Public Land Access and Navigation
Public land hunting access for DIY hunting starts with knowing which agencies manage the ground and where to find their maps and rules. Federal public land falls mainly under the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. To identify BLM areas, visit the national BLM map site at https://www.blm.gov/maps and zoom into your state. For national forests, the U.S. Forest Service site at https://www.fs.usda.gov gives interactive maps of forest boundaries and access roads. These federal maps show you where you can legally camp, drive, or hike, and they include trailhead coordinates and seasonal closures that keep you out of trouble.
Colorado
Colorado’s hunting headquarters lives at the Division of Parks and Wildlife website where you can plan your entire season. There you will find maps of every game management unit, habitat boundaries, and species-specific regulations alongside the online license sales portal that handles everything from your small‐game stamp to big‐game tags. Before you pack your boots, head to CPW’s license page at https://cpw.state.co.us/buyapply/Pages/Hunting.aspx to secure your permits, add preference points, and download your digital tags immediately to your phone.
Wyoming
Wyoming hunters go through the Game and Fish Department’s official portal for licenses, permits, and public‐land details. On the licensing page you select your hunt area, choose your weapon type, and enter the draw or purchase leftover tags. Detailed maps of hunt areas and public-land designations accompany the license system so you know exactly where to set up your glassing point. Access it all at https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Hunting/License-Info.
Montana
In Montana, the Fish, Wildlife & Parks website brings together hunt regulations, licensing, and interactive maps under one roof. You can click on any hunting district to see land ownership, find adjacent public-land corridors, and check quota-tag availability for pronghorn, mule deer, or upland game birds. Licenses are sold through an online system that also tracks your preference points for drawing limited tags. Visit https://fwp.mt.gov/buyapply to register, apply for tags, and download your digital license.
Idaho
Idaho’s Fish and Game site offers a unified map viewer that lays out public and private property boundaries by hunt unit. When you buy your license at https://idfg.idaho.gov/licenses/hunting you gain instant access to printable maps and PDF booklets for each species. The same portal handles everything from fishing stamps to controlled‐hunt applications, so you never have to toggle between different systems.
New Mexico
New Mexico Game and Fish maintains a clear licensing page for big-game and small-game seasons as well as detailed public land map downloads. On the application site you choose your hunt type, review permit availability, and check harvest reports that help you decide where to hunt next season. All of this information is found at https://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/licensing/applications/.
Arizona
Arizona hunters secure licenses and view season regulations through the Game and Fish Department’s MyAZGFD portal. The site provides printable hunt maps for every unit and an interactive viewer that highlights public trust lands and Wildlife Management Areas. You can also manage your hunt tags, track preference points, and buy your turkey or migratory bird stamps at https://www.azgfd.com/licensing/.
Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game issues licenses and registration through its online system, which also provides unit maps and harvest guidelines for moose, caribou, and mountain goat. After you register, you can immediately print your license or save a PDF to your device. All hunt applications, drawing results, and public land layers live at https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=huntlicense.login.
Utah
Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources delivers interactive hunt-unit maps and a straightforward license purchase flow at https://wildlife.utah.gov/hunting. There you find a complete list of tags, from archery-only deer tags to general‐season waterfowl stamps, and digital maps showing which public lands you can access without crossing private property.
Nebraska
Nebraska hunters find licenses, tag draws, and habitat maps at the Game and Parks Commission portal https://outdoornebraska.gov/licenses.
Kansas
Kansas consolidates its hunting permits and public‐land area maps under the Department of Wildlife and Parks website at https://ksoutdoors.com/KDWPT-Info/Services/Licenses-Permits.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma issues licenses online and provides detailed wildlife management area maps at https://www.wildlifedepartment.com/hunting-license.
South Dakota
South Dakota’s Game, Fish and Parks site shows public land tracts and controlled‐hunt zones alongside the licensing page at https://gfp.sd.gov/hunting.
North Dakota
North Dakota combines its big‐game and dove stamps with public‐land maps at https://gf.nd.gov/hunting.
Minnesota
Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources manages hunting licenses, waterfowl stamps, and Wildlife Management Area maps on one site at https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/licenses/hunting.html.
Iowa
Iowa licenses and public‐land hunting guides are found at the Iowa DNR portal https://www.iowadnr.gov/Hunting.
Missouri
Missouri publishes a county‐by‐county public‐land atlas and sells all its hunting stamps through https://mdc.mo.gov/buypermits.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s licensing system links directly to its public‐access lands atlas at https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Hunt/licenses.html.
Texas
Texas Parks and Wildlife handles everything from specialty exotics tags to turkey permits with interactive landowner‐cooperator maps at https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt.
Louisiana
Louisiana offers licenses and detailed WMA maps through https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/hunting.
Arkansas
Arkansas combines permit sales with public‐land boundaries on https://www.agfc.com/en/hunting.
Mississippi
Mississippi’s Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks issues permits and posts public‐land brochures at https://www.mdwfp.com/hunting.
Alabama
Alabama’s licenses and Wildlife Management Area maps come from https://www.outdooralabama.com/hunting.
Ohio
In Ohio, the Division of Wildlife website lets you purchase hunting licenses, view Wildlife Management Area maps, and download county‐by‐county public‐access brochures at https://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/licensing.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s Game Commission integrates tag sales with interactive public‐land maps, forest‐game lands boundaries, and waterfowl area regulations at https://www.pgc.pa.gov/InfoResources/Pages/Licensed‐Agent‐Services.aspx.
West Virginia
West Virginia hunters get licenses, stamp info, and WMA maps at https://wvdnr.gov/hunting.
