Unit 147, Colorado

Elevation ranges from approximately 4,429 to 5,801 feet. Topography is highly varied: broad shortgrass-prairie mesas give way to two major steep-walled canyons — the Purgatoire River canyon and Chacuaco Creek canyon — plus numerous subsidiary side canyons draining to the Purgatoire. Terrain grades from flat to steep and rocky; canyon walls are rugged and require careful navigation. The unit sits at the eastern margin of the Raton-Trinchera sub-basin and well below subalpine or montane elevations.

Access in GMU 147 is rated poor and overwhelmingly private. GoHunt estimates approximately 29% publicly accessible land; HuntScore counts ~50% public by acreage (4% USFS, 26% State, 21% other federal/BLM), but much of the state and BLM land is not legally reachable from public roads. The primary accessible public land is the Comanche National Grassland (Timpas Unit, La Junta Ranger District, 719-384-2181; Carrizo Unit, Springfield) in the northeastern portion — a checkerboard pattern mixed with private ranch tracts requiring careful parcel verification. A secondary corridor exists through the adjacent Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site (GMU 142): recreationists with a valid Fort Carson recreational permit and downrange pass may cross PCMS's eastern boundary into GMU 147 (USFS land), but access is restricted to Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and select federal holidays when PCMS is open for recreation; PCMS is generally closed May–August and closes completely for military training (contact Fort Carson Hunting Program, 719-725-4682). The Purgatoire Wildlife Ranch (~155,000 acres spanning GMUs 136, 143, 144, and 147) participates in Colorado's Ranching for Wildlife program; draw licensees receive ranch road access for deer, pronghorn, and turkey. County Road 147 north of U.S. 160 provides one documented interior access route. High winds and early-season blizzards can make remote roads impassable.

Shortgrass prairie dominates the mesa tops and open flats. Pinyon-juniper woodland covers the canyon rims and mid-slopes. Riparian corridors along the Purgatoire River and Chacuaco Creek support cottonwood and willow galleries. Bitterbrush, sagebrush, yucca, and cacti are present on drier south-facing slopes. There is no spruce-fir, aspen, or alpine tundra within the unit, reflecting the low elevation and semi-arid plains character.

Mule deer are the most commonly hunted big game, concentrated along the Purgatoire River and Chacuaco Creek corridors where riparian cover and browse exist year-round. White-tailed deer also occur along the river bottoms. Pronghorn antelope inhabit the southern and open prairie portions of the unit, with the rut typically running from early September through mid-October. Elk are present, using the canyon draws and adjacent grasslands; they are more predictably encountered at lower elevations late in the season when snow pushes them down. Black bear and mountain lion are present throughout the canyon and riparian zones. Wild turkey is documented in the riparian areas. Shiras moose have been reported in the unit. The Comanche National Grassland portion supports lesser prairie chicken, pronghorn, coyote, and various raptors.

1. Public land percentage set to 29 (GoHunt's ~29.4%), which better reflects legally accessible huntable public acreage. HuntScore's 50% figure counts large blocks of state land not reachable from public roads. 2. Western boundary corrected per HuntScore: includes San Francisco Creek, Purgatoire River, County Highway/Interstate Gas Pipeline Road, and eastern PCMS boundary — not simply the PCMS boundary as originally drafted. 3. Comanche National Grassland is administered by two units: Timpas Unit (La Junta, 719-384-2181) and Carrizo Unit (Springfield) — the draft incorrectly listed only a single La Junta Ranger District. 4. PCMS ATV prohibition claim removed — not confirmed in iSportsman source text; contact Fort Carson (719-725-4682) to verify current ATV policy. 5. Purgatoire Wildlife Ranch RFW species confirmed as Deer, Pronghorn, Turkey (and bighorn sheep referenced); Elk not listed as an RFW species for this ranch. Turkey added to species_data accordingly. 6. Shiras moose listed by HuntScore as available species — added to wildlife_movement narrative; no separate species_data entry created as it is very rare. 7. 2026 season dates reflect standard mountain season structure; the GoHunt article explicitly notes eastern-plains hunt structures were excluded — all eastern-plains hunt codes and dates require verification in the 2026 CPW Big Game Brochure. 8. Aggregate 2022 harvest data (207 hunters, 61 harvested, 26.3% success) confirmed by HuntScore but is cross-species and not broken out by species — excluded from per-species fields. 9. Bighorn sheep referenced in property/PCMS documentation for canyon areas but no GMU 147-specific CPW draw found — omitted from species_data.