Unit 6B, Arizona

The unit divides sharply at the Mogollon Rim escarpment into two distinct zones. The northern upland plateau ranges from roughly 6,500 to 8,000-plus feet, characterized by flat-to-rolling timbered terrain interspersed with open parks and meadows (Fry Park, Mill Park, Yellow Flat, Rogers Lake). The southern half descends steeply into the Verde Valley basin, dropping to approximately 3,500 feet, with rugged canyon systems cut by Sycamore Creek, Dry Creek, and Oak Creek tributaries. Camp Navajo, an Arizona Army National Guard installation, occupies the northwest corner of the unit along I-40.

The unit lies almost entirely within the Coconino National Forest (northern and eastern portions including the Rim) and the Prescott National Forest (southwestern portions), with small islands of state and private land. Primary vehicle access routes include FR 231 (Woody Mountain Road) from Flagstaff to the north rim, FR 533 connecting south from FR 231 to US Highway 89A, and FR 525 (Red Canyon Road) accessed from Sedona. FR 152 (Dry Creek Road) and FR 152C (Boynton Pass Road) form the boundary line between the 6B North and 6B South sub-units near Sedona. The unit is bounded on its north by I-40 (from approximately mp 180.0 to mp 188.5), on the east by AZ Hwy 89A (Sedona to the Verde River), and on the south/west by the Verde River and Sycamore Creek. Four wilderness areas (Sycamore Canyon, Red Rock-Secret Mountain, Cedar Bench, Pine Mountain) restrict access to foot and horseback travel only. Rogers Lake Coconino County Natural Area is open to hunting but closed to all cross-country vehicle travel including motorized big game retrieval, and hunting is not permitted within one-quarter mile of any occupied building, wildlife viewing platform, picnic area, or trailhead. Camp Navajo requires a special authorization from the Arizona National Guard; all hunters must comply with installation policies. The Coconino National Forest allows cross-country motorized retrieval for elk only in GMUs 6A, 6B, 7, and 8; cross-country driving for any other species or motorized retrieval off designated roads is prohibited. Winter snow can close northern forest roads (particularly FR 231) from roughly December through spring. Seasonal road-closure updates are available from the Coconino National Forest Flagstaff Ranger District.

The northern plateau supports ponderosa pine forest with mixed grass meadows and scattered oak; mid-elevation transitions include pinyon-juniper woodland with cliffrose and bitterbrush; the lower southern slopes carry chaparral, cypress, and juniper-grassland savanna grading into Verde Valley desert scrub with prickly pear cactus. Riparian corridors along Sycamore Creek and its tributaries provide oak and cottonwood-willow cover. The unit spans three distinct ecological zones and contains significant wilderness habitat within the Sycamore Canyon, Red Rock-Secret Mountain, Cedar Bench, and Pine Mountain Wilderness Areas.

Elk are the marquee species, concentrating in the northern ponderosa meadows (Fry Park, Mill Park, Rogers Lake) during spring through fall and moving to canyon habitats in winter. Mule deer are present throughout with higher densities on the northern plateau; mature bucks also inhabit the Verde Valley chaparral. Coues (white-tailed) deer occupy thick canyon cover in the southern canyon systems and along rim drainages, often overlapping with mule deer. Pronghorn occur in two small, separate subpopulations: a northern herd using the forested upland meadows and pinyon-juniper savanna around Fry Park and Yellow Flat (challenging to locate due to forested character), and a southern herd using desert grassland and savanna in the Verde Valley roughly west of Dry Creek and south of Boynton Pass. Black bear occur throughout the unit, with high densities in canyon habitats. Merriam's turkey inhabit the ponderosa-oak zone on the northern plateau. Javelina are present in small numbers in the southern desert-scrub and chaparral portions (AZGFD lists javelina as a game species for the unit; verify current-season open status at azgfd.com before hunting). Mountain lion range the full unit. The unit also supports non-game predators including coyote, bobcat, and fox. Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance is active statewide; hunters should consult AZGFD for current restrictions on carcass transport.

1. Elk permit quotas cited (bull archery ~155, general bull ~175, antlerless ~300) are sourced from the 2023 AZGFD Pronghorn and Elk Hunt Draw booklet; the 2026 booklet confirmed similar unit structure but exact 2026 per-unit counts could not be cleanly extracted. Treat these figures as indicative of scale — verify at azgfd.gov/surveydata or draw.azgfd.com. 2. Bear sow harvest threshold: the specific annual female limit for 6B/11M was not independently confirmed in publicly accessible sources; AZGFD closure is real and hunters must check harvest-tracking.azgfd.gov before each hunt. 3. Pronghorn 6B South date: the draft cites Oct 2–11 from the official AZGFD PDF; one secondary search source cited Sep 4–13 for both sub-units — the official PDF date is preferred but verify before applying. 4. Javelina: AZGFD lists javelina as a game species for GMU 6B; however, the unit does not clearly appear in standard general-season open area listings for 2026-27 — javelina are present in the southern unit but hunting status should be confirmed at azgfd.com before pursuing. Not included in species_data. 5. Public land percentage of 96% is from GoHunt unit profile; HuntScore cited 85% — discrepancy may reflect different accounting of Camp Navajo. GoHunt figure used as primary. 6. All season dates are from the 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations and 2026 Pronghorn and Elk Hunt Draw Information booklet — both official AZGFD publications.