Hunting

Game Management Unit 2B

Species within this unit:

Antelope, Elk, Mule Deer

Unit Boundaries

Beginning at Springerville; east on U.S. Hwy 60 to the New Mexico state line; north along the state line to the Navajo Indian Reservation boundary; westerly along the reservation boundary to U.S. Hwy 191 (AZ Hwy 61); south on U.S. Hwy 191 (U.S. Hwy 180) to Springerville. Unit 2C – Beginning at St. Johns on U.S. Hwy 191 (AZ Hwy 61); west on U.S. Hwy 180 (AZ Hwy 61) to Concho; southwest on AZ Hwy 61 to U.S. Hwy 60; east on U.S. Hwy 60 to U.S. Hwy 191 (U.S. Hwy 180); north on U.S. Hwy 191 (U.S. Hwy 180) to St. Johns.

Notes: Exploration drilling has begun for C02 gas and helium in southern 2B. As production begins, pressurized pipelines will be buried and non-pressured pipelines will be above ground. Use caution when traveling through this area as traffic will increase as construction and production increases.

St. Johns Elk Hunt Area
Over the past several years, there have been limited opportunity hunts in Units 2A and 2B (none in 2C). The goal has been to reduce the population that has been encroaching on private lands. These hunts have been fairly successful in reducing the resident elk population in 2AB but, have had little to no effect on the resident elk in northern 2C and around St. Johns. These resident elk cause a lot of damage to the agriculture and cause a negative human/wildlife interaction. The goal of the St. Johns area hunt is to address these issues during the growing season of the local crops.

St. Johns Hunt Area in Units 2A, 2B, and 2C – Beginning at the junction of U.S. Hwy 180/191 and Apache County Road 4165 (TEP Power Plant Road near Richville); east along County Road 4162 to TEP Power Plant; north around the TEP Power Plant property to the railroad tracks; north along the railroad tracks to the Zuni River (north of St. Johns); west along the Zuni River to the Little Colorado River; west along the Little Colorado River to U.S. Hwy 180 near mile post 340; east on U.S. Hwy 180 to AZ Hwy 180A; south on AZ Hwy 180A to AZ Hwy 61; south on AZ Hwy 61 to mile post 364; from mile post 364 east along Latitude N34.37648 on a line through Little Ortega Lake, Ortega Sink, and Hidden Spring then continuing east to U.S. Hwy 180/191 (milepost 379, north of Lyman Lake); south on U.S. Hwy 180/191 to County Road 4162.

Species Information

Antelope

Overview: The pronghorn population in this unit has decreased over the past few years.  As always, scouting the unit before the hunt increases your chances of success.

Land Status: Most of this unit has a “checkerboard” land status. That is, the land ownership status of alternating sections is different. Some are private and State Trust (State) lands mixed, while others are private and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands mixed. There is a strip of mostly State land along the southern border of this unit; however, there are still some small parcels of private land in the area. Legal hunting is allowed on all State Trust lands and BLM lands, however, access to these lands is not guaranteed. You must have permission to cross private lands to get to these other lands. Some ranches have been closed to hunting in the past. Some access points into the unit include Apache County Road (ACR) 4003 from Hwy 60 near milepost 396, ACR 6001 from ACR 6040 east of St. Johns, and ACR 6268 from Hwy 191 near milepost 327.

It is always recommended that hunters obtain permission to hunt on or cross over private land. This allows for good relationships to be built between the hunters and private landowners, and prevents the hunt from being interrupted by having a landowner ask the hunter to leave their property.

Various maps of the area can be purchased at map stores in Arizona. The BLM has 1:100,000 scale land status maps that are good references when hunting in these units. These maps can be purchased at BLM offices and some general map stores.

Bureau of Land Management Office – Phoenix
222 N. Central
Phoenix, AZ 85004-2208
(602) 417-9200
Bureau of Land Management Office – Safford
711 14th Ave.
Safford, AZ 85546
(928) 348-4400

Areas: Pronghorn habitat is intermixed throughout most of this unit. The northern portion of the unit (between the Salt Lake Rd., east of St. Johns, and the “New Lands,” which is the new part of the Navajo Reservation) has a lower density of pronghorn.  Also the access to this part of the unit is very limited.  Much of this area has been sub-divided over the past several years.

The southern portion of the unit, between the Salt Lake Rd. (the road that runs easterly from St. Johns to New Mexico) and Highway 60, generally has a greater concentration of pronghorns.  Access to this area, from Highway 191, is almost non-existent.  Access is mainly off of Highway 60 and off of the Salt Lake Rd.  There are numerous roads that crisscross this area between Highway 60 and Salt Lake Rd.

Concerns: The most common complaints from landowners deal with off-road driving.  It is illegal to drive off-road with any vehicle, including ATV’s and UTV’s, on State and BLM lands.  Also, criminal charges can be filed for damages to private land from off-road driving.  Please help us to keep all of these areas open to hunting by respecting both the land and the landowners. Remember, your OHV requires an OHV decal if it weighs under 1,800 pounds and will be ridden on State or Federal lands.

Elk

Overview: This unit is listed with the “Limited Opportunity” elk hunts. The elk management goal in this hunt unit is to reduce the resident elk population. As a limited population unit, hunt success can vary greatly, but it is expected to be very low. Hunters shouldn’t expect to find trophy-quality bulls on this hunt. Scouting the unit before the hunt will increase your chances of success. This unit has been combined with the 2A limited opportunity hunts to make it the 2A and 2B limited opportunity hunts.