Maryland
Maryland combines deer, turkey, and waterfowl permits with detailed public‐land layers on https://dnr.maryland.gov/huntersguide.
Delaware
Delaware’s DNREC site offers a streamlined license purchase and public‐land map download portal at https://dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/fish‐wildlife/licenses/.
New York
In the Northeast, New York’s Environmental Conservation site handles all big‐game and small‐game licenses alongside DEC public‐land unit maps at https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/236.html.
New Jersey
New Jersey’s hunting license page links directly to its state wildlife management area atlas and regulations guide at https://nj.gov/dep/fgw/license.htm.
Connecticut
Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection provides licenses, harvest reporting, and WMA maps at https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Hunting.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island hunters find permits and public‐land grid maps at https://www.dem.ri.gov/licenses/hunting.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts sells hunting licenses and posts Wildlife Management Area maps at https://www.mass.gov/service‐details/hunting‐and‐trapping‐licenses.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire’s Fish and Game Department lets you apply for your permit and download WMU maps for deer, turkey, and small game seasons at https://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/licensing.
Vermont
Vermont’s Fish and Wildlife site holds licenses, harvest logs, and public‐land access maps at https://vtfishandwildlife.com/licenses.
Maine
Maine hunters handle big‐game, bird stamps, and public‐land maps through the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife portal at https://www.maine.gov/ifw/licenses‐and‐permits.
California
On the Pacific Coast, California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife issues all hunting licenses and stamps while providing an interactive public‐land ownership map at https://wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing.
Oregon
Oregon’s Fish and Wildlife site merges license sales with WMU maps and public‐land overlays at https://myodfw.com/articles/hunting‐licenses.
Washington
Washington hunters purchase tags and view Wildlife Recreation Area boundaries and WMA maps at https://wdfw.wa.gov/licenses/hunting.
Florida
Florida hunters secure licenses and view public-land hunting maps through the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Go Outdoors Florida portal. This site handles everything from small-game permits to bear hunt applications and provides detailed Wildlife Management Area and State Forest maps that you can download or print. You can manage your license purchase, apply for limited-entry hunts, and study area-specific regulations all at https://myfwc.com/license.
Georgia
Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources issues hunting licenses, turkey and migratory bird stamps, and controlled-hunt permits through its Outdoor Licensing system. Alongside the license portal, you’ll find downloadable Wildlife Management Area maps and hunt zone boundary PDFs that show you exactly where you can hike, camp, and hunt public land. Everything you need from application to tag download lives at https://gohuntgeorgia.com.
Hawaii
Hawaii may not scream big game, but island hunters chase feral hogs and game birds on public-access zones managed by the Department of Land and Natural Resources. Licenses and small-game stamps are sold online, and you can grab maps of public hunting areas on Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii Island. The DLNR portal at https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/hunting links licensing and area maps so you never stomp onto private land by mistake.
Illinois
Illinois residents and nonresidents both purchase hunting permits through the Department of Natural Resources’ online service. While the state has fewer large WMAs than western states, DNR’s site offers PDF maps of each public area, including riverfront preserves and reclaimed strip-mine lands open to upland birds and turkey. The central hub for licenses, tags, and maps is https://dnr2.illinois.gov.
Indiana
Indiana’s Division of Fish & Wildlife provides a straightforward license sales page coupled with interactive Public Access Lands maps. You can search by county or WMA name, download shapefiles for your GPS, and view detailed boundary layers to plan your next squirrel or deer hunt. Everything you need to apply for permits and access maps is available at https://www.in.gov/dnr/fish-and-wildlife/licenses-and-permits.
Kentucky
Kentucky’s Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources merges its online licensing system with a robust GIS map viewer that shows wildlife management areas, state forests, and waterfowl refuges. Before you venture out, log in to buy your deer, turkey, or waterfowl stamps and then explore boundary-accurate maps that you can print or load into your GPS device. Start your license purchase and map review at https://fw.ky.gov/Licensing.
Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources provides licenses, harvest reporting, and public-land maps through its Go Outdoors Michigan website. The site lets you apply for limited hunts on state game areas, view county forest access, and download PDF maps of wildlife areas open during deer archery, gun, and muzzleloader seasons. Access licenses and maps at https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us.
Nevada
Nevada hunters buy licenses and view season regulations on the Department of Wildlife’s License & Tags page. The site also offers comprehensive WMU maps and Bureau of Land Management area overlays so you can pinpoint desert bighorn and mule deer country on public land. Everything from license sales to interactive map downloads is found at https://www.ndow.org/Hunting.
North Carolina
North Carolina’s Wildlife Resources Commission combines license sales, turkey and deer permit applications, and Wildlife Management Area maps under one roof. Their online system lets you choose your hunt zone, apply for big-game and small-game tags, and download WMU boundary maps to your phone or GPS. Plan your hunt on public land by visiting https://www.ncwildlife.org/Licensing.
South Carolina
South Carolina’s Department of Natural Resources issues annual and special-season licenses alongside detailed WMA and Wildlife Management Zone maps. On their site, you can secure your turkey and waterfowl stamps, review area-specific regulations, and grab printable maps to guide your shots on public land. All licensing and public-land resources are at https://www2.dnr.sc.gov.
Tennessee
Tennessee’s Wildlife Resources Agency handles license purchases and controlled-hunt applications through Go Outdoors Tennessee. The portal links to a GIS viewer where you can load layers for WMAs, National Wildlife Refuges, and Wildlife Management Zones. Before setting out for deer or turkey, plan your route with state-provided maps at https://www.tn.gov/twra/hunting.html.