Kansas · Public Land · 2026 Edition
Kansas Public Hunting Land 2026: WMAs & Access Rules
2 wildlife management areas tracked here, from 7,654 to 19,857 acres. A hunting license covers you on Kansas WMA land the same as anywhere else in the state — but read the access rules below before you assume that's all you need.
01 — Wildlife management areas
| Area | County | Acres | Species |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area | Barton | 19,857 | Waterfowl, Upland birds |
| Marais des Cygnes Wildlife Area | Linn | 7,654 | Waterfowl, Deer, Turkey |
Cheyenne Bottoms is the name that carries beyond Kansas hunting circles entirely — a 41,000-acre natural sink in Barton County, of which the 19,857-acre wildlife area is part, ranked among the most important shorebird and waterfowl stopover sites in the Western Hemisphere on the Central Flyway. Three of its five managed pools are permanent refuge, closed to all activity including hunting, which cuts into the huntable acreage more than the headline number suggests — check the pool map before you plan a hunt. Marais des Cygnes, in the river-bottom country of southeast Kansas, trades the shorebird fame for a mix of managed wetland and bottomland hardwood that also holds deer and turkey, not just waterfowl. This list is a starting point, not KDWP's full inventory of roughly 90 wildlife areas statewide.
02 — Access rules beyond your hunting license
Kansas keeps this simple: all public wildlife areas are free to hunt on with a valid Kansas hunting license during open seasons — no separate area pass, passport or land-access permit on top of it, unlike Oklahoma or Texas. KDWP manages more than 200,000 acres across roughly 90 separate wildlife areas statewide. The one thing to check per area rather than assume: some of the biggest wetland areas set aside refuge pools that are closed to all activity, hunting included, year-round.
03 — Where to go next
Verified · Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · Last verified 2026-08-08
Publisher's note. WMA list and access rules read from KDWP, retrieved 2026-08-08. Review due 2027-08-01. This is a starting list, not the agency's full WMA inventory — confirm current rules for a specific area before you hunt it.