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Whitman Dam Wildlife Area hunting guide
Everything we could verify about Whitman Dam Wildlife Area: acreage, zones, property rules, harvest around it and nearby ground.
Photo: Joshua Mayer (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Getting to Whitman Dam Wildlife Area
Parking, trailheads and gates near Whitman Dam Wildlife Area
- Parking areaParking · 2.3 mi from the centreDirections
- Boat rampBoat ramp · 2.4 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 3.3 mi from the centreDirections
- Lower Spring Lake LandingBoat ramp · 3.4 mi from the centreDirections
Parking, trailhead and gate locations come from OpenStreetMap contributors. Roads into public land can be gated or seasonal; check with the managing agency before you go.
The short version on Whitman Dam Wildlife Area
In Buffalo County you will find Whitman Dam Wildlife Area, a DNR state wildlife area. On the DNR map it belongs to the West Central Region. The managing body is the Wisconsin DNR. At 2,095 acres it sits 76th by area in a field of 285 state wildlife areas. About 5 miles southeast of Cochrane. Inside it are 1 separate record.
From the source page (WI DNR Managed Lands GIS ACRES field, sum of parcels open to hunting); region from the DNR county layer. Checked October 19, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Whitman Dam Wildlife Area
Whitman Dam Wildlife Area, as the managers tell it
Word for word from the property page.
Whitman Dam Wildlife Area is a 2,253-acre property in Buffalo County. Find it 3 miles southeast of Cochrane across the main river channel from Merrick State Park. Access is available from Merrick State Park or at the end of Whitman Dam Road west of Kamrowski Road. The property consists of floodplain forest and marshland. The most popular uses of the property are waterfowl hunting and fishing.
What the Whitman Dam Wildlife Area page says about hunting
- Hunting (noted for waterfowl)
Quoted from the property page, retrieved 2026-10-19; checked October 19, 2026.
Whitman Dam Wildlife Area: what is allowed
How access works on Whitman Dam Wildlife Area
State seasons and Wisconsin licenses are all you need, except in posted refuges and closed zones; NR 45 governs use of the property.
Whitman Dam Wildlife Area: rules from the regulations
From the October youth hunt through the Holiday Hunt, blaze orange or pink covers half of your upper clothing and cap. Mark a ground blind with 144 square inches of blaze orange or pink while firearm deer seasons run. Tree stands: no tree damage, ID on unattended stands, overnight only north of Hwy. 64 during Sept. 1-Jan. 31. Register deer, turkeys and bears through GameReg by 5 p.m. the day after recovery.
What Whitman Dam Wildlife Area costs in licenses
Buy through Go Wild; the free Farmland tags and bonus tags are marked public-access or private-land, and only public-access ones work here.
Access from the source page; closures from the DNR closed and restricted areas layer; stocking and dove fields from the DNR upland bird layers; rules from the Fall 2026-Spring 2027 regulations; prices from Go Wild. Checked October 19, 2026.
Tags and zones for Whitman Dam Wildlife Area
For deer it lies in the Central Farmland zone (Buffalo). This season the unit quota is 4,300 antlerless deer. Zone E bear permits took 1 preference point in 2026; the target is 185 bears. The 2025 spring level for Turkey Zone 1 was 64,574 authorizations; 13,813 birds were registered. Buffalo County: CWD found in wild deer, and a CWD-positive deer earns a replacement authorization. No deer bait or feed: Buffalo County is a ban county.
Whitman Dam Wildlife Area: antlerless quota and bonus tags
| Deer unit | Zone | 2026 quota | Public bonus left | Private bonus left | Free farmland tags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | Central Farmland | 4,300 | 167 | 744 | 3 |
Every other zone Whitman Dam Wildlife Area touches
| Zone | Detail | Figures | Points or note | Taken |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black bear E | Hounds barred | 185 target, 2,628 permits | 1 point | 128 bears in 2025 |
| Turkey zone 1 | 64,574 spring tags (2025) | 21% success | 13,813 gobblers | 1,500 fall bonus |
| Grouse A | Sep 12–Jan 3 | 5 a day | ||
| Duck zone | Southern | Oct 3–Oct 11 Oct 17–Dec 6 | ||
| Goose zone | Mississippi River | — | ||
| Gray wolf zone 6 | No season | Federally listed |
Zones from the DNR zone layers as recorded in lands.json; quotas and bonus tags from the 2026 antlerless quota table; bear figures from the 2026 bear drawing summary and 2025 bear harvest; turkey from the 2025 spring turkey report; CWD and baiting lists from the DNR. Checked October 19, 2026.
