Located along the banks of the Columbia River, the large unit is almost entirely private with approximately only 25,000-acres out of the 190,000-acres open to public hunting on small pieces of BLM, state, and WDFW private land. Most of the public land is found along the steep Columbia River breaks, upstream from Browns Canyon. You will definitely need to use your GPS here, as these chucks are oddly shaped with limited public access points. Dryland farming represents the bulk of the land, and just about every portion that is flat enough has been plowed. The unit is relatively flat, losing the majority of elevation in the last mile and a half to the river’s edge. Deer densities are low and they are spread across the unit, however, some large old bucks are usually taken each season. Hunters with private land access have a chance at an excellent mule deer hunting experience. There are a few whitetails here, mainly along the river and irrigated crop edges. There are no elk in this unit.

This unit consists of many plowed fields, making it tough to hunt.

With over 130,000-acres utilized for agriculture, there are only about 60,000-acres left for grasslands, towns, and open water combined. Along the banks of the Columbia River you’ll find the Basalt Bluffs, representing basically the only steep structure, and irrigated fields everywhere where it is flat enough to farm. The very northern portion of this unit consists of rolling grasslands used for grazing livestock.

Access is very poor here. A GPS will be very important in order to access and hunt small odd shapes of public. Securing private land access is good idea for hunters willing to put in a little extra effort.

Agriculture dominates this unit. This area has been irrigated for a wide variety of vegetables and fruits along the low, flat riverbanks with large sections of dryland crops, mainly wheat, grain and barley throughout the bulk of the unit. Of the 190,000-acres, there are approximately less than 50,000-acres of forests, shrubs, buckbrush, sage and a variety of native and non-native grasses. Along the riverbank is the lusher, riparian vegetation comprised of a variety of reed grasses, forbs and non-native trees.

There are very few public campgrounds here. If you are more interested in a bed and shower, and being closer to gas stations, restaurants, and a grocery store, your best option is Waterville, along the southern border.