Unit 128, Colorado

Elevation ranges from 4,341 to 6,185 feet. The landscape is predominantly flat to gently rolling shortgrass prairie with steep irregular plateaus, canyons, bluffs, and rimrock overlooking the Arkansas River, Huerfano River, and tributaries including the Cucharas River and Chicosa and Mustang creeks. The lowest elevations occupy the river valleys; the highest terrain occurs where canyon rims and mesa tops break the plains surface.

The unit is bounded by the Arkansas River on the north, I-25 on the west, Colorado Highway 10 on the south, and County Highway 167 on the east. Approximately 86% of the unit is private. The two principal public tracts are: (1) Chucaras Canyon BLM tract (~6,000 acres), managed by the BLM Royal Gorge Field Office (Canon City); and (2) the St. Charles State Trust Land in Pueblo County (verify exact acreage and access directions via the Colorado State Land Board at slb.colorado.gov — open for hunting August 15 through February 28). A small game access property (Vold property) is also noted. Road surfaces are dirt/gravel and become slick when wet. No designated trailheads or wilderness areas exist in this plains unit. Most prime private land is leased to outfitters. Nearest services are in Pueblo, Walsenburg, and La Junta.

Dominant cover is shortgrass prairie, with limited irrigated farmland along the Arkansas River bottomland. Riparian corridors support cottonwood and tamarisk gallery forest. Higher breaks and canyon slopes carry pinon-juniper and mixed shrub. There is no alpine tundra, spruce-fir, or aspen; the unit sits well below the mountains on the southeastern Colorado plains.

Mule deer inhabit the canyon breaks, rimrock, and riparian corridors along the Arkansas and Huerfano rivers and in the Cedarwood area; the rut runs from late October through late November. White-tailed deer are also present along river bottoms. Pronghorn range across the open prairie and shortgrass flats throughout the unit; the rut runs from early September through mid-October. Elk are present in smaller numbers, primarily bulls, using canyon breaks, the river corridor, and pinon-juniper cover. Black bear and mountain lion are present in canyon and rimrock country but are not primary target species in this predominantly open plains setting. Wild turkey are abundant, particularly in riparian and pinon-juniper edge habitat.

1. Per-unit harvest statistics for GMU 128 are not publicly available without accessing CPW unit-level harvest reports or paid subscriptions; all harvest fields set to null. HuntScore 2022 aggregate showed 820 total hunters, 333 total harvest, 30% combined success rate (cross-species, not usable per species). 2. Elk OTC bull rifle 'October 14–November 22' is consistent across multiple secondary sources summarizing the CPW 2025-2029 season structure but could not be confirmed directly from the CPW brochure PDF (file too large). Use with moderate confidence. 3. Plains-specific deer rifle dates beyond the standard 4-season structure were not confirmed from authoritative sources; only the standard 4-season dates are listed. 4. Pronghorn rifle dates listed as approximate based on confirmed 2025 dates; verify in 2026 CPW brochure. 5. St. Charles STL acreage (previously cited as ~12,554 acres) and access directions via US-50/27th Lane/Doyle Road were not confirmed from the Colorado State Land Board; removed pending verification. 6. No National Forest land is present in GMU 128; San Isabel NF is west of I-25. BLM field office for Chucaras Canyon is Royal Gorge Field Office (Canon City).