Quarry and limits, Whitman Dam Wildlife Area
The list for Whitman Dam Wildlife Area reads: ducks and geese and raccoons, foxes and coyotes.
Ducks and geese
Furbearers
The list is what the agency names, not a limit: other Buffalo County seasons apply under the same rules.
Species from the property record (species named by the source); bag limits from the DNR regulations. Checked October 19, 2026.
Whitman Dam Wildlife Area season calendar, 2026-27
Archery, the nine-day gun hunt, muzzleloader, bear, turkey, upland birds, rabbits, furbearers and the duck and goose splits for Whitman Dam Wildlife Area.
| Game | Hunt | Zone | First day | Last day | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White-tailed deer | Archery and crossbow | Statewide | Sep 12, 2026 | Jan 3, 2027 | |
| White-tailed deer | Youth/disabled gun hunt | Statewide | Oct 10, 2026 | Oct 11, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Gun deer (9-day) | Statewide | Nov 21, 2026 | Nov 29, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Muzzleloader | Statewide | Nov 30, 2026 | Dec 9, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | December antlerless hunt | Statewide | Dec 10, 2026 | Dec 13, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Bear, Class A draw | Bear Zone E | Sep 9, 2026 | Oct 13, 2026 | |
| Wild turkey | Fall turkey | Turkey Zone 1/4 | Sep 12, 2026 | Jan 3, 2027 | |
| Wild turkey | Spring youth turkey hunt | Turkey Zone 1/4 | Apr 17, 2027 | Apr 18, 2027 | |
| Wild turkey | Spring turkey Period A | Turkey Zone 1/4 | Apr 21, 2027 | Apr 27, 2027 | |
| Wild turkey | Spring turkey Period B | Turkey Zone 1/4 | Apr 28, 2027 | May 4, 2027 | |
| Wild turkey | Spring turkey Period C | Turkey Zone 1/4 | May 5, 2027 | May 11, 2027 | |
| Wild turkey | Spring turkey Period D | Turkey Zone 1/4 | May 12, 2027 | May 18, 2027 | |
| Wild turkey | Spring turkey Period E | Turkey Zone 1/4 | May 19, 2027 | May 25, 2027 | |
| Wild turkey | Spring turkey Period F | Turkey Zone 1/4 | May 26, 2027 | Jun 1, 2027 | |
| Ruffed Grouse | Ruffed grouse | Grouse Zone A | Sep 12, 2026 | Jan 3, 2027 | |
| Pheasant | Pheasant | Statewide | Oct 17, 2026 | Jan 3, 2027 | |
| Bobwhite Quail | Bobwhite quail | Statewide | Oct 17, 2026 | Dec 9, 2026 | |
| Hungarian partridge | Hungarian partridge | Statewide | Oct 17, 2026 | Jan 3, 2027 | |
| Squirrel | Squirrel | Statewide | Sep 12, 2026 | Feb 28, 2027 | |
| Cottontail | Cottontail rabbit | Northern cottontail zone | Sep 12, 2026 | Feb 28, 2027 | |
| Cottontail | Cottontail rabbit | Southern cottontail zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Feb 28, 2027 | |
| Snowshoe Hare | Snowshoe hare | Statewide | Year-round | Year-round | Year-round |
| American Crow | Crow | Statewide | Nov 21, 2026 | Mar 24, 2027 | |
| Ducks | Youth waterfowl hunt | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Sep 20, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Regular duck | Northern Duck Zone | Sep 26, 2026 | Nov 24, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Regular duck (split 1) | Southern Duck Zone | Oct 3, 2026 | Oct 11, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Regular duck (split 2) | Southern Duck Zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Dec 6, 2026 | |
| Teal | Early teal | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Sep 9, 2026 | |
| Geese | Regular goose | Northern Goose Zone | Sep 16, 2026 | Dec 16, 2026 | |
| Geese | Regular goose (split 1) | Southern Goose Zone | Sep 16, 2026 | Oct 11, 2026 | |
| Geese | Regular goose (split 1) | Mississippi River Zone | Oct 3, 2026 | Oct 11, 2026 | |
| Geese | Regular goose (split 2) | Southern Goose Zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Dec 6, 2026 | |
| Geese | Regular goose (split 2) | Mississippi River Zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Jan 5, 2027 | |
| Geese | Regular goose (holiday split) | Southern Goose Zone | Dec 19, 2026 | Jan 2, 2027 | |
| Canada goose | Early Canada goose | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Sep 15, 2026 | |
| Raccoon | Raccoon (resident) | Statewide | Oct 17, 2026 | Feb 15, 2027 | |
| Raccoon | Raccoon (nonresident) | Statewide | Oct 31, 2026 | Feb 15, 2027 | |
| Red and gray fox | Fox (red and gray) | Statewide | Oct 17, 2026 | Feb 15, 2027 | |
| Coyote | Coyote (hunting) | Statewide | Year-round | Year-round | Year-round |
| Bobcat | Bobcat, Period 1 | North of Hwy. 64 | Oct 17, 2026 | Dec 25, 2026 | |
| Bobcat | Bobcat, Period 1 | South of Hwy. 64 | Oct 17, 2026 | Dec 25, 2026 | |
| Bobcat | Bobcat, Period 2 | North of Hwy. 64 | Dec 26, 2026 | Jan 31, 2027 | |
| Bobcat | Bobcat, Period 2 | South of Hwy. 64 | Dec 26, 2026 | Jan 31, 2027 | |
| Unprotected species | Unprotected species | Statewide | Year-round | Year-round | Year-round |
From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Fall 2026-Spring 2027 hunting regulations and season dates, checked October 19, 2026.
