Unit 182, Nevada

The Stillwater Range runs approximately 70 miles SSW-NNE and rises steeply from valley floors at 3,400 ft to Job Peak at 8,727 ft, with other summits including Mount Lincoln (8,450 ft) and Table Mountain (8,330 ft). Terrain is steep and rocky on the flanks and in canyon drainages; valley floors and low-elevation benches are flat to rolling. The 1954 Dixie Valley earthquake (M 6.6–7.1) left a visible fault scarp with up to 7 ft of vertical displacement on the east slope. The eastern base grades into Dixie Valley and the western base into the Carson Sink wetland and agricultural complex.

The unit is approximately 97% public land managed primarily by the BLM Carson City Field Office. Key access routes: US Highway 50 runs along the southern boundary east of Fallon. State Route 116 leaves the east side of Fallon, passes through Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge, and runs north along the western base of the Stillwater Range, providing access to the entire west side. State Route 121 in Dixie Valley (turn north off US-50 approximately 40 miles east of Fallon) provides access to the entire east side. Named canyon access points on the west side include Wood Canyon, Cottonwood Canyon, Hare Canyon, Mississippi Canyon, White Rock Canyon, North Cottonwood Canyon, Gilberts Mine area, and Fondaway and Cox Canyons. Highway 722 off US-50 is a main interior access route for the broader 181–184 unit group. The Stillwater Range Wilderness Study Area (approximately 94,607 acres in the central third of the range) is non-motorized; hiking is the primary access method for sheep and upper-elevation mule deer habitat. Access restrictions exist within Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge, Boyer Ranch (private), and the Ormat geothermal plant area. Camping is permitted almost anywhere on BLM public land. Nearest full services (lodging, gas, food, medical) are in Fallon (~45 miles SW) and Lovelock (~25 miles NW).

Desert shrub (big sagebrush, greasewood, shadscale, rabbitbrush) dominates the mid- and low-elevation slopes and valley floors. Small stands of juniper occur at mid-elevations. The Lahontan Valley/Carson Sink on the western margin includes agricultural fields, salt flats, and wetlands (Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge). No permanent streams; water is limited to scattered springs within the range. Steep rocky cliff and canyon habitat in the upper Stillwater Range provides critical desert bighorn sheep habitat.

Mule deer are present throughout the unit, with highest densities during hunting season in the upper elevations of the Stillwater Range and adjacent ranges (units 181–184 group). Deer are typically found at higher elevations during early archery season and move downslope as the season progresses. Pronghorn range throughout the valley floors and open benches of Dixie Valley, Broken Hills, Antelope Valley, Edwards Creek Valley, Smith Creek Valley, Gabbs Wash, Reese River Valley, and the Carson Sink fringe. The Area 18 pronghorn herd is well dispersed; antelope are typically concentrated near available water sources at elevations between 5,500 and 7,500 ft during hunting season. Desert bighorn sheep occupy steep rocky cliffs and canyon habitat in the Stillwater Range; the herd was successfully reintroduced in 1985 after historic extirpation. The herd suffered a Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M. ovi) die-off in late 2020 that significantly reduced population, and average days to harvest have increased. Mountain lion are present throughout the range. Upland birds including chukar, sage-grouse, and quail are present in suitable habitat.