Unit 28, Arizona

Highly varied terrain ranging from the broad, low-lying Gila River alluvial valley at roughly 3,000 feet to rocky desert peaks and ridge systems in the Peloncillo, Whitlock, and Black Hills reaching approximately 7,000 feet. The unit is described in hunter profiles as "very rocky with rugged mountains" and "very rough, rugged, and steep." Canyons along Eagle Creek and Bonita Creek cut deeply through Gila Conglomerate cliffs that tower more than 1,000 feet above the drainages. The northern third of the unit (north of US Hwy 70) includes the Gila Box corridor, while the southern two-thirds extends through increasingly remote desert ranges toward the New Mexico and Mexico borders.

Unit 28 is approximately 86 percent public land (roughly 61 percent BLM, remainder state trust and a small USFS parcel in the northeast corner). The Safford BLM Field Office (711 S. 14th Ave., Safford, AZ 85546; 928-348-4400) manages 1.4 million acres including the 23,000-acre Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area, six wilderness areas (including Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness), and one wilderness study area. The Peloncillo Mountains Wilderness prohibits vehicle access entirely. Private land is concentrated near the towns of Solomon, Safford, Pima, and Thatcher along the Gila River corridor, and at Freeport-McMoRan copper-mining holdings near Morenci (Eagle Creek access requires contact with the Freeport security office; active mine sites are restricted). The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation borders the unit on the north and northwest—hunting is not permitted on tribal land without tribal authorization. Key highway access: I-10 along the southern boundary; US Hwy 70 bisects the unit east-west through Safford; US Hwy 191 runs north-south through Clifton and connects to AZ Hwy 78 at the south end; the Lower Eagle Creek Road (also called Pump Station Road) branches west from US Hwy 191 at Clifton and forms the northwest unit boundary. The BLM Black Hills Back Country Byway (signed from AZ Hwy 191 north of Safford) provides primary backcountry access through the unit interior and is accessible via AZ Hwy 191 at approximately milepost 160. Secondary BLM roads including Haeckel Road, Hackberry Ranch Road, and Solomon Pass Road provide access to the Whitlock, Peloncillo, and western Gila Mountains areas respectively. A four-wheel-drive vehicle is recommended on most backcountry roads; many roads may be impassable after rain. Note 128 in the official AZGFD regulations explicitly states: "Hunter access is extremely restricted in this unit or a unit within this hunt. Applicants should secure access from the landowner before applying" — this note appears on the unit 28 bear hunt and reflects the substantial private-land inholdings in key drainages. The Gila River corridor along US Hwy 70 between the San Carlos Reservation and Solomon (including the Safford-Bryce-Eden Road, Hot Springs Road, Cottonwood Road, McEuen Road, and River Road corridor) is closed to elk hunting by special regulation (Note 66). Winter road closures: Mt. Graham/Pinaleno Mountains roads in adjacent unit 27 close seasonally, but unit 28's primary roads generally remain accessible year-round. The Coronado National Forest Safford Ranger District (928-428-4150) covers a small portion of the northeast corner of the unit.

Vegetation grades sharply with elevation. Riparian corridors along the Gila River, Eagle Creek, and Bonita Creek support cottonwood-willow gallery forest and salt cedar. Lower bajadas and valley floors transition through Chihuahuan Desert scrub—creosote, ocotillo, cactus (saguaro, prickly pear, cholla), and desert grasses. Mid-elevation slopes carry mesquite thickets, desert grassland, and oak woodland. The Peloncillo and higher ridges support pinyon-juniper and oak woodland. No substantial ponderosa pine coverage has been documented within unit 28 proper, though ponderosa dominates immediately adjacent units to the north (27) and northwest.

