by NDGF's unit map.
Can you hunt state trust land in Stark County?
Yes, where it is open. The Department of Trust Lands lists 6,150 acres as open in Stark 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.
North Dakota hunting Billings County Dunn County Grant County Hettinger County Mercer County Morton County