Unit 104, Nevada

Elevation ranges from approximately 6,000 feet in the valley floors to 9,396 feet at High Bald Peak in the Medicine Range (per BLM Maverick-Medicine HMA data). Terrain is steep in portions of the Maverick Springs Range, Medicine Range, and Butte Mountains; the remainder of the unit features rolling hills, deep and shallow swales, benches, and flats. Valley bottoms generally run 6,000–7,000 feet.

The unit is 99.3% public land administered primarily by BLM (Elko District Office). There are no National Forests within Unit 104. Access is generally excellent: the unit is bounded on the north by State Route 229, on the east by US Highway 93 and Butte Valley–30-Mile Road, on the south by US Highway 50, and on the west by the Long Valley–Ruby Valley and CCC Roads. Primary interior access roads include White Pine County Roads 3, 17, and 19; Ruby Valley Road; Ruby Wash Road; and Butte Valley Road. Primitive two-tracks branch from these arterials to provide access to mountain ranges and drainages. Some BLM lands leased by the Bald Mountain Mine in Unit 104 are not open to public access (confirmed in NDOW Elk Hunt Information Sheet). No designated Wilderness exists in Unit 104. Dispersed camping on BLM land is widely available. Cell service is limited to nonexistent across most of the unit. Nearby supply towns: Elko (northwest via I-80), Eureka (southwest on US-50), and Ely (southeast on US-50/US-93).

Sagebrush dominates lower elevations and valley floors. Dense pinyon-juniper woodlands cover the mountain ranges. Small stands of quaking aspen and mountain mahogany are scattered through each mountain range. Winterfat inhabits valley flats. Water sources are limited and dispersed; the unit relies heavily on natural springs and wildlife water developments (guzzlers). Wild horse overutilization has degraded vegetation conditions across much of the unit.

Mule deer are present but Unit 104 functions primarily as transition and winter range; the bulk of the herd summers in the higher-density Ruby Mountains units to the north (Units 101–103), with only small resident herds in Unit 104 year-round (per NDOW Mule Deer Hunt Information Sheet, Units 101-109). As season progresses, deer move away from roads and human pressure into protected canyons. Rocky Mountain elk are present at moderate densities; key elk areas include the North Medicine Range, North Buttes, east side of Tognini Ridge, and Sugarloaf Peak (per NDOW Elk Hunt Information Sheet). Pronghorn antelope are widely distributed and well-scattered through Butte and Long Valleys and adjacent flats, often near agricultural fields and water sources (per NDOW Antelope Hunt Information Sheet). Wild horses (Maverick-Medicine HMA, AML 166–276 animals across 323,562 total acres) have overutilized vegetation in much of the unit, affecting habitat quality for all ungulates. Mountain lion is present as a predator associated with deer and elk.