Unit 146

Key reference points include the Arkansas River itself, which anchors the northern boundary and serves as both landmark and water source. John Martin Reservoir offers reliable water in the southern portion. Named draws—James Draw, Antelope Draw, Hood Draw—provide gullies to navigate and glass from.

Big Timbers area offers cottonwood patches useful for orientation. Eagle Nest and Ninemile Hill provide slight elevation for scanning the flats. Crooked Arroyo and its detention reservoirs offer secondary water features.

These landmarks are subtle in a flat landscape but valuable for navigation and understanding drainage patterns.

Low-elevation plains dominate this unit, ranging from roughly 3,600 to 4,800 feet with a median around 4,100 feet. The landscape is primarily open grassland and sagebrush flats with minimal forest cover—scattered cottonwoods and willows follow the creeks and river bottom. Ponderosa and juniper are virtually absent here.

The terrain supports warm-season grasses, native prairie, and brushy draws. Vegetation is sparse across the flats, becoming denser only in riparian corridors where cottonwood groves provide shade and shelter. This is classic shortgrass prairie habitat transitioning toward high plains.

Over 680 miles of roads crisscross the unit, creating fair accessibility despite sparse public land. County roads and ranch roads provide vehicular routes across the open flats. However, most land is private; public hunting requires working through access agreements or using state lands.

Pressure tends to concentrate near the Arkansas River and around water sources. The flats' openness means visible pressure—vehicles and hunters are obvious across the landscape. Quieter hunting occurs in draws and creek bottoms away from main roads.

This is not a remote unit; expect to see other hunters during seasons, particularly near town and river access points.

GMU 146 occupies the eastern plains of southeastern Colorado, covering Bent and Prowers counties between the Arkansas River on the north and the Bent-Baca county line on the south. U.S. 287 forms the eastern boundary, while Colorado 101 and U.S. 50 mark the western limits. The town of Lamar sits near the unit's heart, providing supply and staging access.

This is lowland prairie country—the Great Plains pushing into the Colorado border region. Adjacent units and terrain transitions occur along the Arkansas corridor to the north and county boundaries to the south.

The Arkansas River is the primary water source, running along the northern boundary and offering reliable flow year-round. Cottonwood Creek, East Mud Creek, and Dry Creek provide secondary drainage corridors with seasonal flow. Springs—Dripping Spring, Box Springs, Chimney Spring, Antelope Spring—are scattered across the unit but unreliable outside wet seasons.

John Martin Reservoir holds water in the southern section. Most creeks run intermittent, flowing only after precipitation. During dry periods, water concentrates in the river and reservoir; hunters must plan around this limitation.

The river bottom offers the most consistent water and vegetation cover.

GMU 146 historically holds elk, mule and white-tailed deer, pronghorn, and black bear. Elk and deer use the riparian cover along the Arkansas and creeks, moving onto open flats to feed. Early season favors working timber and creek bottoms for cool-country deer and elk.

Rut timing (fall) concentrates animals in cover and along travel corridors. Pronghorn favor open grasslands year-round and require long-range glassing and stalking. Water becomes critical in late season; hunters should focus on reliable sources like the river and John Martin Reservoir.

Vehicle-based glassing of open country works for pronghorn and mule deer; spot-and-stalk requires careful approach. Creek and river bottom hiking pays dividends for deer and elk seeking shade and browse.