Zone D7, California

Terrain changes drastically from west to east — from valley flats and foothills up into the high Sierra Nevada, spanning a very wide elevation range.

The majority of public land in D7 is administered by the Sierra National Forest, split between the Bass Lake Ranger District (north of the San Joaquin River, covering Madera and Mariposa counties) and the High Sierra Ranger District (south of the river, covering Fresno and Tulare counties). Primary paved entry corridors include State Highways 41, 140, and 49 from the west (Mariposa County); Highway 168 from Fresno northeast to Huntington Lake; and Highway 41 through Oakhurst into Madera County. From these highways, a network of named forest and county roads opens the backcountry: in Madera County, County Road 200 (Sierra Vista National Scenic Byway, partially paved/dirt via FS Road 81 / Minarets Road, and FS Roads 7 and 10) branches north toward North Fork and the Bass Lake area; in Fresno County, Trimmer Springs Road, Watts Valley Road, and Maxson Road provide lower-foothill access, with FS Routes 40 and 80 pushing higher; from Highway 168, Dinkey Creek Road and McKinley Grove Road lead southeast to Courtright Reservoir and Wishon Reservoir, which serve as major backcountry staging areas. Kaiser Pass Road extends east from Huntington Lake to trailheads for the John Muir and Ansel Adams Wilderness areas and provides access to Florence Lake and Lake Thomas A. Edison pack-in country. The Ansel Adams, John Muir, Kaiser, and Dinkey Lakes Wilderness areas within D7 are non-motorized — access requires hiking or stock; wilderness permits may be required during regulated seasons. The southeastern corner of D7 overlaps Kings Canyon National Park where hunting is prohibited. Road 81 (Minarets Road / Sierra Vista Scenic Byway) and higher forest roads are typically closed by snow from approximately November through late spring; hunters should verify seasonal road opening dates with the Bass Lake or High Sierra Ranger District before late-season hunts.

Highly varied: oak woodland, mixed and montane chaparral, hardwood and hardwood-conifer, aspen, dense conifer, up to alpine habitat at the highest elevations.

California (Pacific) mule deer of the Sierra west slope. Deer shift seasonally with elevation and snow line, summering high and dropping to lower foothill range as snow accumulates.