Home › Georgia › Public land › Federal land
USFS, USFWS, NPS, Army and Corps
Hunting Georgia's Federal Land
The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests and their four ranger districts, Hitchiti Experimental Forest, 9 refuges and the Okefenokee hunt units, Cumberland Island, Fort Stewart, Fort Eisenhower and 10 Corps of Engineers lakes.
31Federal areas
869,017NF acres
Photo: Monkeystyle3000 (CC BY 2.0)
Forest, refuges, islands, posts and lakes
Forest Service land in Georgia measures 869,017 acres in the EDW lands statistics, split among the Blue Ridge Ranger District, Chattooga River Ranger District, Conasauga Ranger District and Oconee Ranger District. Outside WMAs it is hunted under Georgia statewide licensing and the national forest listings in the regulations; the WMAs on the forest keep their own dates and sign-in. Refuges, Cumberland Island and the Army posts set their own permit rules, quoted on each page, and the Corps lakes allow hunting only in areas the Corps designates.
Every Georgia federal area by type
National Forest (1)
| Area | Manager | Counties | Acres | Limited hunts | Deer 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests | USFS | Rabun, Fannin, Union | 869,017 | No | 1,531 |
National Forest Ranger District (4)
| Area | Manager | Counties | Acres | Limited hunts | Deer 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Ridge Ranger District (Chattahoochee National Forest) | USFS | Union, Lumpkin, Fannin | 302,238 | No | — |
| Chattooga River Ranger District (Chattahoochee National Forest) | USFS | Rabun, White, Habersham | 261,439 | No | — |
| Conasauga Ranger District (Chattahoochee National Forest) | USFS | Murray, Fannin, Gilmer | 188,617 | No | — |
| Oconee Ranger District (Oconee National Forest) | USFS | Putnam, Jasper, Greene | 116,724 | No | 385 |
Experimental Forest (1)
| Area | Manager | Counties | Acres | Limited hunts | Deer 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitchiti Experimental Forest | USFS research station | Jones | 4,591 | Yes | — |
National Wildlife Refuge (9)
| Area | Manager | Counties | Acres | Limited hunts | Deer 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge | USFWS | Charlton, Ware, Clinch | 407,038 | Yes | 9 |
| Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge | USFWS | Jones, Jasper | 35,000 | Yes | 8 |
| Savannah National Wildlife Refuge | USFWS | Effingham, Chatham | 30,715 | No | 9 |
| Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge | USFWS | Stewart, Quitman | 11,184 | Yes | 30 |
| Wassaw National Wildlife Refuge | USFWS | Chatham | 10,053 | No | 1 |
| Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge | USFWS | Bibb, Twiggs | 7,760 | Yes | 26 |
| Blackbeard Island National Wildlife Refuge | USFWS | McIntosh | 5,591 | No | 23 |
| Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge | USFWS | Lanier | 4,049 | Yes | — |
| Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge | USFWS | McIntosh | 2,755 | No | 14 |
National Wildlife Refuge Unit (3)
| Area | Manager | Counties | Acres | Limited hunts | Deer 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okefenokee NWR – Suwannee Canal Recreation Area Unit | USFWS | — | — | Yes | — |
| Okefenokee NWR – Pocket Unit | USFWS | — | — | No | — |
| Okefenokee NWR – Cowhouse Unit | USFWS | — | — | No | — |
National Seashore (1)
| Area | Manager | Counties | Acres | Limited hunts | Deer 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland Island National Seashore | NPS | Camden | — | Yes | 1 |
Military Installation (2)
| Area | Manager | Counties | Acres | Limited hunts | Deer 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Stewart & Hunter Army Airfield | U.S. Army | Liberty, Bryan, Long | — | Yes | 315 |
| Fort Eisenhower (formerly Fort Gordon) | U.S. Army | Richmond, McDuffie, Jefferson | — | Yes | 189 |
Corps of Engineers Lake (10)
| Area | Manager | Counties | Acres | Limited hunts | Deer 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allatoona Lake | USACE Mobile | Bartow, Cherokee | 2,777 | No | 83 |
| Carters Lake | USACE Mobile | Murray, Gilmer, Gordon | — | No | — |
| West Point Lake | USACE Mobile | Troup, Heard | — | No | 117 |
| Walter F. George Lake (Lake Eufaula) | USACE Mobile | Clay, Quitman | — | No | 1 |
| Lake Seminole | USACE Mobile | Decatur, Seminole | — | No | 39 |
| George W. Andrews Lake | USACE Mobile | Early | — | No | 2 |
| Hartwell Lake | USACE Savannah | Hart | — | No | 99 |
| Richard B. Russell Lake | USACE Savannah | Lincoln | — | No | 121 |
| J. Strom Thurmond Lake (Clarks Hill Lake) | USACE Savannah | McDuffie, Wilkes, Lincoln | — | No | 327 |
| Lake Sidney Lanier | USACE Mobile | Gwinnett | — | Yes | 36 |
USFS EDW acreage, FWS realty acres or refuge pages, NPS, DoD and Recreation.gov pages, and the federal area regulations. Checked October 13, 2026.
