Unit 43, Idaho

Rugged mountainous terrain ranging from approximately 4,500 feet at Anderson Ranch Reservoir to over 10,000 feet at high peaks. Named summits include Trinity Mountain, Dog Mountain, Iron Mountain, Jumbo Mountain, Sprout Mountain, Bald Mountain, Dollarhide Mountain, Paradise Peak, and Pony Ridge, most exceeding 9,000 feet. Timberline falls between 9,000 and 9,500 feet. The unit is roughly 75% forested and 25% rangeland, with substantial roadless high-elevation terrain.

The unit is approximately 97% public land (94.5% U.S. Forest Service, 1.3% BLM, remainder Bureau of Reclamation and State); only about 3% is private. The Boise National Forest and Sawtooth National Forest both cover portions of the unit. No designated wilderness falls within Unit 43 boundaries per IDFG data, though roadless high-terrain areas are extensive. Primary vehicle access enters from the south via Anderson Ranch Reservoir off U.S. 20 through Mountain Home, then north on Pine-Featherville Road (County Road 61) to the Pine and Featherville areas. Key Forest Service roads within the unit include FS Road 113 (Lake Creek Road), FS Road 123 (Fall Creek-Trinity Mountain Road), FS Road 128 (northwest portion of the Trinity Mountain corridor), FS Road 129 (Trinity Mountain/Ridge Road), FS Road 156 (Trinity Ridge-Rocky Bar Road), FS Road 126 (James Creek Road), FS Road 227 (Dollarhide Summit-Carrie Creek-Little Smoky Creek Road), and FS Road 094 (Five Points Creek-Couch Summit Road). Designated ATV trails allow vehicles up to 50 inches wide; high-elevation roadless areas require foot or horseback travel. Four-wheel drive is recommended on secondary and primitive roads.

Dense conifer forests dominate the mid-elevations, composed primarily of Douglas-fir, Engelmann spruce, lodgepole pine, aspen, and ponderosa pine at lower forest margins. Alpine zones above timberline support sparse firs, pines, and spruce transitioning to lichens, mosses, and low shrubs on the highest ridges. Foothills and lower slopes carry sagebrush-steppe and bunchgrass communities with mountain maple, chokecherry, and serviceberry. Huckleberry understory is common in the middle-elevation conifer zone. Roughly 24% of the unit is rangeland, concentrated on lower slopes and drainage margins.

Elk are the primary big game species; the unit is part of the Smoky-Bennett Elk Zone (Units 43, 44, 45, 48, 52) with a resident herd managed near population objectives as of 2025. Elk use high-elevation summer range and migrate to lower drainages in fall; the herd in Unit 43 tends to concentrate in roadless high country. Mule deer are present throughout, predominantly migratory, wintering at lower elevations and summering above 7,000 feet. White-tailed deer occur in lower riparian corridors. Black bear are widespread through the forested zone. Mountain lion range across the unit year-round. Gray wolf packs are present. Rocky Mountain goat occupy steep high-elevation terrain, with a small controlled harvest available. Moose occur in low numbers. Pronghorn are at the margins of this forested mountain unit — a controlled pronghorn hunt (Hunt 4601) covers portions of Units 43, 44, and 45, but resident numbers in Unit 43 proper are low given the heavily forested terrain.