Unit 680

Key navigation features include the Missouri River itself, which forms the western boundary and is lined with distinctive rock formations like Pilot Rock, Ship Rock, and Eagle Rock. The Cow Island Trail and Lloyd Road provide north-south access corridors. Major benches worth noting for orientation and glassing platforms include Greens Bench, Cummings Bench, and Ragland Bench.

The series of named islands in the river—Lower Two Calf, Council Island, Grand Island, Sturgeon Island—help confirm river location. Distinctive buttes like Dark Butte, Fortress Butte, and Saskatchewan Butte serve as landmarks visible across the open country. The numerous coulees (Rattlesnake, Pigtail, Wolf) provide natural drainages to follow.

Terrain here is characterized by low-elevation benchland and river breaks rather than high mountains. The Missouri River corridor sits around 2,250 feet, while benches and ridges climb to roughly 4,600 feet across the unit. The landscape is predominantly open sagebrush-grassland with sparse ponderosa pine scattered across ridges and bench margins.

Cottonwood draws and juniper patches dot the lower breaks and creek bottoms. This is semi-arid country, and the vegetation transitions reflect it—dense tree cover is rare, but enough rocky pinnacles, cliffs, and rough terrain exist to hold sheep. The benches provide glassing terrain, while the breaks offer escape routes and lambing ground.

The unit contains roughly 650 miles of road, spread across vast terrain—this translates to fair accessibility rather than crowded conditions. Major staging points include Coal Banks Landing (a known river launch point), Leroy, and DY Junction. The Eagleton Road and Lloyd Road provide main travel corridors; Highway 66 and US 191 border the unit on two sides.

Much of the terrain remains roadless bench and break country, meaning foot traffic separates sheep hunters who scout thoroughly from those sticking to roads. The presence of the monument boundary attracts some pressure, but the open nature of the terrain and limited water means sheep habitat isn't concentrated in obvious drainages—pressure is likely diffuse.

Unit 680 wraps around the northern and eastern margins of the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, anchored by the Missouri River on the west and north. The unit spans from Coal Banks Landing southeast along Highway 236 and Eagleton Road, then northeast through Cow Island terrain before cutting south along the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation boundary. The region is bound by US 191 to the south and Highway 66 to the east.

This is remote country in north-central Montana, roughly 80 miles northeast of Lewistown. The boundaries capture a mix of public monument land, tribal boundary zones, and private ranches.

The Missouri River is the dominant water feature and runs through the heart of the unit, but away from the river, water is genuinely limited. Named springs include Nantelle Spring, Mud Spring, and Bear Paw Springs—scout these carefully. Small creeks like Eagle Creek, Little Birch Creek, and Little Suction Creek flow seasonally and provide limited summer reliability.

Numerous reservoirs are scattered across the unit (Juniper, Twin Snag, Als Coulee, Four O'Clock, Nolan, Butch, Sandpiper, among others), though these appear to be stock ponds rather than dependable hunting water. Hunters must plan water strategy around spring locations and the Missouri River or scout reservoirs thoroughly before the season.

Unit 680 is bighorn sheep country, and the strategy revolves around understanding the benches, breaks, and river cliffs where sheep live. Glassing from bench edges and ridge systems is essential—the open sagebrush country provides long sight lines, and sheep often use the rocky breaks and pinnacles as escape terrain. Scout major drainages (Eagle Creek, Little Suction Creek) and bench margins in early season for ewe and lamb groups, then focus on breaks and ridge systems during the rut.

The river corridor and monument boundary hold the most reliable sheep habitat. Water will be the limiting factor outside the Missouri; locate springs in advance. Sheep here won't be concentrated like in high alpine terrain, so persistent glassing and fine reading of terrain is required.