Federal sites in Georgia closed to hunting
National park units without a hunting authorization, a closed refuge and two military properties limited to DoD hunters.
| Place | Type | Why closed |
|---|---|---|
| Andersonville National Historic Site (off limits) | National Historic Site | National Park Service unit: 36 CFR 2.2 prohibits taking wildlife except where hunting is specifically authorized; no hunting authorization or NPS hunting page exists for this unit (the Georgia regulations list only Cumberland Island NS among NPS units). |
| Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (off limits) | National Recreation Area | National Park Service unit: 36 CFR 2.2 prohibits taking wildlife except where hunting is specifically authorized; no hunting authorization or NPS hunting page exists for this unit (the Georgia regulations list only Cumberland Island NS among NPS units). |
| Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park (off limits) | National Military Park | National Park Service unit: 36 CFR 2.2 prohibits taking wildlife except where hunting is specifically authorized; no hunting authorization or NPS hunting page exists for this unit (the Georgia regulations list only Cumberland Island NS among NPS units). |
| Fort Frederica National Monument (off limits) | National Monument | National Park Service unit: 36 CFR 2.2 prohibits taking wildlife except where hunting is specifically authorized; no hunting authorization or NPS hunting page exists for this unit (the Georgia regulations list only Cumberland Island NS among NPS units). |
| Fort Pulaski National Monument (off limits) | National Monument | National Park Service unit: 36 CFR 2.2 prohibits taking wildlife except where hunting is specifically authorized; no hunting authorization or NPS hunting page exists for this unit (the Georgia regulations list only Cumberland Island NS among NPS units). |
| Jimmy Carter National Historical Park (off limits) | National Historical Park | National Park Service unit: 36 CFR 2.2 prohibits taking wildlife except where hunting is specifically authorized; no hunting authorization or NPS hunting page exists for this unit (the Georgia regulations list only Cumberland Island NS among NPS units). |
| Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park (off limits) | National Battlefield Park | National Park Service unit: 36 CFR 2.2 prohibits taking wildlife except where hunting is specifically authorized; no hunting authorization or NPS hunting page exists for this unit (the Georgia regulations list only Cumberland Island NS among NPS units). |
| Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historical Park (off limits) | National Historical Park | National Park Service unit: 36 CFR 2.2 prohibits taking wildlife except where hunting is specifically authorized; no hunting authorization or NPS hunting page exists for this unit (the Georgia regulations list only Cumberland Island NS among NPS units). |
| Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park (off limits) | National Historical Park | National Park Service unit: 36 CFR 2.2 prohibits taking wildlife except where hunting is specifically authorized; no hunting authorization or NPS hunting page exists for this unit (the Georgia regulations list only Cumberland Island NS among NPS units). |
| Trail of Tears National Historic Trail (Georgia segments) (off limits) | National Historic Trail | NPS trail unit with no hunting authorization (36 CFR 2.2); not listed in the Georgia hunting regulations. |
| Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge (off limits) | National Wildlife Refuge | USFWS: "All refuge uplands, including the beach and marshes, are closed to the public to provide sanctuary to shorebirds." No refuge hunting page exists. |
| Fort Moore (Fort Benning) (off limits) | Military Installation | Not open to the general public: the installation MWR page lists who is authorized to hunt (active duty and retired military, qualifying disabled veterans, DoD civilians, dependents, guests under FB Regulation 200-1, and similar). Not listed in the Georgia federal area regulations. |
| Moody Air Force Base (Main Base) (off limits) | Military Installation | Main Base hunting is authorized for DoD CAC holders and their dependents only; no guests. The base's Grand Bay Range is open to the public as part of Grand Bay WMA (see grand-bay-wma). |
From 36 CFR 2.2, NPS, USFWS and DoD pages as summarized in the lands data, retrieved 2026-10-13.