Unit 107

Major water bodies anchor navigation and define travel corridors: Minong Flowage, Nelson Lake, and McGraw Lake serve as central reference points. The Yellow River and Totagatic River provide linear navigation features through the forest. Smaller lakes including Staples, Warner, Scovils, and Twin Lakes mark secondary locations.

Springs including Bearsdale Springs and Bergen Springs indicate reliable water in the backcountry. Small populated places like Gordon, Wascott, and Moose Junction serve as logical staging towns. Smoky Hill offers minor elevation for glassing across the flatter terrain.

These features help break down what might otherwise feel like featureless forest.

Terrain ranges from 850 to 1,568 feet with most country falling in the 1,000 to 1,200-foot band. The landscape is characterized by rolling lowland forest interspersed with open agricultural land and extensive wetland areas. Heavy timber coverage alternates with marsh, sedge meadows, and cleared fields in a patchwork pattern typical of northern Wisconsin.

Conifer swamps and mixed hardwood stands provide thermal cover and bedding habitat for deer. Elevations are modest enough that seasons change gradually without dramatic alpine transitions; winter severity and spring green-up follow standard northern Wisconsin patterns.

The well-developed road network with 2.25 miles per square mile density makes Unit 107 relatively accessible, with major roads and highways providing straightforward entry from nearby towns. However, the 50-50 public-private split means that road access doesn't automatically translate to huntable ground. Land checkerboards typical of northern Wisconsin mean careful attention to ownership is required.

The moderate road density and working-forest landscape suggest moderate hunting pressure concentrated on accessible public areas and open road systems. Hunters willing to walk away from main roads and navigate private-land patterns will find quieter country. Early season often draws more pressure, particularly near lake access points and popular public areas.

Unit 107 occupies roughly 860 square miles of northwestern Douglas County, Wisconsin, centered around the Gordon and Wascott area. The unit encompasses low-elevation terrain typical of Wisconsin's forested lowlands, transitioning through mixed hardwood and conifer stands with agricultural clearings. The landscape sits well below any significant elevation change, creating country that feels expansive more for its size than for dramatic topography.

Boundaries follow county lines and natural drainage divides rather than dramatic geographic features, making the unit feel like a continuous working forest rather than a discrete mountain or valley system.

Water is abundant throughout Unit 107, making it a strong feature for both logistics and habitat. Minong Flowage, Nelson Lake, and Saint Croix Flowage anchor the larger water bodies. Numerous smaller lakes and reservoirs including Colton Flowage, Olson Meadows Flowage, and Middle Eau Claire Lake dot the landscape.

The Yellow River, Totagatic River, and multiple creeks including Glendenning Creek, Dingle Creek, and Webb Creek provide reliable drinking water and travel corridors. Marshy areas associated with these drainages create prime deer habitat. Water availability means hunters can operate without strict water discipline during most seasons.

Unit 107 is white-tailed deer country, the primary game species. The mixed forest and agricultural mosaic creates excellent deer habitat with bedding in thick timber and feeding in clearings and field edges. Elevation changes are minimal, so deer movement follows seasonal food availability rather than thermal elevation shifts.

Early season focuses on feeding areas—field edges, regenerating timber, and hardwood ridges where acorns fall. Rut activity concentrates along travel corridors connecting bedding and feeding areas, particularly near water features and timber density transitions. Late season finds deer concentrated in the heaviest cover and protected south-facing slopes.

Stream valleys and flowage margins hold deer consistently. Success requires understanding the checkerboarded ownership pattern and committing to the walking required to access better public ground.