Unit 206, Nevada

Unit 206 sits in the Great Basin and is characterized by sagebrush valleys separated by steep, rocky mountain ridges. The Excelsior Mountains trend east-west with the high point at Moho Mountain confirmed at 8,805 feet (the highest peak in Mineral County per Wikipedia). The Garfield Hills reach 7,615 feet. Valley floors begin around 5,000 feet. The mountains feature talus, cliff bands, and narrow canyon drainages including Silver Dyke Canyon and Storm Canyon. The Garfield Flat BLM Herd Management Area encompasses approximately 142,716 total acres (125,420 BLM + 17,296 other public/private) with topography ranging from 5,003 to 9,973 feet per BLM. NDOW biologists note most sheep rams are found below 7,500 feet, while higher pinnacles and pinyon-pine zones serve as security terrain.

Unit 206 is approximately 97% public land. Primary land managers are BLM Carson City District (Stillwater Field Office) covering most of the unit, and the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest at the western end of the Excelsior Mountains. The Hawthorne Army Ammunition Depot (HWAD), in the northwestern corner near Hawthorne and Walker Lake, is a federal military installation closed to all public access including hunting. U.S. Highway 95 provides access to the north and east sides of the unit. Nevada State Route 360 (23 miles, connecting US 6 at Basalt northward through Mineral County, terminating near Rhodes approximately 8 miles south of Mina) accesses the southeast side and approaches the southern reaches of the Excelsior Mountains. The unit is laced with 2-track dirt roads accessible to ATVs and high-clearance vehicles; 4WD recommended for higher elevations. Dispersed camping is permitted on BLM lands; no camping within 100 yards of developed water holes. No designated wilderness areas exist within unit 206.

Lower valley floors and alluvial fans support desert shrub communities dominated by low sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) and shadscale. Mid-elevation slopes transition into Wyoming big sagebrush and blackbrush communities. Upper reaches of both the Excelsior Mountains and Garfield Hills support scattered to dense pinyon-juniper woodland (pinyon pine and Utah juniper), noted by NDOW biologists as important sheep habitat when pine nut crops are good. Riparian vegetation is limited given the arid setting. No alpine or aspen zones are documented by NDOW for this unit.

Desert bighorn sheep (Nelson/desert subspecies) are the premier game species, with a herd in the Excelsior Mountains and Garfield Hills estimated at more than 300 animals (per GoHunt unit profile; NDOW 2024 Big Game Status Book was not machine-readable). The herd has been actively managed since the 1980s; a 2013 translocation released 20 desert bighorns from the Bare Mountains into the Excelsior Mountains. Nevada Bighorns Unlimited (NBU) and Mineral County Sportsmen have constructed more than a dozen guzzlers throughout the unit. Key sheep areas include Thunder Mountain, Silver Dyke Canyon, Storm Canyon, Moho Mountain, Black Dyke Mountain, and the hills near Marietta. Mule deer are present at sparse densities; the 2024 harvest statistics cover the full unit group 202/205-208 rather than unit 206 alone. Pronghorn antelope are scattered throughout the sagebrush valleys. Mountain lion are present as a predator of deer and sheep. Chukar partridge inhabit rocky talus slopes and canyon rims. Sage grouse may be present in big sagebrush flats. No elk, moose, or mountain goat hunts are established in unit 206.