Unit 24, New Mexico

The unit covers approximately 1,511 square miles with elevations ranging from roughly 4,300 feet in the southern desert grasslands to 9,025 feet in the northern Black Range and Gila highlands. The northern half is rugged, featuring high mountains, long canyons, and deep drainages running toward the Gila River and Mimbres River. Tadpole Ridge in the northwest averages around 8,000 feet. The southern portion flattens into rolling desert grassland with isolated peaks such as Cookes Peak in the far south (Luna County). Wild Horse Mesa is a notable plateau within the unit. Interior roads range from maintained gravel routes to rough unmaintained two-tracks; four-wheel-drive is recommended for backcountry access.

Unit 24 is approximately 62 percent public land. The primary public land manager in the northern third is the Gila National Forest (Silver City Ranger District, 3005 E. Camino del Bosque, Silver City, NM; and Mimbres Ranger District, Hwy 35, Mimbres, NM). The Aldo Leopold Wilderness (202,016 acres along the Black Range crest, within the unit's eastern margin) and portions of the Gila Wilderness are in the northern unit — both are motorized-vehicle-free and foot/horse access only, with more than 200 miles of trails. The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail traverses the Aldo Leopold. Key road corridors: NM Highway 15 north from Silver City leads to the unit's northwest boundary near Sapillo Creek; NM Highway 35 runs through the Mimbres Valley past Lake Roberts and north toward the Black Range, accessing the Mimbres Ranger District; NM Highway 152 crosses the Black Range at Emory Pass (8,228 ft), providing the primary eastern entry to the Aldo Leopold trailheads including the Black Range Crest Trail #79 at the Emory Pass Vista parking area. NM Highway 61 connects from NM 152 into interior forest roads. BLM Las Cruces District (1800 Marquess St, Las Cruces, NM) administers scattered BLM parcels in the southern and eastern portions. State Trust Land in the unit is accessible to hunters holding a valid New Mexico hunting license under the NMDGF/State Land Office easement, with scouting allowed up to 14 days before the hunt. The Fort Bayard Management Area near Silver City is a distinct sub-unit within Unit 24 with separate elk season designations. Significant private land — including large ranches — occupies portions of the southern desert grassland; most pronghorn habitat is on private land. A checkerboard pattern of private inholdings exists in some areas. The Gila Wilderness section is roadless and requires multi-day backpack access; water availability limits routes and requires advance planning.

Vegetation follows a strong elevational gradient. Lower elevations (4,300–5,500 ft) support flat to rolling desert grassland with rabbitbrush, soaptree yucca, and Chihuahuan desert scrub. Foothills and mid-elevations (5,500–7,000 ft) feature alligator juniper, scrub oak, pinyon pine, and dense chaparral. Upper elevations (7,000–9,025 ft) in the Gila highlands and Black Range support ponderosa pine, Gambel oak, mountain mahogany, and silverleaf oak brush, transitioning to mixed-conifer and spruce-fir pockets near the highest ridges. Riparian corridors along the Mimbres River, Sapillo Creek, and Gila tributaries carry cottonwood and willow bosque.

Mule deer are the most common big-game ungulate, present throughout the unit but concentrated in mid-to-upper elevations on public land; lower elevations hold very few deer on public land. Coues white-tailed deer (the gray ghost) inhabit the brushier mid-elevation canyons and oak-juniper drainages, particularly around Pinos Altos, Lake Roberts, and the Twin Sisters area; GMU 24 is recognized as one of New Mexico's better Coues deer units. Elk are present in the Gila National Forest portion but are not numerous; bulls occasionally reach trophy class and most elk use wilderness terrain. Pronghorn antelope occur in the southern desert grasslands but are largely confined to private-land ranches. Black bears are resident throughout the Gila highlands — the Gila Wilderness is prime bear habitat and Unit 24 falls within it; bear quotas can fill quickly early in the season. Mountain lions (cougars) are present and hunted under quota-managed OTC permits. Javelina (collared peccary) occur in the desert scrub portion and are draw-only in Unit 24. Merriam's turkey inhabits the ponderosa and mixed-conifer zones of the northern Gila highland. Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep are listed as present on the unit (GoHunt) but no confirmed draw hunt specifically designated for Unit 24 bighorn sheep was found in NMDGF sources; excluded from the hunted species list pending confirmation. Gould's turkey presence in Unit 24 is not confirmed — Gould's draw tags in New Mexico are concentrated in units 26–27 in Hidalgo County.