Tom Lawin Wildlife Area: hunting and access
Tom Lawin Wildlife Area is 2,287 acres of land managed by the Wisconsin DNR in Chippewa County, next to Jim Falls. The DNR's page for it names deer, wild turkey, pheasants and ducks and geese among the game here. Hunters registered 6,315 deer in DMU Chippewa in 2025.
Data updated October 2026. Area facts: the DNR's DNR property data, read 2026-10. Harvest: DNR Deer Metrics.
State wildlife areas, forests and other DNR landOther federal landState parksTom Lawin Wildlife AreaCounty lineLakeHighway
| Size | 2,287 acres in 3 pieces |
|---|---|
| County | Chippewa County |
| Deer Management Unit | DMU Chippewa |
| DNR lists for hunting | deer, wild turkey, pheasants and ducks and geese |
| Public access (DNR) | Open to Hiking, Fishing, Hunting and Trapping |
| DNR property page | Tom Lawin Wildlife Area |
| Nearest towns | Jim Falls (next to it), Cadott (4 mi) and Lake Wissota (6 mi) |
What is Tom Lawin Wildlife Area like?
Tom Lawin Wildlife Area is a 2,282-acre property located 2 miles southeast of Jim Falls in Central Chippewa County. The property consists of a diverse mixture of grasslands, wetlands, and forested habitat. This diversity offers quality habitat for waterfowl, pheasants, deer, turkey, furbearers, and other grassland-dependent birds like bobolink, meadowlarks, and sedge wrens. The Blanding’s turtle also calls the wetlands and grasslands on this property home. The property lies within the Forest Transition ecological landscape and features elements of both southern and northern Wisconsin. This is especially evident in the Lawin Sedge Meadow State Natural Area that is embedded within the wildlife area. This natural area is an undisturbed expansive sedge meadow that harbors several plant species of greatest conservation need.
Tom Lawin is a hen-rooster pheasant-hunting property and stocked with pheasants during the pheasant season. Other great hunting opportunities include deer, waterfowl, and turkey. The property is also an eBird birding hotspot and offers the opportunity to see a variety of different species in its diverse habitats. Hunting is allowed in the Lawin Sedge Meadow State Natural Area of the property. Originally called the Jim Falls Wildlife Area, the DNR leased hunting rights on 5,000 acres of private lands beginning in the 1950s. In 1991, the DNR began purchasing property in the area, establishing the Tom Lawin Wildlife Area. Since then, 2,282 acres have been purchased. In the recent past, 271 acres of wetlands on state-owned land have been restored. Agricultural fields have been slowly removed from a sharecropping program and converted into warm season grasses and forbs.
In the DNR's words, from its page for the property.
What can you hunt on Tom Lawin Wildlife Area?
The DNR's page for Tom Lawin Wildlife Area names deer, wild turkey, pheasants and ducks and geese. Each follows Wisconsin's statewide season and, for deer, the tags and rules of the deer management unit.
What are the rules on Tom Lawin Wildlife Area?
The DNR's property map lists Tom Lawin Wildlife Area as "Open to Hiking, Fishing, Hunting and Trapping". Hunting follows Wisconsin's statewide seasons and the rules posted on the property.
Activities the DNR lists for Tom Lawin Wildlife Area: Birding, Cross-country skiing (no designated trail), Hiking (no designated trail), Hunting (noted for pheasant, deer, turkey and waterfowl), Trapping, Wild edibles/gathering and Wildlife viewing.
How many deer are taken around Tom Lawin Wildlife Area?
Tom Lawin Wildlife Area lies in DMU Chippewa. The DNR registered 6,315 deer in DMU Chippewa in 2025.
| DMU | Tom Lawin Wildlife Area acres in it | Deer, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| DMU Chippewa | 2,287 | 6,315 |
Harvest for the whole deer management unit, not the property alone: Wisconsin DNR Deer Metrics (registered harvest by deer management unit).
How do you get to Tom Lawin Wildlife Area?
Nearest towns: Jim Falls (next to it), Cadott (4 miles), Lake Wissota (6 miles) and Chippewa Falls (8 miles). Highways within 5 miles: WI 27, WI 29 and WI 178.
What other public land is near Tom Lawin Wildlife Area?
DNR properties within 10 miles:
- Drywood Wildlife Area: 39 acres, 0.5 miles away
- Old Abe State Trail: 250 acres, 1.2 miles away
- Lake Wissota State Park: 1,058 acres, 2.5 miles away
- Town of Arthur State Habitat Area: 203 acres, 5.9 miles away
- McCann Creek Fishery Area: 433 acres, 8.3 miles away
Public land within 3 miles of Tom Lawin Wildlife Area
Counting Tom Lawin Wildlife Area itself, 2,783 of the 39,348 acres within 3 miles of its boundary are public land open to the public (7.1%), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public).
| Manager | Acres within 3 miles |
|---|---|
| State wildlife areas, forests and other DNR land | 2,770 |
| Other federal land | 7 |
| State parks | 6 |
Questions hunters ask
Where is Tom Lawin Wildlife Area?
In Chippewa County, next to Jim Falls. The DNR's property page has its maps and parking.
Is Tom Lawin Wildlife Area open to hunting?
Yes. The DNR's property map lists it as "Open to Hiking, Fishing, Hunting and Trapping". Posted refuges or closed areas, where there are any, are marked on site.
Which deer management unit is Tom Lawin Wildlife Area in?
DMU Chippewa.
How much public land is around Tom Lawin Wildlife Area?
2,783 acres within 3 miles of its boundary, Tom Lawin Wildlife Area included, by PAD-US 4.1. The closest other DNR property is Drywood Wildlife Area (0.5 miles).
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Where these facts come from
- Area description, species, rules and directions: DNR, Tom Lawin Wildlife Area; Wisconsin DNR managed lands open to hunting.
- Boundary and acres: the DNR's map layer above. Surrounding public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public).
- Deer harvest: Wisconsin DNR Deer Metrics (registered harvest by deer management unit).
FilledTag is not part of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Check the DNR's rules and posted signs before you go.