County guide · North Dakota · ND WPAs

Waterfowl Production Areas & Public Hunting Land in Pierce County, ND

Pierce County has 50 named Waterfowl Production Areas covering 12,654 acres of federally owned, walk-in public land. The largest is Round Lake WPA at 1,727 acres; the average tract is about 253 acres, and 21 are smaller than 80 acres.

WPAs here are managed by the J. Clark Salyer Wetland Management District, which sets any district-specific rules (vehicle access, blinds, nontoxic shot, closed areas).

The county covers about 1,078 square miles and has roughly 3,990 residents. WPAs make up about 1.8% of its land area.

County mapAll 50 WPAsDownload KML
50named WPAs
12.7Kacres of WPA land
1,727largest WPA (ac)
1refuges & districts

Map of WPAs in Pierce County

Gold outlines are fee-title Waterfowl Production Areas — federally owned public land. Land outside them is almost always private. Switch to satellite to check water conditions and cover, and click any tract for coordinates.

Loading interactive map…
Waterfowl Production Area (public)County lineRefuge / station Tip: switch to Satellite or USGS Topo in the layer menu · click the map for GPS coordinates
Take every tract with you:KML (Google Earth / onX)GPX waypoints

All Waterfowl Production Areas in Pierce County

Largest WPAs (acres)
Round Lake WPA
1,727 ac
Horseshoe Lake WPA
1,482 ac
Christenson Lake WPA
907 ac
Wolford WPA
757 ac
Rush Lake WPA
649 ac
Hurricane Lake WPA
555 ac
Kilgore Lake WPA
515 ac
Long Lake WPA
495 ac
Aylmer Lake WPA
441 ac
Herd Lake WPA
377 ac
Meyer WPA
360 ac
Black-Byrn WPA
360 ac
How big are the tracts? (number of WPAs by acres)
<40: 1313<4040–80: 8840–8080–160: 5580–160160–320: 1212160–320320+: 1212320+
WPAAcresNearest townGPSGo
Round Lake WPA
1,758 deeded ac		 1,727 13 mi NW of Rugby 48.47907, -100.21128 Map · Directions
Horseshoe Lake WPA 1,482 13 mi W of Rugby 48.43277, -100.25471 Map · Directions
Christenson Lake WPA 907 4.7 mi SW of Rugby 48.33525, -100.07754 Map · Directions
Wolford WPA 757 12 mi NE of Rugby 48.43990, -99.74906 Map · Directions
Rush Lake WPA
640 deeded ac		 649 10 mi W of Rugby 48.37858, -100.21127 Map · Directions
Hurricane Lake WPA
549 deeded ac		 555 23 mi E of Rugby 48.48336, -99.51975 Map · Directions
Kilgore Lake WPA 515 16 mi S of Rugby 48.15964, -100.11226 Map · Directions
Long Lake WPA 495 11 mi NE of Rugby 48.48548, -99.82519 Map · Directions
Aylmer Lake WPA 441 31 mi S of Rugby 47.94320, -100.19004 Map · Directions
Herd Lake WPA 377 9.0 mi N of Rugby 48.49559, -99.94146 Map · Directions
Meyer WPA 360 7.3 mi SE of Rugby 48.30570, -99.86360 Map · Directions
Black-Byrn WPA 360 13 mi W of Rugby 48.38029, -100.27101 Map · Directions
Hong WPA 319 15 mi E of Rugby 48.40374, -99.67279 Map · Directions
Seil WPA 283 5.6 mi SE of Rugby 48.31720, -99.89883 Map · Directions
Balta WPA 277 15 mi S of Rugby 48.14663, -99.99353 Map · Directions
Sandhill Crane WPA 269 18 mi S of Rugby 48.11206, -99.91557 Map · Directions
Saline Slough WPA 242 23 mi S of Rugby 48.03984, -100.06407 Map · Directions
Cruden WPA 238 7.5 mi NW of Rugby 48.45274, -100.09701 Map · Directions
Hillside WPA 177 28 mi S of Rugby 47.97414, -100.06406 Map · Directions
Avocet WPA 170 9.6 mi SE of Rugby 48.25146, -99.88212 Map · Directions
Juanita WPA 169 9.8 mi NE of Rugby 48.49106, -99.87941 Map · Directions
Bullrush WPA 168 23 mi S of Rugby 48.03971, -99.99103 Map · Directions
Gross WPA 165 11 mi S of Rugby 48.21458, -100.01387 Map · Directions
Red Lake WPA 161 11 mi SW of Rugby 48.23759, -100.13648 Map · Directions
Winter WPA 137 12 mi NE of Rugby 48.48891, -99.80348 Map · Directions
Clear Lake WPA 122 35 mi S of Rugby 47.87068, -100.12892 Map · Directions
Kittilson WPA 104 6.0 mi N of Rugby 48.45632, -99.99100 Map · Directions
West Antelope Lake WPA 87 30 mi S of Rugby 47.93689, -100.05942 Map · Directions
Boyer WPA 83 9.2 mi E of Rugby 48.39119, -99.79247 Map · Directions
Bluestem WPA 80 13 mi S of Rugby 48.19353, -99.89107 Map · Directions
Reno Valley WPA 79 8.7 mi S of Rugby 48.24793, -99.93971 Map · Directions
Grove WPA 73 6.2 mi S of Rugby 48.28098, -99.97203 Map · Directions
Schall WPA 64 12 mi S of Rugby 48.20179, -100.00041 Map · Directions
Volk WPA 61 16 mi SW of Rugby 48.18259, -100.19524 Map · Directions
Black WPA 54 13 mi W of Rugby 48.36880, -100.26692 Map · Directions
Smokey Lake WPA 43 18 mi SW of Rugby 48.16642, -100.23361 Map · Directions
Elverum WPA 41 12 mi S of Rugby 48.20121, -100.06124 Map · Directions
Wildrose WPA 40 14 mi SE of Rugby 48.18267, -99.85044 Map · Directions
Needle Grass WPA 40 15 mi S of Rugby 48.16105, -99.95327 Map · Directions
Silva WPA 40 12 mi S of Rugby 48.19359, -99.93166 Map · Directions
Salt Flats WPA 40 29 mi S of Rugby 47.95415, -100.12002 Map · Directions
Sandpiper WPA
46 deeded ac		 39 24 mi S of Rugby 48.01982, -100.05662 Map · Directions
Orrin WPA 38 19 mi S of Rugby 48.10727, -100.10853 Map · Directions
East Antelope Lake WPA 28 30 mi S of Rugby 47.93920, -100.02796 Map · Directions
Torgerson Marsh WPA 27 4.8 mi N of Rugby 48.43835, -100.00350 Map · Directions
Sandreed WPA 26 23 mi S of Rugby 48.04184, -100.09979 Map · Directions
Square Lake WPA 14 25 mi S of Rugby 48.01268, -100.02839 Map · Directions
Mitigation WPA 11 2.2 mi SE of Rugby 48.35379, -99.94751 Map · Directions
Buffalo Lake WPA 10 27 mi S of Rugby 47.99153, -99.82154 Map · Directions
Diddle Lake WPA 8.1 20 mi S of Rugby 48.07993, -99.90625 Map · Directions

