Unit A (North Unit 160)

The unit contains several major reservoirs—Lake Mendocino, Lake Sonoma, East Park, and Van Arsdale—which serve as key navigation points and reliable water sources. Named valleys including Leggett, Oat, Panther, and McDowell provide drainage corridors useful for travel and hunting. Multiple creeks and streams dissect the landscape, with Pim, Antelope, and Miner creeks among significant drainages.

Distinctive peaks like Pence Mountain, Elk Mountain, and Lookout Peak offer glassing vantage points across open country. Coastal features including Grizzly Bay and various points along the coast establish western boundaries. These landmarks help orient hunters across a unit large enough to create navigation challenges.

Terrain is predominantly lower-elevation country, with nearly 65% below 5,000 feet and the majority concentrated in foothill and valley zones. Coastal lowlands transition to oak-studded valleys and grassland basins moving inland, with scattered ridges and foothill slopes providing elevation relief. Open grasslands and shrublands cover the majority of the unit—roughly 52% plains without forest cover.

Remaining habitat splits between oak and mixed forest on gentler slopes (17%) and forested hillsides in steeper terrain (9%). The result is a landscape of open valleys with dispersed timber patches rather than continuous forest, creating glassable country broken by wooded draws and ridge systems.

The unit benefits from extensive road infrastructure at 1.9 miles per square mile, providing well-connected access compared to many California units. Major highways and secondary routes traverse the unit, making staging from nearby towns (Williams, Ukiah, Winters, Kelseyville) straightforward. However, only 17% public land means most hunting requires private land access and landowner permission.

Road density and private land dominance suggest moderate to concentrated pressure in accessible areas, with most hunting pressure clustered near major highways and established public access points. The unit's vast size allows pressure dispersion if hunters access remote private lands, but navigation and logistics require careful planning given the scale.

Unit A encompasses a massive area spanning from coastal ranges and bay systems in the west through interior valleys and agricultural plains extending eastward. The unit's northern extent reaches into foothill country while southern boundaries meet transitional terrain toward other regions. Elevation ranges from tidal marshes and coastal wetlands near sea level to modest foothills and ridges approaching 6,000 feet in the interior valleys.

The landscape reflects a complex mosaic of natural and heavily modified terrain, with irrigation districts, agricultural development, and extensive road infrastructure defining much of the unit's character alongside remaining native grasslands and oak woodlands.

Water is abundant throughout the unit—irrigation systems, major reservoirs, creeks, and seasonal drainage flows provide consistent sources across elevations. East Park Reservoir, Lake Mendocino, Lake Sonoma, and Van Arsdale Reservoir anchor major water availability. Numerous named springs including Candy Bucket, Logan, Laurel, and Grapevine springs supplement creek systems.

Irrigation canals and laterals, particularly the Glenn-Colusa system, create additional reliable water in agricultural zones. Multiple sloughs and wetland systems in lower elevations near coastal areas and valley bottoms indicate perennial or seasonal water. This abundance eliminates water as a limiting factor for hunting strategy—locating animals relative to food and cover becomes the primary concern rather than water scarcity.

Deer—both mule and whitetailed—are historically associated with this unit and utilize the diverse habitat mosaic available. Open grasslands and oak woodlands at lower elevations provide year-round food sources, while scattered forest patches offer cover and thermal refuge. Early season hunting targets animals in open country using glassing from ridges and peaks; mid-season focuses on water sources and riparian corridors as conditions warm.

Late season may push animals into forested draws and canyon bottoms depending on weather and fire. The unit's complexity and size reward hunters willing to hike away from roaded areas—private land access, permission logistics, and navigation challenges demand preparation, but opportunity exists for those who locate willing landowners and invest time in scouting the specific terrain types holding deer.