Unit 52A, Idaho

Unit 52A encompasses 1,111,356 acres of predominantly flat to gently rolling high-desert terrain at roughly 4,500–5,500 feet elevation. Approximately 33% of the unit surface is exposed volcanic rock — lava beds, cinder cones, craters, lava tubes, ridges, draws, and caverns associated with Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. Named buttes including Wildhorse Butte, Big Cinder Butte, and Laidlaw Butte punctuate the landscape. The remainder is broad sagebrush-steppe rangeland (about 60%) with irrigated agricultural pockets at the unit's corners near Arco and Minidoka.

Access is provided primarily via U.S. Highway 93 (running north-south along the unit's eastern edge between Shoshone and Arco) and State Highway 24 (running northwest from Minidoka toward Shoshone along the southern boundary). The Arco-Minidoka Road forms the eastern boundary. A network of improved and primitive BLM roads provides good access to most BLM acreage throughout the interior, though high-clearance vehicles are advisable for backcountry routes. From August 30 through December 31, the Motorized Hunting Rule restricts all big game hunters to established roadways legally open to full-sized automobiles. There are no National Forest districts, designated wilderness areas, or Access Yes! properties within the unit. The NPS-administered portion of Craters of the Moon National Monument (the original monument core) is CLOSED to hunting; the BLM-managed Preserve lands and surrounding BLM acreage remain open.

Dominant vegetation is big sagebrush steppe interspersed with native grasses, bitterbrush, and rabbitbrush across roughly 60% of the unit. The lava flow areas (approximately 33% of the unit) support sparse desert-adapted shrubs and grasses in pockets and depressions between volcanic rock formations. Agricultural land (irrigated by gravity and sprinkler) appears at the periphery near Shoshone, Minidoka, and Arco, offering high-quality forage that attracts deer and elk. No National Forest lands or significant coniferous timber exist within the unit.

Mule deer are the primary big game quarry, distributed across sagebrush flats and the broken lava margins. Elk numbers are intentionally managed low to reduce conflicts with bordering private farmland; the unit is part of the Big Desert Elk Zone (units 52A, 53, 68, and 68A). Pronghorn antelope occupy the open sagebrush and grassland portions, particularly in the southern and eastern areas overlapping with Unit 53. Mountain lion are resident predators throughout the lava and sage country. Black bear are present and a general bear hunt was added for 2025-26. Gray wolf occupies the unit as part of the broader southern Idaho wolf population. Upland birds including sage-grouse, chukar, pheasant, and quail are present in appropriate habitat. Waterfowl use riparian and wetland margins.