County guide · South Dakota · SD WPAs

Waterfowl Production Areas & Public Hunting Land in Beadle County, SD

Beadle County has 26 named Waterfowl Production Areas covering 7,772 acres of federally owned, walk-in public land. The largest is Maga-Ta-Hopi WPA at 1,455 acres; the average tract is about 299 acres, and 5 are smaller than 80 acres.

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

The county covers about 1,268 square miles and has roughly 19,149 residents. WPAs make up about 1.0% of its land area.

26named WPAs
7.8Kacres of WPA land
1,455largest WPA (ac)
1refuges & districts

Map of WPAs in Beadle 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.

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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 Beadle County

Largest WPAs (acres)
How big are the tracts? (number of WPAs by acres)
<40: 11<4040–80: 4440–8080–160: 5580–160160–320: 66160–320320+: 1010320+
WPAAcresNearest townGPSGo
Maga-Ta-Hopi WPA 1,455 9.1 mi W of Huron 44.38140, -98.39225 Map · Directions
Bauer WPA 795 13 mi E of Huron 44.38319, -97.94378 Map · Directions
Weaver WPA 646 8.5 mi W of Huron 44.36699, -98.38206 Map · Directions
Ingle WPA 618 12 mi SE of Huron 44.23618, -98.04121 Map · Directions
LeClaire WPA 522 18 mi NE of Huron 44.52792, -97.91898 Map · Directions
Weiting WPA 372 15 mi N of Huron 44.57476, -98.29883 Map · Directions
Rogers WPA 364 8.9 mi NW of Huron 44.41764, -98.37083 Map · Directions
Clouser WPA
338 deeded ac
346 11 mi W of Huron 44.31767, -98.42409 Map · Directions
Schull WPA
320 deeded ac
325 11 mi W of Huron 44.30899, -98.41760 Map · Directions
Kleinsasser WPA 323 11 mi N of Huron 44.50848, -98.27026 Map · Directions
Cain Creek WPA 242 7.3 mi S of Huron 44.25653, -98.24447 Map · Directions
Glanzer WPA 190 16 mi NE of Huron 44.54931, -98.03112 Map · Directions
Wipf WPA
160 deeded ac
169 12 mi N of Huron 44.53550, -98.22229 Map · Directions
Thesenvitz WPA 164 8.0 mi W of Huron 44.36699, -98.37186 Map · Directions
Andressen WPA 162 18 mi W of Huron 44.34541, -98.56458 Map · Directions
Yauney WPA 161 11 mi NW of Huron 44.50607, -98.30063 Map · Directions
South Weaver WPA 142 7.8 mi W of Huron 44.35159, -98.36688 Map · Directions
Kahre WPA 141 10 mi W of Huron 44.40691, -98.41064 Map · Directions
Shoemaker WPA 119 19 mi W of Huron 44.42323, -98.58186 Map · Directions
Mud Lake WPA
113 deeded ac
118 15 mi N of Huron 44.57912, -98.16533 Map · Directions
Boomsma WPA 118 15 mi NW of Huron 44.54001, -98.39398 Map · Directions
Moser WPA 72 13 mi NW of Huron 44.43813, -98.45993 Map · Directions
Marshall WPA 65 20 mi W of Huron 44.40100, -98.61704 Map · Directions
Ruppel WPA 58 13 mi SW of Huron 44.23664, -98.41554 Map · Directions
Reed WPA 51 20 mi SE of Huron 44.19696, -97.87059 Map · Directions
Quiram WPA 33 21 mi W of Huron 44.40140, -98.63878 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 Beadle County: rules & tips

Typically allowed

  • Hunting waterfowl, upland birds, deer and other game in season under South 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 Beadle 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.

  • Huron, SD3.6 mi — county center is W of town
  • Mitchell, SD47 mi — county center is N of town
  • Madison, SD63 mi — county center is NW of town
  • Watertown, SD68 mi — county center is SW of town

Shooting hours in Beadle County

Today at Beadle 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, 20266:24 AM6:54 AM8:12 PM13h 17m
Tue, Sep 15, 20266:40 AM7:10 AM7:46 PM12h 36m
Thu, Oct 1, 20266:59 AM7:29 AM7:16 PM11h 47m
Thu, Oct 15, 20267:16 AM7:46 AM6:50 PM11h 05m
Sun, Nov 1, 20266:39 AM7:09 AM5:24 PM10h 15m
Sun, Nov 15, 20266:58 AM7:28 AM5:07 PM9h 39m
Tue, Dec 1, 20267:18 AM7:48 AM4:56 PM9h 08m
Tue, Dec 15, 20267:31 AM8:01 AM4:54 PM8h 53m
Fri, Jan 1, 20277:38 AM8:08 AM5:03 PM8h 54m
Fri, Jan 15, 20277:35 AM8:05 AM5:17 PM9h 12m
Mon, Feb 1, 20277:22 AM7:52 AM5:40 PM9h 48m

Computed for 44.371, -98.281 (CDT / DST-aware). Check state rules — big game hours vary.

7-day forecast for Beadle County

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

Refuges & districts with land in Beadle County

Huron WMD

Beadle County, SD

1 open1 closed
🦌🦆🦃🐦🕊️🐇🎣

17.5K huntable acres

Refuge hunt units in Beadle County

UnitRefugeStatusAcres
WPA OpenHuron WMDOpen17,522
Facility Proximity ClosureHuron WMDClosed204

Neighboring counties with WPAs

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