Unit 28 supports two distinct bighorn sheep populations divided by US Hwy 70: desert bighorn sheep in the Peloncillo Mountains south of the highway (last population survey circa 2013 estimated 51 animals; average 3-year ram score 170 inches; key areas include Orange Butte, Midway Canyon, Tule Well, McKenzie Peak, Engine Mountain) and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep north of US Hwy 70 in the Gila River drainage area between Bonita Creek, Eagle Creek, and the Gila River (surveyed circa 2014, estimated approximately 375 animals; average 3-year ram score 164 inches; primary access via Lower Eagle Creek Pump Station Road; ram numbers have declined from peak survey levels since 2011). Mule deer occupy the unit broadly, particularly in the desert mountain ranges and juniper/oak uplands; five-year average hunter success is approximately 24 percent; numbers have fluctuated with drought and predation pressure, with recent forecasts improving. Coues white-tailed deer are present but at lower densities than mule deer, primarily in the oak woodland and rocky canyon habitats of the northeastern portion (south of AZ Hwy 78) and areas near Turtle Mountain and Fishhook Wilderness; approximately 10-12 animals harvested annually. Elk occur in limited numbers in the unit, largely associated with the Peloncillo Mountains, transitional grassland-shrubland habitats, and the northeastern corner near the San Carlos Reservation boundary; the unit is not traditional high-density elk habitat and AZGFD explicitly notes (Note 59) that hunt success may be very low to no success for OTC tags. Javelina are present throughout the unit's lower desert and scrub habitats; AZGFD survey data indicates average herd sizes around 7.2 animals with hunter success rates near 39 percent; found throughout the unit with scattered distribution. Black bear are present at low population density across the unit's mountain ranges, with two general concentration areas: the northeastern portion (south of AZ Hwy 78) and the Gila Mountains along the San Carlos Reservation; September prickly pear fruit is a key food source. Game birds include Gambel's quail (throughout unit), scaled (blue) quail (Peloncillo Mountains foothills only), and Merriam's dove (near livestock water and harvested grain fields along the Gila River). Sandhill cranes are present and draw hunts are authorized in unit 28, with cranes found mainly along the Gila River in agricultural areas near Safford and Duncan; access is primarily on private agricultural lands (Note 144 specifically flags unit 28 and 29 crane hunts as requiring close coordination with landowners). Pronghorn antelope are not offered as a draw species in unit 28 in 2026. Mountain lion and coyote are present.

1. Tag quota for Elk (15) is for the combined limited-opportunity draw tags (Hunt 3095: 10 permits + Hunt 3192: 5 permits) across units 28, 31, and 32 together — the portion attributable to unit 28 alone is not broken out in the regulations. 2. Javelina adult draw (spring season, general any-weapon) is handled in a separate AZGFD spring draw booklet not retrieved in this session; the fall 2026-27 regulations only authorize youth-only fall draw and OTC archery javelina. 3. The 24 percent mule deer five-year success average comes from Hunt Now Arizona (not a primary AZGFD source); it should be verified against official harvest data at azgfd.gov/surveydata. 4. Bighorn sheep population estimates (desert: ~51 from 2013 survey; Rocky Mountain: ~375 from 2014 survey) are dated; current populations may differ. 5. The Rocky Mountain bighorn quota of 3+2 permits is shared between units 27 South and 28 North; the portion specific to unit 28 is not separated. 6. No pronghorn antelope draw hunts exist for unit 28 in the 2026 draw booklets. 7. No fall turkey draw hunts exist for unit 28 in the 2026-27 regulations. 8. Sandhill crane draw hunts for unit 28 are in the Gila River agricultural corridor near Safford and Duncan (NOT the Willcox area, which is units 30A/30B); Note 144 flags that cranes are mostly on private lands and hunters must coordinate with landowners. 9. Note 128 (restricted access) appears on the unit 28 bear hunt in the 2026-27 regulations; it does not appear on unit 28 general mule deer or Coues deer draw hunts. 10. Mule deer hunt numbers (1042, 1043) and Coues deer hunt number (1099) are cited from third-party sources; permit quotas of 175/175/25 could not be directly verified line-by-line from the primary PDF due to multi-column layout issues in the extracted text. 11. Hunt 3192 archery elk permit count of 5 for units 28/31/32 could not be directly verified from the extracted PDF; the primary source confirms the hunt exists with the correct season dates and open areas.