Unit 15B, Arizona

Extremely remote and rugged. Three distinct mountain ranges — the Cerbat Mountains (rising to roughly 6,000 ft near Kingman), the Peacock Mountains, and the Music Mountains — rise above broad desert basins and rocky canyon country. Elevation ranges from approximately 1,400 ft at the Lake Mead shoreline (Colorado River) up to 7,148 ft at Mount Tipton in the Peacock Mountains. The majority of the unit below 4,000 ft consists of desert lowlands, rocky canyons, and barren hills. A significant portion of the northwestern subunit (15B West, west of Temple Bar Road) falls within Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The Mount Tipton Wilderness Area prohibits motorized access. Four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended throughout the backcountry.

The unit is bounded by I-40 on the south (Kingman Exit 48), US Hwy 93 on the west running north to Hoover Dam, the Colorado River and Lake Mead on the north, Pearce Ferry Road and Antares Road on the northwest, AZ Hwy 66 on the south-central border, and Hackberry Road on the east. Primary access roads include: US Hwy 93 (provides access to Cerbat Mountains via Stockton Hill Road and to Lake Mead NRA); AZ/US Route 66 and Hackberry Road (Peacock Mountains access); Antares Road (Hualapai Valley and pronghorn flats); Diamond Bar Road (Music Mountains); and Temple Bar Road (which serves as the boundary between 15B East and 15B West subunits for bighorn sheep management). Most of the unit is BLM (Kingman Field Office, 928-718-3700) with the northwest portion managed by Lake Mead National Recreation Area (NPS) — within LMNRA, off-road driving is prohibited and travel is restricted to roads marked with yellow arrow signs. The Mount Tipton Wilderness (Peacock Mountains) closes roughly 29,000 acres to motorized and mechanized use. Public land comprises approximately 60% of the unit (BLM, NPS, state land). Portions of the unit near the Hualapai Indian Reservation boundary require a tribal trespass permit for access to adjacent Unit 15A; the 15B boundary itself does not cross tribal lands. The Cerbat Foothills Recreation Area (11,300 acres, BLM/City of Kingman joint management) near the southern unit fringe offers trailhead access off US-93.

Below roughly 4,000 ft the unit is Mojave Desert scrub — creosote, cactus (including cholla and prickly pear), sagebrush, and exposed rocky hillsides. Middle elevations (4,000–6,000 ft) transition to brush, chaparral, cliffrose, and pinyon-juniper woodland. The highest ridges and peaks in the Peacock Mountains approach ponderosa pine near Mount Tipton. Washes and drainages support shrubby riparian vegetation and serve as key wildlife movement corridors. The Hualapai Valley floor contains open grassland and shrub flats used by pronghorn.

Mule deer are present at low density; highest concentrations occur in the Peacock and Music Mountains where pinyon-juniper and riparian cover provides browse and water. Elk exist in very small numbers in the Music Mountains and Peacock Mountains closest to the Hualapai Indian Reservation boundary; populations are sparse and elk are listed as difficult to locate. Desert bighorn sheep are the showcase species in 15B — the unit is divided into 15B East (east of Temple Bar Road, combined with 15A for management) and 15B West (west of Temple Bar Road, Lake Mead NRA country); key sheep habitat includes Salt Spring Wash, Greggs Hideout, Spring Canyon Road, Hualapai Wash, South Cove, Grapevine Wash, and the lower Pierce Ferry Road corridor. Pronghorn occupy the open flatlands — Truxton Flat, Badger Flat, Airport Flat, and the Hualapai Valley — at moderate density that varies with seasonal movement across the Hualapai Reservation boundary. Javelina herds are found in the denser pinyon-juniper and brush country of all three mountain ranges. Mountain lion are present throughout the unit; highest densities are in the Peacock and Music Mountains. Gambel's quail and mourning dove are common small game, particularly at livestock water sources and in the desert washes.

1. Bighorn sheep tag quota corrected to 4 total (2 for hunt 6008 covering 15A and 15B East, 2 for hunt 6009 covering 15B West) per the 2026-27 AZGFD Hunting Regulations page 38; the draft incorrectly stated 3 total and 1 permit for 15B West. 2. Deer muzzleloader draw season confirmed: hunts 1187 and 1188 cover combined units 15A, 15B, 15C, and 15D (125 permits each, note 2 applies per page 30 of the regulations). 3. Archery deer nonpermit-tag covers combined units 15A, 15B, 15C, and 15D with a harvest limit of 10 for the group (confirmed page 31). 4. Javelina: unit 15B does not appear in any 2026-27 javelina hunt table; the draft claim of a fall draw javelina season could not be verified from the regulations and has been qualified accordingly. 5. Mountain lion Zone C harvest threshold confirmed as 4 lions (15A/15B/15C/15D combined, page 47). 6. No black bear season in unit 15B confirmed — 15B is not listed in any bear open area. 7. Elk and pronghorn seasons are published in a separate draw booklet; specific hunt numbers and permit counts for 2026 could not be confirmed from the main regulations PDF alone. Note 128 (restricted hunter access) applies to elk hunts in combined units including 15B. 8. GoHunt 60.3% public land figure applies to 15BE subunit only; overall 15B public land percentage is likely higher given the NPS-managed 15BW subunit.