Public lands in Wisconsin
17 units whose boundary reaches Wisconsin. They are 9 national wildlife refuges, 7 wilderness areas and 1 national forest, largest first within each type.
Acreage in Wisconsin
- National wildlife refuges
- 157,219 acres
- Wilderness areas
- 79,967 acres
- National forests and grasslands
- 2,005,629 acres
Each figure is the acreage inside Wisconsin for one kind of unit, summed over the units listed below. A unit that crosses into another state counts only the part of its boundary that lies in Wisconsin. Wilderness often lies inside one of the other kinds, so the figures overlap and should not be added together.
National wildlife refuges
Wilderness areas
National forests and grasslands
Boundaries come from the agencies’ own layers. A unit is listed in every state or territory its boundary reaches. Data refreshed November 1, 2026.