Unit 24

The Coquille and Umpqua rivers anchor the drainage system and serve as major orientation corridors; numerous named creeks (Tenmile, Brainard, Delmar, and others) funnel hunters through the terrain. Key ridges like Yew Ridge, Blue Ridge, and Rattlesnake Ridge provide glassing platforms and vantage points. Several lakes—Clear Lake, Tenmile Lake, and Bluebill Lake—offer both water access and recognizable waypoints.

Winchester Bay and the coastal arms (Kentuck Inlet, Jordan Cove) mark the western boundary. Named summits including Mount Gurney, Elk Peak, and Twin Sisters help orient hunters navigating the ridge country. Historical ferry crossings on the Coquille and Umpqua remind that water movement has always defined travel in this unit.

Nearly all terrain sits below 5,000 feet, with the majority in lower-elevation valleys and foothills. The landscape transitions from open prairies and agricultural flats in western valleys up through dense mixed conifer forests on the slopes and ridges. Ponderosa, Douglas-fir, and hardwoods dominate the timbered country.

Approximately 75% of the unit carries forest cover, ranging from heavy timber on steeper slopes to more open stands interspersed with meadows and clearing. The remaining 25% comprises open valleys, prairie remnants like Enchanted Prairie and Burton Prairie, and brushy draws. This elevation band supports both valley-floor elk and ridge-country hunting without extreme vertical relief.

Road density of 6.31 miles per square mile is well above average, offering connected access via major highways and secondary roads throughout the unit. Towns like Coquille and Myrtle Point serve as logical staging points with services. This high road density creates accessibility but also attracts pressure, particularly near valley floors and easily reached ridges.

Much of the road network serves private timber operations and agricultural land, so public access points are gated or restricted. Hunters need to identify legitimate public entry before hunting; casual roadside access is not reliable. The best hunting pressure refuge likely lies on foot in the higher ridges and remote creeks away from maintained roads, despite the overall access rating.

Unit 24 encompasses roughly 1,550 square miles across Coos and Curry counties in southwestern Oregon, stretching from the coastal lowlands inland toward the Cascades foothills. The unit includes the drainages of the Coquille and Umpqua river systems, with named towns like Myrtle Point, Coquille, and Lakeside marking the western boundary near tidewater. The eastern boundary pushes into more timbered country where elevation climbs.

This is working landscape mixed between agricultural valleys, private timber, and remnant public forest. The straightforward terrain complexity (4.0/10) reflects relatively predictable topography—neither intricate ridge systems nor maze-like canyons dominate.

Water is moderately available throughout, with the Coquille and Umpqua rivers as perennial anchors and numerous creeks flowing year-round from the forested slopes. Tenmile Creek and its associated lake provide reliable water in mid-unit. Springs are scattered across the ridges (Luse Spring, Cold Springs, Rogers Spring, Mullen Spring, and others), typical of coastal-range terrain.

Several reservoirs and ponds dot the landscape—Edward Wageman Reservoir, George Reservoir, Miller Reservoir among them—offering supplemental water in drier areas. Swampy ground exists in places like Henderson Marsh. The moderate water rating reflects dependable creek systems rather than abundance; hunters shouldn't plan around unlimited water, but reliable sources exist across elevations.

Unit 24 supports elk in the timbered country and open valleys, with populations moving between lower winter grounds and upper-elevation summer range. Pronghorn inhabit the open prairie flats and grassland valleys, particularly around Burton Prairie and Enchanted Prairie areas. Black bear use the forested slopes year-round, concentrated in mast-producing forest and berry country during fall.

Mountain goat occupy the steeper ridges and cliffs in the higher terrain. Desert bighorn sheep are present but limited to specific rocky canyon country. Mountain lion follow elk and deer populations.

Strategy depends heavily on understanding which ground is public-accessible; once that's confirmed, early season elk hunting focuses on higher ridges and parks, while mid to late season shifts to valley corridors as animals move downslope. Pronghorn and goat hunting require high-elevation scouting and long-range optics. Water sources concentrate animals in dry periods.