DMU St Croix, Wisconsin

St. Croix County sits in western Wisconsin along the Minnesota border, bounded on the west by the St. Croix River. Elevations range from roughly 666 ft along low-lying river corridors to 1,325 ft on upland moraines in the northern townships, averaging around 1,050 ft. The landscape is shaped by glacial till — rolling moraines, outwash plains, and river valleys carved by the Kinnickinnic, Apple, Eau Galle, and Rush rivers. Steep wooded bluffs rise up to 200 ft above the St. Croix River along the western edge. Land cover transitions across the county: the western fringe features sugar maple, basswood, and elm in shaded river bottoms; the central zone opens into agricultural ground dominated by row crops (corn and soybeans) interspersed with grass waterways and woodlot edges; the eastern reaches trend toward oak savanna and upland prairie remnants. Wetlands and pothole complexes are scattered throughout, particularly in the central and northern portions. Overall the county is roughly 60-70% agricultural with the remainder in woods, wetlands, and developed land tied to the Hudson-New Richmond suburban corridor.

Hunting pressure in St. Croix County is moderate to high, elevated significantly by the county''s proximity to the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. St. Croix County lies just across the St. Croix River from the Twin Cities suburbs, and the Hudson and New Richmond corridors have absorbed substantial residential growth over the past two decades. This suburban sprawl fragments deer habitat and pushes hunter density upward on the limited public land available. During the 9-day gun deer season, hunters have historically registered at densities around 19 hunters per square mile of deer range in this county, with roughly 14 deer harvested per square mile — both figures consistent with a well-hunted Central Farmland DMU. Public WPAs and the St. Croix Islands Wildlife Area see concentrated pressure opening weekend. Archery season on private agricultural land is comparatively less pressured if landowner permission is secured. Hunters willing to explore the more remote river-bottom stretches accessible by canoe or kayak along the St. Croix will find noticeably less competition than road-accessible tracts.

St. Croix County is managed under the Central Farmland Zone DMU structure, where DMU boundaries mirror county lines. For the 2025 deer license year, Farmland Zone hunters received one to five antlerless harvest authorizations included with their base deer hunting license depending on unit, allowing hunters to take antlerless deer throughout the seasons. No earn-a-buck requirement applies. Bonus antlerless harvest authorizations are also available for purchase on a first-come, first-served basis beginning in mid-August: for 2026, the DNR made 500 bonus public-land tags and 1,500 bonus private-land tags available for the St. Croix DMU, plus 150 public and 300 private tags for the St. Croix Metro Subunit. Bonus tags cost $12 for residents ($5 for youth under 12, $20 for nonresidents). Tags are land-type specific — hunters must designate public or private at purchase. A standard deer hunting license covers one antlered deer (any legal buck) statewide; no drawing is required for either buck or antlerless tags in this farmland DMU.

Deer seasons for 2026 (subject to rulemaking): Archery and crossbow Sept. 12 – Jan. 3, 2027 (extended through Jan. 31 in metro subunits); Youth/Disabled gun hunt Oct. 10-11; 9-day gun season Nov. 21-29; Muzzleloader Nov. 30 – Dec. 9; December antlerless-only hunt Dec. 10-13; Holiday antlerless hunt Dec. 24 – Jan. 1 in select Farmland Zone counties (check if St. Croix qualifies each year). Wild turkey are present and huntable — the St. Croix Wetland Management District WPAs and river-bottom woodlands hold birds; spring and fall turkey permits are available through the Wisconsin DNR drawing and over-the-counter systems. Ruffed grouse numbers are low in this predominantly agricultural county but some birds occur in brushy river-bottom cover. Ring-necked pheasants are present in grassland and CRP habitat especially around WMD wetland areas. Waterfowl hunting is a notable draw — the St. Croix Wetland Management District''s 42 WPAs provide good duck and goose hunting on prairie potholes and river sloughs; HIP certification required. The St. Croix River corridor supports woodcock migration hunting in fall. Black bear are not a primary species in this county (bear zones are centered further north). Small game including cottontail rabbits and fox squirrels round out the hunting calendar.

St. Croix County''s primary draw for deer hunters is the classic Midwestern agricultural matrix — mature bucks use the river-bottom timber and oak ridges as bedding cover and push into corn and soybean fields to feed, creating predictable travel corridors along creek drainages and field edges. The St. Croix River bluffs in the western part of the county are a standout feature: wooded coulees and bench terrain that concentrate deer movement and provide natural funnels for archery hunters. Harvest data shows the county produces roughly 3,000-3,500 total deer annually across all seasons, with antlered harvest in the 1,500-1,700 buck range in recent years. Trophy potential exists but this is not a destination-class county — the twin pressures of suburban development and high hunter density mean mature bucks face year-round pressure. The best strategy is securing private land access on farms with large woodlot-to-field ratios in the northern and central townships away from the I-94 corridor. For public land hunters, arriving early, going deep into St. Croix Islands Wildlife Area via County Road I, or floating the St. Croix River to access remote NPS riverway land are the most effective ways to find unpressured deer. Turkey hunting in the river-bottom hardwoods is underrated and relatively uncrowded outside of the opening days of spring season.