Land Status: Most of this unit has a “checkerboard” land status.  That is, that the land ownership status of alternating sections is different.  Some are private and State Trust (State) lands mixed, while others are private and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands mixed.  There is a strip of mostly State land along the southern border of this unit; however, there are still some small parcels of private land in the area.  Legal hunting is allowed on all State Trust and BLM lands, however, access to these lands is not guaranteed.  You must have permission to cross private lands to get to these other lands.  Some ranches have been closed to hunting in the past. Some access points into the unit include Apache County Road (ACR) 4003 from Hwy 60 near milepost 396, ACR 6001 from ACR 6040 east of St. Johns, and ACR 6268 from Hwy 191 near milepost 327.

It is always recommended that hunters obtain permission to hunt on or cross over private land.  This allows for good relationships to be developed between hunters and private landowners, and prevents the hunt from being interrupted by having a landowner ask the hunter to leave their property.

Various maps of the area can be purchased at map stores in Arizona.  The BLM has 1:100,000 scale land status maps that are good references when hunting this unit.  These maps can be purchased at BLM offices and at general map stores.

Bureau of Land Management Office – Phoenix
222 N. Central
Phoenix, AZ   85004-2208
(602) 417-9200

Bureau of Land Management Office – Safford
711 14th Ave.
Safford, AZ   85546
(928) 348-4400

Areas: Elk habitat is intermixed throughout most of this unit.  The northern portion of the unit, between the Salt Lake Road east of St. Johns and the “New Lands” (the new part of the Navajo Reservation), has a low density of elk.  Access to this part of the unit is limited, and some lands are currently closed to hunting.

The southern portion of the unit, between the Salt Lake Rd. and Highway 60, generally has a greater concentration of elk.  Access to this area, from Highway 191, is almost non-existent.  Access is mainly off of Highway 60 and off of the Salt Lake Rd. (the road that runs easterly from St. Johns to New Mexico).  There are numerous roads that crisscross this area between Highway 60 and Salt Lake Rd.

Concerns: The most common complaints from landowners deal with off-road driving.  It is illegal to drive off-road with any vehicle, including ATV’s, on State and BLM lands.  Also, criminal charges can be filed for damages to private land from off-road driving.  Please help us to keep all of these areas open to hunting by respecting both the land and the landowners. Remember, your OHV requires an OHV decal if it weighs under 1,800 pounds and will be ridden on State or Federal lands.

Mule Deer

Overview: The majority of this unit has very low-density mule deer habitat, with a few pockets of higher concentrations.  Pre-season scouting is very important.

Land Status: Most of this unit has a “checkerboard” land status.  That is, that the land ownership of alternating sections is different.  Some are a mix of private and State Trust (State) lands, while others are a mix of private and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands.  There is a strip of mostly State land along the southern border of this unit; however, there are still some small parcels of private land in the area.  Legal hunting is allowed on all State lands and BLM lands, however, access to these lands is not guaranteed.  You must have permission to cross private lands to get to these other lands.  Some ranches have been closed to hunting in the past. Some access points into the unit include Apache County Road (ACR) 4003 from Hwy 60 near milepost 396, ACR 6001 from ACR 6040 east of St. Johns, and ACR 6268 from Hwy 191 near milepost 327.

It is always recommended that hunters obtain permission to hunt on or cross over private land.  This allows for good relationships to be built between hunters and private landowners, and prevents the hunt from being interrupted by having a landowner ask the hunter to leave their land.

Various maps of the area can be purchased at map stores in Arizona.  The BLM has 1:100,000 scale land status maps that are good to have when hunting in these units.  These maps can be purchased at BLM offices and some general map stores.

Bureau of Land Management Office – Phoenix
222 N Central
Phoenix, AZ 85004-2208
(602) 417-9200

Bureau of Land Management Office – Safford
711 14th Ave.
Safford, AZ 85546
(928) 348-4400

Areas: Mule deer habitat is inter-mixed throughout this hunt unit.  In general, the northern part of the unit, situated south of the “New Lands” border to the Salt Lake Rd. east of St. Johns, has a higher concentration of mule deer.  In the past, some of the ranches in this area have been locked during the season.  Whether or not these ranches will be open is a year-to-year decision, and will be made just prior to the season opening.  Access to this northern area is very limited.

Concerns: The most common complaints from landowners deal with off-road driving.  It is illegal to drive off-road with any vehicle, including ATV’s, on State and BLM lands.  In addition, criminal charges can be filed for damages to private land from off-road driving.  Please help us to keep all of these areas open to hunting by respecting both the land and the landowners. Remember, your OHV requires an OHV decal if it weighs under 1,800 pounds and will be ridden on State or Federal lands.

Questions? Contact the Pinetop regional office @ 928-367-4281.

Unit Summary

Climate Information

Cities, Roads & Campgrounds

Major Cities and Towns in or Near Game Management Unit and Nearest Gas, Food, and Lodging
Springerville, St. Johns, Concho

Major Highways and Roads Leading To
From the East: U.S. Hwy 60, State Hwy 61
From the West: U.S. Hwy 60, State Hwy 61
From the North: U.S. Hwy 191
From the South: U.S. Hwy 191

Developed Campgrounds

Lyman Lake State Park

Brief Description of Terrain, Elevation, and Vegetation

The elevation ranges form just under 6,000′ to about 7,000′. This unit is about 80 percent high desert grasslands and the rest is juniper communities.

Government Agencies and Phone Numbers

Arizona Game and Fish Department/Region I Office – 928-367-4281
Lyman Lake State Park (928) 337-4441