Zone A (North Unit 160), California

Per GoHunt's Zone A-North profile, terrain varies from moderate to steep grades without high elevations, with varied topography including ravines that can be barriers to an effective harvest. Reported elevation range spans roughly 10 to 6,100 feet (reflects the broader Zone A; exact North Unit 160 boundary detail was not separately isolated).

Zone A (North Unit 160) is roughly 83% private land, so public access is concentrated on the scattered parcels described below. The dominant public land block is Mendocino National Forest (Upper Lake, Covelo, and Grindstone Ranger Districts), which spans parts of Lake, Glenn, Mendocino, Tehama, Trinity, and Colusa counties within or adjacent to the zone boundary; the forest has no major paved road penetrating its interior, so all interior access is via dirt and gravel forest roads. The principal western entry is Forest Road M-1 (County Road 301) heading north from Upper Lake approximately 31 miles to Lake Pillsbury — high-clearance vehicles are recommended, and four-wheel drive plus chains are advised from the Potter Valley side in winter. From the east, US-101 south to Willits (Commercial Avenue / Hearst-Willits Road, County Road 306) connects to the Eel River corridor and the forest interior; Highway 162 west from Willows off I-5 reaches the Stonyford and Grindstone Ranger District areas, including the Fouts Springs OHV Staging Area and Letts Lake. The BLM Ukiah Field Office manages approximately 270,000 surface acres in the southern portion of the zone, most notably Cow Mountain Recreation Area (both North and South units, ~26,000 acres total) east of Ukiah — access is via US-101 to the Talmage Road exit, east on Talmage Road to Mill Creek Road. South Cow Mountain allows OHV use on 94 miles of designated routes; North Cow Mountain is non-motorized only. Four wilderness areas within Mendocino NF (Snow Mountain, Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel, Yuki, and Sanhedrin) are accessible only on foot or horseback — no motorized entry. For the ~83% of the zone that is private, CDFW's SHARE program offers draw-based access permits to enrolled private ranches (apply via CDFW license system; $14.86 non-refundable fee per application). Check Motor Vehicle Use Maps for both Mendocino NF and the BLM Ukiah Field Office before driving interior roads, as seasonal closures and storm damage can affect access.

Highly diverse cover (GoHunt): coastal scrub along the coast, mixed chaparral and oak-hardwood forests, oak-grassland, and dense conifer forests in the north. Recently burned areas and acorn-producing oak stands attract deer.

Primarily resident Columbian black-tailed deer, with some mule deer along the eastern border (GoHunt). HuntScore reports the overall A Zone deer population is considered stable and the rut occurs from late October through late December. Note: the general season (August-September) ends before the late fall rut, so rut-timed hunting strategies do not apply to the legal season. As a general black-tailed deer ecology point (not Zone A-specific), coastal blacktails are largely non-migratory with only limited local elevational movement.