Unit 70, Idaho

Elevations range from approximately 4,500 feet in the Snake River Plain valleys to 8,700 feet on the highest ridges of the Bannock Range. Upper ridgelines are steep and rocky with sagebrush spurs dropping sharply to the east and west; slopes below 7,000 feet are moderately steep with benches and basins that allow relatively easy travel. Low valleys run from roughly 4,500 to 5,200 feet and include irrigated and dryland farm fields. Scout Mountain, the dominant summit, sits at roughly 9,000 feet and is accessible via paved Forest Service road.

The primary highway access is via I-15 (exit 63 south of Pocatello), connecting to Bannock Highway toward the Mink Creek Recreation Area. Key Forest Service roads include FSR-001 (East Fork Mink Creek Road, paved, leading to Scout Mountain Campground at 6,900 ft), Forest Road 163 (South Fork Mink Creek along the western slope), and Mercer Creek Road. The unit falls within the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Pocatello Ranger District. There is no designated Wilderness within the unit. IMPORTANT: The Fort Hall Indian Reservation (Shoshone-Bannock Tribes) occupies approximately 21% of the unit (western portion); Idaho hunting licenses and tags are NOT valid on reservation lands. Motorized vehicle use for big game hunters is restricted to established roadways legally open to full-sized automobiles (motorized hunting rule applies August 30–December 31). No Access Yes! properties are currently enrolled in Unit 70. GPS with land ownership data and 4WD are strongly recommended due to the patchwork of private, tribal, USFS, BLM, and state lands.

Land cover is dominated by rangeland/sagebrush-steppe (approximately 49%), dryland agriculture (23%), and forest (16%). Forested north-facing slopes support Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, and aspen. Mid-elevation zones feature sagebrush, serviceberry, and juniper. Higher ridges carry scattered pines, firs, and spruce. Riparian corridors along Mink Creek and its forks provide willow and deciduous shrub habitat. The unit has no federally designated Wilderness.

Mule deer are the most abundant big game species, with animals capable of growing quality antlers due to the controlled-permit draw system used for buck tags. Elk are present at lower densities; the Bannock Zone (Units 70, 71, 72, 73, 73A, 74) manages elk under a 2-tag A/B system with an antlerless-only general season for Unit 70. Black bear, mountain lion, gray wolf, and moose are also present and huntable. Deer and elk likely move between summer range on the higher Bannock Range ridges and winter range on lower sagebrush foothills and valley edges. Mule deer tend to summer on mid-to-upper elevation slopes and winter lower in the sagebrush. Elk numbers are modest compared to more heavily forested units in the state; 2025 general season saw 27 elk harvested from 269 hunters (10% success).