Unit 65, Idaho

Unit 65 covers approximately 142,783 acres (223 square miles) at elevations ranging from roughly 6,000 feet on the valley floor to summits in the Big Hole Mountains to the west. The valley bottom is broad and relatively flat along the Teton River corridor, transitioning to steep, rugged terrain in the heavily forested canyons of the Big Hole Mountains. The boundary runs from Leigh Creek Road at the Idaho-Wyoming border through Highway 33, Milk Creek Road, and along watershed divides between Canyon Creek/Teton River and Pine Creek/Teton River over Red Mountain to Pine Creek Pass.

Unit 65 is accessed primarily via State Highway 33, which runs north-south through the Teton Valley through Victor, Driggs, and Tetonia. Trailheads into the Big Hole Mountains on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest are accessible from Milk Creek Road off Highway 33. No federally designated wilderness areas exist within the unit. Access east of Highway 33 toward the Wyoming border is limited due to private land and terrain. Short-range weapons only are required within one-half mile of the Teton River. The unit lies within the Caribou-Targhee National Forest (Teton Basin Ranger District). No Access Yes! properties are currently available in the unit.

The unit displays a sharp contrast between valley and mountain habitats. The Teton River Basin is dominated by irrigated and dryland agriculture — irrigated (sprinkler and gravity-flow) accounts for roughly 48% of land cover, with riparian willow and cottonwood corridors along waterways (~6%). The Caribou-Targhee National Forest portions are primarily lodgepole pine forest (~27% of unit). Rangeland and wet meadows (~6%) occupy transition zones between the agricultural valley and forested slopes.

Mule deer and white-tailed deer both inhabit the unit; whitetail are concentrated in riparian and agricultural edge habitat along the Teton River corridor while mule deer use the forested canyon country and higher elevations. Elk use the forested Big Hole Mountain drainages and move seasonally between summer range in the national forest and lower-elevation winter range in the agricultural valley. Moose occur in willow and riparian areas along the Teton River and its tributaries. Black bear and mountain lion are present in the forested portions of the unit. Gray wolf presence is noted. Grizzly bears may be encountered in all or parts of this unit per Idaho Fish and Game caution advisories. Upland birds including pheasant, grouse, turkey, and gray partridge are present in the valley and fringe habitats. Waterfowl use the river corridor and irrigated fields.