Zone X7b, California

CDFW describes Zone X-7b terrain as "very steep and rugged," with vegetation that can be extremely dense. Habitat ranges from sagebrush flats at lower elevations up through mixed-conifer forests to rimrock areas covered by mountain mahogany at higher elevations. Historically popular and productive areas include Boca Hill and Boca Ridge, Prosser Reservoir and Stampede Reservoir, Martis Peak, and Verdi Peak. CDFW does not publish specific elevation figures in the zone information sheet, so no exact elevation band is stated here.

Zone X-7b is roughly 62% public land managed primarily by the Tahoe National Forest (Truckee and Sierraville Ranger Districts) and the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest (Carson Ranger District), with BLM Carson City Field Office parcels on the east slope; significant private land exists along Juniper Creek and near Martis Peak, requiring written landowner permission to cross. The two main travel corridors are Interstate 80 and State Highway 89. From I-80, take the Hirschdale exit (approximately 6 miles east of Truckee) and follow Hirschdale Road north about 1 mile to reach Boca Reservoir; continuing north roughly 8 miles via Road 261 crosses Stampede Dam and reaches Logger Campground and the Stampede Reservoir area. From Highway 89, turning right approximately 4 miles north of I-80 at the signed Prosser Recreation Area leads to Prosser Family Campground on the west shore of Prosser Reservoir. Martis Peak is accessed by turning off Highway 267 approximately 8 miles south of Truckee (about 0.5 miles before Brockway Summit); a gated road near the drainage requires the last portion to be completed on foot. Boca Campground, Boca Rest Campground, Boca Springs Campground, Logger Campground (Stampede Reservoir), and Prosser Family Campground all serve as established staging areas; most are closed until mid-to-late May due to snow. The Boca Hill OHV Trail (3 miles, open to all OHVs) and a forest road network above the Boca/Stampede area provide motorized access to Boca Ridge and the Verdi Peak area, but OHV operators must remain on routes designated on the Tahoe National Forest Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM). The Granite Chief Wilderness, on the western edge of the zone boundary near Highway 89, is non-motorized only. No special access permit program (such as SHARE) has been identified for this zone; informal camping is permitted on USFS and BLM lands with a California campfire permit.

Per CDFW, vegetation is "highly varied throughout Zone X-7b," ranging from low sage, sagebrush, bitterbrush, montane chaparral, aspen, hardwood-conifer, juniper and conifer to alpine habitats. Deer respond favorably to vegetation disturbance that enhances brush species (wildfire and timber harvesting); riparian areas, recently burned areas, and clear-cuts that have re-sprouted with brush are good areas to hunt, while more densely forested areas and older, decadent brushlands hold lower deer densities. The best hunting is described near stands of bitterbrush, mountain mahogany, or tall sagebrush.

CDFW classifies Zone X-7b deer as migratory. The subspecies is primarily Rocky Mountain mule deer, with some Columbian black-tailed deer possible in the western portions. Some land, principally winter range, is administered by the USFS in Toiyabe National Forest and the BLM, but "deer seldom enter winter range during the deer season in Zone X-7b." CDFW lists the herd as stable to declining and considerably below levels seen in the late 1960s and 1970s, part of a long-term steady decline tied to land management practices that precluded fire and produced more mature, less diverse habitat; short-term fluctuations are attributed to weather affecting forage. General mule/black-tailed deer rut peaks in November, but CDFW's X-7b sheet does not state zone-specific rut timing.