Unit D

Major water features define navigation and glassing opportunities. The Saint Croix River system anchors the western boundary, with the Apple River, Wood River, and Osceola Creek as significant tributaries. Key lakes include Manitou Lake, North Fish Lake, and Parker Lake.

The Blue Hills and Flambeau Ridge offer slight elevation advantages for glassing and orientation. Numerous bays—Raskin, Badger, Heron, and Boston—along the flowages provide distinctive reference points. Sawyer Creek Springs and multiple other springs mark reliable water sources.

Elevation ranges narrowly from around 660 feet in the lowest valleys to 1,820 feet on modest ridges—barely 1,200 feet of relief across the entire unit. The landscape is predominantly low-elevation forest and open country, with roughly equal parts forested and non-forested terrain. Dense conifer swamps, hardwood stands, and extensive marshes dominate the cover.

Transition zones between forest and wetland are extensive, creating productive edge habitat. Bears find dense security cover in the swamps and timber, with abundant bear foods—berries, mast, and natural carrion—throughout the varied terrain.

A dense road network—2.89 miles of road per square mile—connects most areas to small towns and provides straightforward vehicle access. However, 85% private ownership limits hunting to permission-based opportunities. Major highways and county roads branch throughout, but finding huntable ground requires landowner access.

The relatively flat, accessible terrain means established recreational pressure on public and accessible private land. Early season hunter concentration occurs near flowages and riverside access points. Off-road pressure is moderate due to terrain and ownership patterns.

Unit D occupies the far northwest corner of Wisconsin, a vast 4,870-square-mile expanse adjacent to Minnesota and the Saint Croix River system. The unit is bounded by major river corridors and extends across Polk, Burnett, Washburn, and Bayfield counties. Small towns including Grantsburg, Saint Croix Falls, and Milltown serve as gateways.

The Blue Hills and Flambeau Ridge provide subtle high points in otherwise gentle terrain. Despite its size, the unit is nearly all private land with scattered public access, making permission-based hunting the norm.

Water dominates this unit. The Saint Croix River forms a major drainage corridor, fed by dozens of tributary systems including the Apple, Wood, and Osceola creeks. Eleven major flowages and reservoirs, plus extensive natural wetlands and swamps, create a network of water access.

Springs are plentiful—Sawyer Creek Springs, Weirgor Springs, and multiple others provide reliable sources. Marshes like Devils Marsh, Kissick Swamp, and Crystal Swamp cover thousands of acres. Bears exploit these water sources year-round, particularly during spring feed-up and summer berry season.

Black bear are the primary species hunted in Unit D. Bears use the dense timber and swamp cover throughout the unit, with predictable movement along ridge systems and valley corridors during spring and fall. Early season hunting (spring) focuses on bears moving through hardwood cover seeking natural food. Summer bears concentrate near water sources and berry patches in transition zones.

Fall season targets bears feeding on mast in forested areas and moving toward denning cover in thicker swamps. Success depends on scouting water access, spring locations, and finding private land permission in this heavily privatized unit.