Whitman Dam Wildlife Area: the units it holds
164 acres across 1 unit make up the listed parts of Whitman Dam Wildlife Area.
| Name | Type | County | Acreage | Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitman Bottoms Floodplain Forest | State natural area | Buffalo | 164 | — |
Nearest public ground to Whitman Dam Wildlife Area, mapped
10 more properties lie close to Whitman Dam Wildlife Area, shown with smaller pins. Acres across them: 9,675.
| Neighbour | Type | Acres | Miles off | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merrick | State park | 290 | 2.1 mi | southeast |
| Mississippi River Public Access (Remnant) | Fishery area | 2 | 7.7 mi | northwest |
| Trempealeau River Meadows | State natural area | 412 | 9.2 mi | east |
| Trempealeau River Meadow | State natural area | 417 | 9.2 mi | east |
| Trempealeau | Wildlife refuge | 6,446 | 14 mi | southeast |
| Tamarack Creek Bog | State natural area | 141 | 17 mi | east |
| Tamarack Creek | Wildlife area | 588 | 17 mi | east |
| Trempealeau Mountain | State natural area | 61 | 18 mi | southeast |
| Brady's Bluff Prairie | State natural area | 57 | 18 mi | southeast |
| Perrot | State park | 1,261 | 19 mi | southeast |
Points from the DNR managed lands, SNA, county forest, FWS realty, USFS, NPS and DoD layers (WI DNR Managed Lands GIS (polygon centroid of hunting-open parcels) (polygon centroid)). Straight-line distances. Statewide public land map.
Registered deer and bears near Whitman Dam Wildlife Area
The 2025 registered deer total for the Buffalo County unit was 5,806 (2,497 antlered). 2016 was the busiest year shown (7,410 deer) and 2023 the leanest (5,148). The 2026 season to date shows 481 deer in Buffalo; the DNR calls it preliminary. 397 samples, 17 positive: that is Buffalo County in CWD year 2025. All years combined: 36 of 4,034. 19 bears came out of Buffalo County in 2025. These numbers describe the county around Whitman Dam Wildlife Area, not the property alone.
Deer registered near Whitman Dam Wildlife Area
| Year | Bucks registered | Antlerless registered | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,497 | 3,309 | 5,806 |
| 2024 | 2,347 | 2,974 | 5,321 |
| 2023 | 2,301 | 2,847 | 5,148 |
| 2022 | 2,401 | 3,317 | 5,718 |
| 2021 | 2,646 | 2,919 | 5,565 |
| 2020 | 2,676 | 3,626 | 6,302 |
Buffalo County CWD by year
| CWD year | Samples | Positives |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (partial) | 39 | 2 |
| 2025 | 397 | 17 |
| 2024 | 360 | 9 |
| 2023 | 420 | 4 |
| 2022 | 238 | 4 |
| 2021 | 231 | 0 |
Buffalo County bear harvest
| Year | Bear harvest | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 10 | 8 | 2 |
| 2025 | 19 | 13 | 6 |
Deer from DNR Deer Metrics harvest history and the 2026 harvest to date; CWD from the DNR CWD summary; bears from the DNR bear harvest reports. Checked October 19, 2026.
Whitman Dam Wildlife Area: nearest ranges
About 32 miles separates Whitman Dam Wildlife Area from Pierce County Public Range, the nearest public map range. Closer club options sit beside it.
trap, sporting clays, shotgun on file
From the DNR public range map and its map layer, checked October 19, 2026.
