Because of its low trees and flat terrain, most of the hunting is on foot.

Many of the Garden State’s hunting clubs are located in the Pine Barrens, and quite a few of these clubs are close to Colliers Mills.

As a result, it’s not unusual to see deer drives taking place on this WMA during the six-day firearms season and the one-day shotgun hunt.

Colliers WMA is located partially in zones 17 and 18, which accounted for 958 and 416 deer respectively.

A good number of the deer bagged in Zone 17 were taken on drives in Colliers. At Colliers Mills, hunting with a firearm is the way to go.

In the northern portion of the state, Whittingham WMA’s 1,930 acres are located in Sussex County in Zone 5.

For whitetail hunters, this WMA is an excellent choice. Hilly, wooded terrain and fields give hunters the option of hunting on foot or from portable tree stands.

Zone 5 is traditionally one of the state’s best deer zones -- and for good reason. Much of the land accessible to hunters is surrounded by farms, where deer generally have an excellent food supply.

Zone 5 produced 3,786 deer in the 2007 season, which means that Whittingham WMA is the top public-land area in the state.

The zone also recorded 1,564 antlered deer, which was also the highest number in the state.

Being a WMA in the middle of the best deer-producing zone in the state speaks for itself.

Assunpink is another WMA that receives a lion’s share of attention from whitetail hunters.

Located in Monmouth County, Assunpink’s 6,298 acres are partly located in two top-quality deer-management zones, namely 14 and 15. Two reasons why Assunpink gets so much attention from hunters are its accessibility and its closeness to large suburban areas.

One thing that makes this WMA so productive is its location, right on the edge of the Pine Barrens.

When it comes to productivity, Zone 14 produced a total of 1,504 deer last season, while Zone 15 accounted for 1,102 deer. What’s nice about these two zones is that both bowhunters and firearms hunters saw comparatively equal success.

Bowhunters downed 667 deer in Zone 14 and 443 deer in Zone 15, while firearms hunters took 820 deer in Zone 14 and harvested 654 deer in Zone 15.

This balance in the way the deer are harvested in these zones attests to the diversity of the terrain, and in turn the diversity of the methods used in hunting deer.

It’s not uncommon to see hunters up in tree stands during the bow seasons, as well as the muzzleloader season, as well as hunting from foot.

Likewise, the six-day season and the one-day shotgun hunt see deer drives and hunters hunting in stands or on foot.

As you can see, there is plenty of public land hunting available to the whitetail hunter in the Garden State.

As the state’s huntable areas shrink due to development, these public lands will become more important to hunters.

Not only does the state offer over 350,000 acres of land under the wildlife management area system, but hunts also take place on federal land, in state parks and forests and county parks. So if you’re hunting in the Garden State this coming season, it’s a good bet that you’ll be doing so on public land.

You can get information on the lottery system used in the previously mentioned areas, as well as permit applications at the DFW’s Web site.