Unit 62, Colorado

The Uncompahgre Plateau is a flat-topped mountain range running roughly 90 miles northwest to southeast, with the plateau surface sitting mostly between 8,300 and 9,200 feet elevation. Within GMU 62 the elevation range spans from approximately 4,500 feet in the lower canyon country along the Gunnison and Uncompahgre river drainages to a high point near 10,300 feet on the upper plateau. The plateau surface drops sharply into steep, deeply incised red-rock canyons — including the drainages of Dominguez Canyon, Big Dominguez Creek, Roubideau Creek, and numerous unnamed side canyons — many of which descend 600 to 1,000 vertical feet to canyon floors and are accessible only by foot or horseback. The unit boundary is roughly: north by Colorado Hwy 141, east by US Hwys 50 and 550, south by Colorado Hwy 62, and west by Dave Wood Road and USFS Road 402 (Divide Road, which also forms the boundary with GMU 61).

The unit is approximately 70% public land (28% USFS, 39% BLM, 1% State, with 9% designated Wilderness as a subset of BLM): USFS (Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests — Ouray and Norwood Ranger Districts) and BLM (Grand Junction and Uncompahgre Field Offices), including the 210,172-acre Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area and the 66,280-acre Dominguez Canyon Wilderness. The remaining 30% is private, and private lands block canyon access from the lower elevations in many drainages. The primary spine road is USFS Road 402 (Divide Road), a graveled route that runs the length of the plateau and forms the GMU 61/62 boundary; many side roads become impassable in wet or snowy conditions and four-wheel drive is advised in shoulder seasons. Additional access roads include 25 Mesa Road, Delta-Nucla Road (Highway 90), Transfer Road, and Dave Wood Road. Seasonal gates on Divide Road, Transfer Road, 25 Mesa Road, Delta-Nucla Road, and Dave Wood Road are typically opened in spring (April) as conditions allow. The Dominguez Canyon Wilderness is non-motorized. Highway approaches include US 50 from Montrose (east side), US 550 from Ridgway (southeast), Colorado 141 (north — Unaweep-Tabeguache Scenic Byway from Grand Junction), and Highway 90/Delta-Nucla Road from the west side. Iron Springs and Divide Forks are developed campgrounds; BLM dispersed camping is available throughout the plateau.

Vegetation transitions sharply with elevation. The lowest canyon bottoms (4,500–6,000 ft) support desert pinyon-juniper woodland, cliffrose, bitterbrush, sagebrush flats, riparian willows and cottonwoods along creek corridors, and open grasslands near agricultural edges. Mid-elevations (6,000–8,000 ft) transition to oakbrush and scrub oak, with increasing aspen patches and ponderosa pine. The plateau surface and upper slopes (8,000–10,000 ft) are dominated by mixed aspen groves, spruce-fir timber, and grassy parks (openings). The Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area on the unit's north and west edges adds a significant block of canyon-country desert shrub and sandstone habitat. Livestock grazing operates on portions of the plateau.

The Uncompahgre Plateau elk herd (Data Analysis Unit E-20, comprising GMUs 61 and 62) had a post-hunt population estimated at approximately 12,500 animals with a bull-to-cow ratio of about 21:100, within a CPW population objective range of 11,000–15,000. Elk summer in the timber and aspen parks on the plateau surface and migrate to lower canyon and sagebrush-juniper winter range during late October and November; lower-elevation canyons hold elk year-round and bulls use these steep, remote drainages as refuge from hunting pressure. Mule deer follow a similar elevational migration, dropping north off the plateau toward winter range during late November; public-land deer frequently cross onto private agricultural land at lower elevations. Black bear are common throughout the unit and conspicuous in September when acorn and berry crops draw them into oakbrush and aspen zones. Mountain lions are present year-round, following deer and elk. The Dominguez-Escalante NCA supports a distinct population of desert bighorn sheep in the red-rock canyon country, managed under the S62 Dominguez Creek special sheep unit with highly limited licenses. Wild turkey is also present in the unit's oakbrush and pinyon-juniper transition zones. No moose or pronghorn hunting seasons are authorized within the GMU 62 boundary per current CPW regulations (references to pronghorn in aggregator sources may reflect legacy or adjacency data).

1. Elk harvest/success data from 2022 CPW report; 2025 results not yet available. 2. Deer harvest data from 2024 CPW report. 3. Elk tag quota of 285 is for 1st rifle limited draw only; 2nd and 3rd rifle antlered are OTC. 4. Deer 4th rifle season added for 2025-2026; quota not available. 5. Non-resident archery elk became draw-required for units west of I-25 starting 2025. 6. No pronghorn or moose CPW hunt codes exist for GMU 62; aggregator references may reflect legacy/adjacency data. 7. Mountain lion harvest limit of 48 shared across GMUs 62, 64, 65, 70E, 71, 711. 8. Desert bighorn quota (5 tags) refers to the S62 Dominguez Creek special sheep unit overlapping lower canyon portions of GMU 62. 9. Public land pct of 70% per HuntScore/GoHunt (28% USFS + 39% BLM + 1% State + 9% Wilderness as subset); BLM NCA acreage (210,172 acres) and Wilderness acreage (66,280 acres) confirmed via BLM official source. 10. HuntScore 2022 combined all-species harvest: 1,389 total / 6,050 hunters / 22.7% overall success — consistent with elk-only and deer-only subsets reported in draft.