Unit Cheney

Key features for navigation and reference include Medical Lake and the chain of smaller lakes (Knight, Badger, Mason, Woods) that dot the unit—reliable visual markers in open country. The Spokane River corridor and Hangman Creek (Latah Creek) provide drainage channels and orientation lines. Lance Hills and the scattered summits like Fancher Butte, Rosa Butte, and Watermelon Hill offer subtle high points for glassing the prairie.

Bowl and Pitcher on the Spokane River is a recognizable landmark. Devils Gap and the named prairies (Indian, Phillips, Bennett) help grid navigation. Fishtrap Lake and Nine Mile Reservoir serve as water reference points.

The entire unit sits below 5,000 feet, ranging from roughly 1,400 feet at the Spokane River to 3,000 feet on the south and west ridges. Habitat is predominantly open prairie and grassland—the Four Mound Prairie, Malloy Prairie, and related flats dominate the landscape. Scattered ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir appear on slightly higher ground and in canyon breaks, but forest coverage is light and fragmented.

The terrain is characterized by gentle rolling to flat grassland punctuated by draws and canyon systems. This is agricultural-edged country with intermixed private land creating a checkerboard pattern rather than continuous public hunting ground.

Extensive road network with 2,500+ miles of roads means this unit is well-connected but heavily accessible. US 195, US 2, SR 231, and SR 23 form primary corridors with numerous secondary roads penetrating the interior. This accessibility is double-edged: easy entry for hunters but also heavy pressure concentration along main corridors and near towns.

Military installations and developed areas create dead zones. The straightforward terrain means pressure spreads evenly. Success depends on finding the less-obvious draws, smaller creeks, and pockets of cover away from the road grid rather than relying on distance from access.

Cheney is bounded by the Spokane River on the north and encompasses the country between I-90 and US 195 south toward Rosalia, extending west to SR 23 and north along SR 231. The unit surrounds the Spokane metropolitan area and includes developed edges at Reardan and other small towns. Major military installations—Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington National Guard facilities, and Fort George Wright—occupy portions and create access restrictions. The Spokane River forms the northern anchor and provides key geographic orientation.

This is fundamentally low-elevation developed country, not remote wilderness.

Water is distributed throughout via multiple reservoir and lake systems—Medical Lake, Fishtrap Lake, Nine Mile Reservoir, and numerous smaller lakes provide consistent sources. Creeks are numerous: Hangman Creek (Latah Creek) flows through the northern unit, with Deep Creek, Minnie Creek, Marshall Creek, and Buckeye Creek draining various sections. Springs including Cherry Springs, Willon Springs, and Big Springs add reliability.

The Spokane River is the major feature but often flows through developed areas. Water scarcity is not a concern, but finding water in less-hunted areas away from developed access points requires knowing the secondary drainages and smaller lakes away from main roads.

Cheney supports black bear and mountain lion in the scattered timber pockets, canyon breaks, and riparian corridors—they use the creek drainages and wooded draws as cover highways. Bears use the open prairies for foraging in spring and early summer, then retreat to timber. Lions hunt the prairie margins and canyon systems year-round.

The moderate complexity and light forest coverage mean cats are often detected by sign in draw bottoms and creek beds rather than glassing from distance. Bears respond to seasonal food sources: early season focus on emerging vegetation near drainages, fall hunting concentrated on berry patches and canyon timber. Access is not the limitation—finding underpressured habitat in broken country is the strategy.