Unit 73

The Malad Range and Bannock Range provide the primary ridge systems for navigation and glassing; Weston Peak, Elkhorn Mountain, and Oxford Peak serve as recognizable high points. The Malad Summit area marks a key geographic anchor in the north-central portion. Major drainages including Rock Creek, Devil Creek, and the various South Fork systems offer linear features for travel and orientation.

Samaria Lake and Swan Lake provide visual references, while the multiple reservoirs scattered throughout (Saint Johns, Hawkins, Daniels, Curlew Valley) mark settled basins. Jensen Pass and Malad Pass break the ridges and represent logical travel corridors between valleys.

Terrain ranges from roughly 4,300 feet in valley bottoms to over 9,200 feet on the highest ridges, with most country sitting between 5,000 and 6,500 feet. Low sagebrush basins and flat valleys dominate the lower elevations, particularly around Pocatello Valley and the various flats scattered throughout. As elevation increases, sparse timber appears—mostly junipers and scattered pines—mixed with sagebrush slopes.

The sparse forest coverage means open glassing country throughout most of the unit, with timbered ridges providing cover and thermal relief at higher elevations. This open-to-scattered-timber mix creates good visibility for spotting but limited dense cover for midday holding.

Over 2,300 miles of roads provide substantial access throughout the unit, creating a well-connected system that allows hunters to reach most country without extensive foot travel. The extensive road network means public pressure concentrates around primary access routes and developed areas, but terrain complexity and size allow hunters to move away from roads and find quieter country. Towns like Montpelier, Soda Springs, and Malad City serve as staging points with supplies and services.

The rolling, moderate complexity terrain means that while roads are abundant, actual hunting requires navigation between ridges and valleys, and hunters willing to glass methodically can avoid pressure congregated near easy parking areas.

Unit 73 encompasses portions of Bannock, Franklin, Power, and Oneida Counties in southeastern Idaho, spanning roughly 2,300 road miles of huntable country. The unit boundaries follow U.S. highways and state lines: starting at the Idaho-Utah border near the state line highway, extending north through Montpelier and Arimo, east to Soda Springs, then northeast to the Idaho-Wyoming line, and south back along that line to complete the circuit. This creates a large territory straddling the high-desert transition zone where Basin and Range topography meets the transition toward higher mountain country to the east.

Reliable water is scattered and moderate elevation-dependent in this high-desert unit. Major streams include Rock Creek, Devil Creek, and Elkhorn Creek, though flow varies seasonally. Springs are distributed throughout but often require local knowledge to locate reliably—key sources include Pleasantview Warm Springs, Big Malad Spring, Hawkins Spring, and Co-op Spring.

Multiple reservoirs provide water in developed areas, but much of the broader country relies on seasonal seeps and small drainages. Late-season hunting requires understanding water patterns, as lower basins often dry while higher elevation sources remain more reliable. This water limitation shapes hunting strategy and camp placement significantly.

Unit 73 holds mule deer across its varied elevation bands, with typical seasonal movement patterns: lower basins and valley floors provide winter range in the 4,500–5,500 foot zone, while higher ridges and scattered timber at 6,500–8,000 feet offer summer habitat. Early season (September) hunting focuses on water sources and higher ridges where deer move for thermal relief; the sparse timber provides travel corridors while open sagebrush allows spotting from distance. Fall rut activity concentrates deer movement along ridges connecting basins, making bench-glassing and drainage-walking productive.

Winter season brings deer down to lower country where feed is more accessible. The key is using the extensive road network to reach high vantage points, then glassing open country to locate deer, then planning stalks through the sparse cover available.