Towns, offices and services around Whitman Dam Wildlife Area
Towns, then services in this county and the next one over.
| Town | County | Distance | People | Public acres, 10 mi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cochrane | Buffalo | 4.8 mi | 424 | 7,761 |
| Buffalo City | Buffalo | 5.3 mi | 1,023 | 7,934 |
| Fountain City | Buffalo | 6.1 mi | 785 | 12,377 |
| Dodge | Trempealeau | 12 mi | — | 11,905 |
Our county write-ups: Buffalo County.
Butchers, mounts and gun counters near Whitman Dam Wildlife Area
Service centers near Whitman Dam Wildlife Area
For Buffalo County, the DNR points to its DNR Eau Claire Service Center.
Towns and populations from the Census 2024 estimates; public acres within 10 miles from the land layers; businesses from store locators and listings (license-only agents left out); offices from DNR, USFS and USFWS pages. Checked October 19, 2026. Call ahead.
When the shooting day opens and closes at Whitman Dam Wildlife Area
The DNR tables are worked out for Zone A in the east; Whitman Dam Wildlife Area lies in longitude Zone E, so add 16 minutes to each table time.
| Day | Reason | Northern table | Southern table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12, 2026 | Bow, turkey, grouse opener | 6:11 a.m. to 7:43 p.m. | 6:13 a.m. to 7:42 p.m. |
| Oct 17, 2026 | Pheasant and duck dates | 6:55 a.m. to 6:37 p.m. | 6:54 a.m. to 6:40 p.m. |
| Nov 1, 2026 | Early November | 6:16 a.m. to 5:13 p.m. | 6:13 a.m. to 5:17 p.m. |
| Nov 21, 2026 | Gun deer opener | 6:44 a.m. to 4:50 p.m. | 6:39 a.m. to 4:56 p.m. |
| Dec 1, 2026 | Muzzleloader week | 6:56 a.m. to 4:44 p.m. | 6:51 a.m. to 4:51 p.m. |
| Dec 24, 2026 | Holiday Hunt opener | 7:15 a.m. to 4:46 p.m. | 7:09 a.m. to 4:54 p.m. |
| Jan 3, 2027 | Archery close (most units) | 7:17 a.m. to 4:55 p.m. | 7:11 a.m. to 5:02 p.m. |
Deer, bear, elk, small game and fall turkey table times from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources shooting hours tables, plus the Zone E offset of 16 minutes for longitude 91.79 W, checked October 19, 2026. Shooting hours for every county.
Whitman Dam Wildlife Area in questions and answers
How fast must I register a kill on Whitman Dam Wildlife Area?
GameReg by 5 p.m. the day after you recover the animal.
Can pink replace orange at Whitman Dam Wildlife Area?
Yes while gun deer seasons are open; half your upper clothing and hat in orange or fluorescent pink.
What neighbours Whitman Dam Wildlife Area?
Closest first: Merrick State Park (2 miles), Mississippi River Public Access Fishery Area (Remnant) (8 miles) and Trempealeau River Meadows State Natural Area (9 miles).
Is a permit required for Whitman Dam Wildlife Area?
Your Wisconsin license is enough; residents pay $24 for gun deer, $18 for small game.
Who is the land manager for Whitman Dam Wildlife Area?
The Wisconsin DNR manages it; the land is a DNR state wildlife area.
What pages sit under Whitman Dam Wildlife Area?
It has 1 units with their own pages.
How far is the drive from Cochrane to Whitman Dam Wildlife Area?
Buffalo County, roughly 5 miles out of Cochrane.
How large is Whitman Dam Wildlife Area, in acres?
Acreage on record: 2,095.
Is Whitman Dam Wildlife Area forest or farmland deer country?
Buffalo in the Central Farmland zone. The unit quota stands at 4,300 antlerless deer this year.
Which game does Whitman Dam Wildlife Area list?
The source lists ducks and geese and raccoons, foxes and coyotes. Other open seasons apply too, within the property rules.
Is Whitman Dam Wildlife Area good turkey ground?
Apply for Zone 1; spring periods A-F run in 2027 from April 21.
Are hounds allowed for bear at Whitman Dam Wildlife Area?
Bear Zone E: 2,628 permits drawn for 2026.
What are the CWD and bait rules for Whitman Dam Wildlife Area?
Deer bait is illegal in Buffalo County. Buffalo County: CWD-positive deer on record.
Whitman Dam Wildlife Area, final notes
Print the Whitman Dam Wildlife Area map, carry your tags, and check the manager page the week you go.
Sources for this page: DNR: Whitman · DNR GIS · DNR: alpha; regulations from the Fall 2026-Spring 2027 Wisconsin hunting regulations. Checked October 19, 2026.
Other photos on this page: USFWS/Southeast (Public domain); USFWS/Southeast (CC BY 2.0).