Unit 88, Colorado

Gently rolling shortgrass plains at elevations of 4,400–5,500 feet, punctuated by the dramatic vertical sandstone formations of the Pawnee Buttes. Terrain is relatively flat with low topographic relief — classic high-plains prairie. Shallow prairie drainages and dry arroyos cut through the grasslands, providing the only real relief outside the buttes themselves. No mountains, no timber country.

HIGHWAYS AND ENTRY ROUTES: Colorado Route 14 forms the southern boundary (Fort Collins east to Sterling corridor). Colorado Route 71 runs north from Sterling along the eastern edge. The unit is reached via a dense grid of county roads developed for oil and gas exploration — these provide reasonable vehicle access in dry conditions but become impassable in mud; four-wheel drive is strongly recommended. PUBLIC LAND / ADMINISTERING AGENCY: Pawnee National Grassland (Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests — Pawnee National Grassland Ranger District, Supervisor's Office 970-295-6600) administers the federal public acres. The grassland covers approximately 193,060 total acres (per Wikipedia/USDA) split across units 87 and 88 in a classic checkerboard pattern of alternating sections with private ownership. Of GMU 88's approximately 439,000 acres, roughly 21% is public land. State lands in the unit are largely leased to ranchers and not open to public hunting without landowner permission. KEY ACCESS POINTS: The Crow Valley Recreation Area (northwest of Briggsdale, near Ault) is the primary camping hub — offers RV and tent facilities and serves as a base for both Pawnee Buttes and the western Crow Valley portion of the grassland. The Pawnee Buttes Trailhead (off CR 112, north of Briggsdale) provides foot access to the eastern buttes unit. MOTOR VEHICLE USE: Hunters must consult the Pawnee National Grassland Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) before hunting — the checkerboard means GPS verification of land ownership is essential. Off-highway vehicles (under 50 inches wide) are permitted on designated roads November 1 through April 9. Some two-track roads are gated and closed to public use. Certain areas (Central Plains Experimental Range, ~14,000 acres) are entirely closed to hunting. PRIVATE LAND ACCESS: The majority of GMU 88 is private ranchland — cattle and sheep operations. Hunters seeking private land access are encouraged to contact landowners well in advance of the season. Landowner permission or licensed outfitter access is necessary to hunt the bulk of the unit's acreage effectively. Oil and gas development is active within the grassland (60+ active wells reported).

Dominant cover is shortgrass prairie — blue grama and buffalo grass on uplands, with mixed-grass prairie (needle-and-thread on sandy soils, little bluestem in swales) in transition zones. Shrub steppe with fourwing saltbush occupies mesas and exposed ridges. Rocky Mountain juniper and chokecherry colonize arroyos and north-facing canyon breaks, providing the unit's most significant browse cover. Willow and cottonwood line the sparse creek bottoms. Irrigated alfalfa and dryland crops (wheat, corn) are common on private land near Hereford and Briggsdale, serving as high-quality forage draws for pronghorn and mule deer. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grasslands add additional nesting and loafing cover. The Pawnee Buttes support limber pine on north-facing sandstone scarps — one of the few tree species on the landscape.

PRONGHORN: The primary big-game draw for the unit. Pronghorn inhabit the open shortgrass prairie year-round, concentrating around water sources and alfalfa fields in summer, dispersing across the grassland during fall rut (early September through mid-October). Animals shift between public National Grassland sections and adjacent private cropland; hunting pressure moves them between ownerships over the course of the season. MULE DEER: Present throughout the unit, using juniper breaks, arroyos, and CRP edges for bedding cover. Bucks use more broken terrain near the buttes and canyon heads. Deer are less abundant than pronghorn but trophy bucks occur on larger private ranches with limited hunting pressure. ELK: Sparse. GMU 88 is not a recognized elk hunting destination. Any elk present are likely transients moving through the plains corridor. BLACK BEAR AND MOUNTAIN LION: Open-plains habitat provides extremely limited bear or lion habitat. Any bears present would be associated with irrigated riparian corridors; population density is very low. TURKEY: Rio Grande wild turkey inhabit creek-bottom cottonwood and agricultural edges. OTHER WILDLIFE: Prairie dog colonies are common and support raptors including golden eagles and prairie falcons. Coyotes are abundant. Bison no longer occur.

1. Pronghorn tag quota of 90 rifle tags from a 2017 Hunt Talk forum post — treat as historical/approximate; current quota should be confirmed with CPW draw recap reports. 2. Hunter success rate (69%) from original draft could not be verified against CPW harvest reports; removed from species_data pending official CPW unit-level data. 3. Pronghorn rifle season corrected from Oct 3–11 to Oct 4–12 (2025) per eRegulations source. 4. Mule deer plains rifle corrected to Oct 25–Nov 4 (2025) per eRegulations. 5. Fort Collins distance corrected to ~35 miles (USDA FS: 'lies 35 miles east of Fort Collins'); Greeley corrected to ~25 miles southwest ('25 miles northeast of Greeley'). 6. Season dates are 2025 per CPW eRegulations; 2026 exact dates should be confirmed in the official 2026 CPW Big Game Brochure. 7. Pawnee National Grassland total acreage confirmed at 193,060 acres (Wikipedia/USDA) split between units 87 and 88. 8. Oil and gas development is active within the grassland (~63 active vertical wells per Wikipedia), which may affect access and game distribution. 9. Elk presence in GMU 88 is extremely limited and not a recognized elk destination. 10. Public land percentage of 21% from GoHunt/HuntScore profile data.