Hunting Tips

North Dakota flips the usual property-line question on its head: private land here is open to hunters by default, so finding a boundary matters mainly for confirming whether that specific field has been posted closed, either with physical signs or through the state's electronic posting database.

Utah hunters confirm property lines by checking HuntWise's Land Ownership layer against county assessor records and UDWR's hunt boundary maps, but the harder question is often what counts as valid permission once you've found the line.

To find property lines for hunting in New Mexico, pair HuntWise's parcel data with your county assessor's records and NMDGF's land access maps, since a hunting license alone won't protect you on posted private ground here without something more.

To find property lines for hunting in Nevada, pair HuntWise's parcel data with your county assessor's records and NDOW's hunt unit maps, since a huge share of the state's private ground sits scattered in a checkerboard pattern against public land rather than in large solid blocks.

To find property lines for hunting in Arizona, combine HuntWise's parcel data with your county assessor's GIS records and AZGFD's Game Management Unit maps, since public ground here can mean federal land, state trust land, or tribal land, each with different access rules.

To find property lines for hunting in California, layer HuntWise's parcel data over your county assessor's GIS parcel viewer and CDFW's own public-land maps before you commit to a spot.

The Oklahoma Land Access Program (OLAP) opens private land statewide for walk-in hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing, but access now requires a paid Land Access Permit instead of free enrollment.

Arkansas doesn't run a traditional walk-in program the way its Midwest neighbors do. Its closest equivalent, the Waterfowl Rice Incentive Conservation Enhancement (WRICE) program, opens private rice fields and wetland easements near wildlife management areas for weekend waterfowl hunting.

Georgia's Voluntary Public Access (VPA) program has leased more than 7,000 acres of private land across a dozen properties since launching in 2014, opening tracts for dove, deer, turkey, waterfowl, and small game hunting.

Wisconsin's Voluntary Public Access (VPA) program opens about 8,000 acres of private land for hunting, fishing, trapping, and wildlife observation year-round, at no cost beyond a standard Wisconsin hunting license.

The Ohio Landowner/Hunter Access Partnership (OLHAP) has enrolled more than 30,000 acres of private land for public hunting. The partnership is funded through the federal Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program.

The Illinois Recreational Access Program (IRAP) has leased more than 27,000 acres of private land across 52 counties since 2011, opening it to hunters for youth turkey, archery deer, waterfowl, and other seasons.