Unit 22, Arizona

Elevation spans approximately 1,332 feet at the lower desert margins to 7,903 feet at Mazatzal Peak (confirmed). The western desert edge along Saguaro Lake and Canyon Lake sits near 1,500 feet. The unit's southern two-thirds consists of steep, rocky desert mountains and canyon country drained by tributaries of the Salt River, while the northern portion transitions into rolling terrain below the Mogollon Rim. Roadless wilderness — the Mazatzal Wilderness (approximately 252,390 acres spanning Tonto and Coconino National Forests), Four Peaks Wilderness, Hellsgate Wilderness, and Fossil Springs Wilderness — covers a large share of the unit. Much of the huntable landscape requires extensive foot travel or stock use.

The unit is accessed from three principal highway corridors: State Route 87 (Beeline Highway) runs north-south through the western portion from the Phoenix metro to Payson; State Route 188 parallels the eastern edge from Globe northward to Tonto Basin and connects to SR 87 near Roosevelt Lake; and State Route 260 forms the northern boundary through Payson eastward to Tonto Creek. Interior access is limited and largely requires high-clearance or four-wheel-drive vehicles. Key forest roads include FR 143 (Four Peaks Road, high-clearance required), FR 406 (East Verde River corridor, forms the 22N/22S boundary), FR 64 (Control Road), FR 198, FR 422, and FR 626. The Tonto National Forest administers most of the unit through six ranger districts (Mesa, Globe, Payson, Roosevelt, Scottsdale/Cave Creek, and Young/Tonto Basin). Four wilderness areas — Mazatzal, Four Peaks, Hellsgate, and Fossil Springs — prohibit motorized and mechanized use; stock animals or foot travel are required inside wilderness boundaries. The Three Bar Wildlife and Habitat Study Area prohibits motorized vehicle and e-bike travel. The posted portions of Roosevelt Wildlife Area are closed to hunting from November 15 through February 15. The southwest corner contains portions of the Fort McDowell Mohave-Apache and Tonto Apache sovereign tribal lands, which are excluded from state hunt areas. The Canyon Lake area (Mormon Flat Dam) underwent a major drawdown starting September 16, 2026, closing lake access approximately 16 weeks for dam maintenance and restricting the huntable desert bighorn sheep area north of the lake during the 2026 season (confirmed by AZGFD regulation note 175 and onX 2026 application guide). Contact: Tonto National Forest Supervisor's Office, Phoenix, (602) 225-5200.

Lower elevations (below ~3,500 ft) carry Lower Sonoran desert scrub with saguaro cactus, palo verde, and cholla. From roughly 3,500 to 5,500 feet the unit transitions through Upper Sonoran chaparral (manzanita, scrub oak, mountain mahogany), juniper grassland, and pinyon-juniper woodland. Above 5,500 feet ponderosa pine forest covers the higher ridges and the Mogollon Rim escarpment. Riparian corridors along the Verde River, Tonto Creek, East Verde River, and the Salt River arm drainages provide cottonwood-willow gallery forest. Post-fire regrowth from the Bush Fire (2020) — which burned 193,455 acres within and adjacent to the unit — has created abundant new browse in several areas. The Willow Fire (2004) also burned portions of the unit.

Elk number approximately 1,700 animals unit-wide; the northern subunit (22N) holds considerably higher densities than the south. Both mule deer and Coues white-tailed deer inhabit the unit — mule deer occupy lower desert and transition zones while Coues whitetail concentrate above roughly 4,000 feet in chaparral and pinyon-juniper. Desert bighorn sheep range in a narrow strip of canyon habitat from approximately Goat Mountain at Apache Lake west to Stewart Mountain above Saguaro Lake; a separate Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep population occupies the northern Mazatzal Wilderness area. Javelina are widespread from desert scrub through chaparral, concentrating between 1,500 and 5,000 feet. Black bears are distributed broadly with strong populations in major drainages of the Mazatzal range. Mountain lions are present throughout — Unit 22 is consistently one of Arizona's highest-harvest mountain lion units, with roughly 60 percent of harvest historically by hound hunters. Merriam's turkeys occur in the ponderosa pine zone of the northern unit near the Mogollon Rim in small numbers. Gambel's quail, Abert's squirrels, gray squirrels, and waterfowl are also present.