Unit 5B, New Mexico

Terrain is varied, ranging from roughly 6,000 feet at the lower canyon bottoms near the Rio Chama to approximately 9,000–10,000 feet on the higher forested ridges. Most of the unit is mountainous with hogbacks and flat-topped mesas separated by steep canyons. Lower-elevation areas near Abiquiu Lake feature dry, open flats with rimrock and canyon country, while the interior is heavily forested and rolling. The Rio Chama cuts a 900-foot-deep canyon through the southwestern portion of the unit.

GMU 5B is approximately 82 percent public land, primarily within the Santa Fe National Forest (Coyote Ranger District). Highway access: US 84 forms the eastern boundary (connecting Abiquiu and Tierra Amarilla/Chama); NM 96 forms the southern boundary running west from US 84 through Gallina to the SFNF boundary. From NM 96 and NM 112, a network of numbered Forest Service roads (passable to high-clearance vehicles) provides access throughout the interior. The Chama River Canyon Wilderness (over 47,000 acres, Coyote Ranger District, SFNF) occupies the southwestern portion of the unit along the Rio Chama between El Vado and Abiquiu reservoirs; motorized access is prohibited within it and foot/horse travel only applies. The Rio Chama is also designated a Wild and Scenic River for 24.6 miles. The Rio Chama WSA (BLM, managed by Taos Field Office) lies adjacent and is accessed via NM 221 from US 84 about 31 miles north of Abiquiu. State Trust land parcels are interspersed and require a State Land Office Recreational Access License. The northern and northwestern unit boundary adjoins the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation, which is not open to non-tribal hunting. Large private ranches (Piedra Lumbre and Tierra Amarilla grant lands) create barriers along the eastern boundary near US 84. Riana Campground at Abiquiu Lake provides a staging area on the southern edge.

Vegetation follows a clear elevational gradient. Below approximately 7,000 feet: desert grasses, sagebrush, rabbitbrush, and scattered junipers and pinyon pines in draws and canyon rims. Mid-elevations (7,000–8,500 feet): ponderosa pine, Gambel oak brush, and pinyon-juniper woodlands with sagebrush parks. Upper elevations (8,500–10,000+ feet): spruce, fir, aspen, and ponderosa stands with mountain meadows on ridges, benches, and along drainages. Riparian corridors along the Rio Chama and its tributaries support cottonwood and willow. The Rio Chama canyon walls expose colorful Mesozoic sandstone and siltstone badlands.

Elk are present year-round as residents. GMU 5B also functions as a major corridor for a substantial migratory herd moving south from the San Juan Mountains and off the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation in fall and winter; late-season December hunters can intercept this migration. Elk are distributed in isolated pockets requiring pre-season scouting. Mule deer are distributed throughout the unit and regularly produce mature bucks; rut runs from late October through late December. Black bears are present across forested elevations, concentrating near oak brush mast and riparian drainages. Mountain lions range throughout in proportion to deer and elk populations. Merriam's turkeys inhabit ponderosa and mixed-forest zones. Pronghorn occur in lower-elevation open flats and sagebrush areas on the eastern and southern edges near US 84 and NM 96 corridors.