Acreage from USFWS realty GIS polygons. Coordinates are a point inside each tract — not necessarily a parking area. Look for designated parking and boundary signs on the ground.

Hunting WPAs in Pierce County: rules & tips

Typically allowed

  • Hunting waterfowl, upland birds, deer and other game in season under North Dakota regulations
  • Walk-in access from roads and designated parking areas
  • Fishing and trapping where state and district rules allow
  • Wildlife watching, photography and dog training outside restricted periods

Common restrictions

  • No camping, fires or overnight use on most tracts
  • Motor vehicles only on designated roads and parking areas
  • Blinds and portable stands usually removed at the end of each day
  • Nontoxic shot required for waterfowl; many districts require it for all shotgun hunting
  • Some tracts have closed areas, refuge-style rules or seasonal restrictions

Getting to Pierce County

Distances below are straight-line from the center of the county. Most WPAs are reached by county and township gravel roads — download the GPX file and load it into your phone or GPS before you lose cell coverage.

  • Rugby, ND12 mi — county center is S of town
  • Bottineau, ND48 mi — county center is SE of town
  • Devils Lake, ND54 mi — county center is W of town
  • Minot, ND58 mi — county center is E of town

Shooting hours in Pierce County

Today at Pierce County

Legal light*–
Sunrise–
Sunset–

*½ hour before sunrise — the standard federal shooting-hour start for migratory game birds. Times in Chicago local time.

Full season calculator →

2026–2027 season sun table

DateShooting lightSunriseSunsetDaylight
Tue, Sep 1, 20266:26 AM6:56 AM8:24 PM13h 28m
Tue, Sep 15, 20266:45 AM7:15 AM7:55 PM12h 40m
Thu, Oct 1, 20267:07 AM7:37 AM7:21 PM11h 44m
Thu, Oct 15, 20267:27 AM7:57 AM6:53 PM10h 56m
Sun, Nov 1, 20266:54 AM7:24 AM5:23 PM9h 59m
Sun, Nov 15, 20267:16 AM7:46 AM5:03 PM9h 18m
Tue, Dec 1, 20267:39 AM8:09 AM4:49 PM8h 41m
Tue, Dec 15, 20267:53 AM8:23 AM4:46 PM8h 23m
Fri, Jan 1, 20278:00 AM8:30 AM4:55 PM8h 25m
Fri, Jan 15, 20277:56 AM8:26 AM5:11 PM8h 45m
Mon, Feb 1, 20277:39 AM8:09 AM5:37 PM9h 28m

Computed for 48.195, -100.045 (CDT / DST-aware). Check state rules — big game hours vary.

7-day forecast for Pierce County

Loading National Weather Service forecast…

Forecast from the National Weather Service. Wind direction matters — plan your approach downwind of where game beds.

Refuges & districts with land in Pierce County

J. Clark Salyer WMD

McHenry County, ND

1 open
🦌🦆🦃🐦🕊️🐇🎣

34K huntable acres

Neighboring counties with WPAs

Source: USFWS Realty Tracts (fee-title interest) and Esri county boundaries. Page updated October 28, 2026.