Unit 36

Isolated ridge systems provide key navigation points and glassing vantage: Cemetery Ridge, Hawley Ridge, and Mule Deer Ridge run through the unit and break up the flatness. The Yreka Rim and Rodman Rim form notable escarpments useful for orientation. Buttes scattered across the terrain—Coffee Butte, Wagon Butte, Hampton Butte, Coyote Butte—serve as reference points visible across long distances.

Named creeks including Home Hollow, Alkali, and Newsome provide drainage corridors that channel wildlife movement and offer occasional water access. Newsome Saddle creates a natural travel corridor through higher country.

Elevations span 3,200 to 6,300 feet, with the vast majority of terrain below 5,000 feet. The dominant habitat is open sagebrush steppe with minimal timber; scattered juniper and low-elevation ponderosa appear on ridges and broken ground but never dominate the visual landscape. The Maury Mountains and Hampton Buttes rise modestly above the surrounding basin floors, offering modest elevation breaks in otherwise uniform country.

Sand Hollow, Conant Basin, Harney Holes, and Trail Basin represent the low points where water occasionally concentrates. This is quintessential Great Basin terrain—sparse, dry, and exposed.

A dense road network (1.92 miles per square mile) connects the unit effectively. Highway access via US-395 and various state routes makes staging easy from nearby towns. However, road density is somewhat misleading in open-basin terrain—many roads follow valley floors and ridgelines, leaving large swaths of interstitial country accessible only on foot or horseback.

Public land distribution is fragmented, requiring navigation around private parcels. The straightforward terrain and connected roads likely concentrate pressure on accessible ridges and basin approaches during opening periods, while deeper basins see less foot traffic.

Unit 36 encompasses roughly 1,100 square miles of southeastern Oregon's high-desert plateau country. The unit is defined by a vast expanse of sagebrush basins and rolling flats punctuated by isolated ridge systems and scattered buttes. About 57 percent of the unit is public land, with the remainder split between private holdings and state lands.

Small populated places—Roberts, Brothers, and Hampton—serve as logical staging areas for access. The landscape forms a cohesive hunting area distinguished more by its openness and water scarcity than dramatic topographic relief.

Water is the limiting factor across Unit 36. A string of reservoirs—Mainline Numbers 1, 2, and 3; Stone House; South Dagus; and others—provide the most reliable water sources but are scattered and often difficult to reach. Named springs including Rambo, Ferguson, Gibson, Cox, and Maupin offer secondary options, though reliability varies seasonally. Permanent creeks like Home Hollow and Alkali Creek exist but flow intermittently.

Jake Lakes, Double Cabin Pond, and Pickett Lake represent limited surface water. Hunters must plan water access carefully; relying on reservoirs and springs rather than flowing water.

Unit 36 supports elk, pronghorn, black bear, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, and mountain lion, though habitat suitability varies dramatically. Elk use the scattered timber on ridges and higher ground, particularly the Maury Mountains and Hampton Buttes—early season hunting targets the higher elevations and juniper draws. Pronghorn thrive across the open basins and flats; glassing from ridges and buttes identifies movement, especially along predictable travel corridors between water sources.

Black bear follow creeks and broken timber. Bighorn sheep occupy cliff systems and rim country (Yreka Rim, Rodman Rim); glassing from distance is essential. Mountain goats use escape terrain near cliffs.

Success hinges on water knowledge—find where animals concentrate during dry periods and hunt accordingly.