Unit 265, Nevada

Rugged, north-south trending desert mountain range with steep peaks, rocky canyons, and winding drainages, interspersed with softly rolling desert hills at the range's base. Elevation spans from under 1,000 ft in the Colorado River valley to approximately 5,060 ft at Ireteba Peak, the highest point in the Eldorado Mountains. Broken volcanic and metamorphic granite creates challenging, unstable footing on steep slopes. The unit covers roughly 274 square miles (approximately 175,000 acres).

Public land comprises approximately 94–96% of the unit. The BLM Las Vegas Field Office (Southern Nevada District Office) administers the majority of non-NPS land; Lake Mead National Recreation Area (NPS) covers roughly one-third of the unit. The Ireteba Peaks Wilderness (32,745 acres, jointly managed BLM/NPS) occupies the southern Eldorado Mountains portion of the unit and is closed to motorized and mechanized use — foot or horse access only within the wilderness boundary. The western BLM portion of the Ireteba Peaks Wilderness falls within Avi Kwa Ame National Monument (designated 2023); hunting remains permitted in Avi Kwa Ame outside any specific closure areas. Private land does not block access to hunting grounds. Primary vehicle access: U.S. Highway 95 provides the main western corridor; Nevada State Route 165 branches southeast through Eldorado Valley to the ghost town of Nelson, giving access to Nelson Canyon and the central Eldorado Mountains. Dirt roads and four-wheel-drive trails off US-95 and SR-165 provide staging points for the wilderness and backcountry. ATVs and side-by-sides are commonly used on the non-wilderness road network. A Clark County ordinance prohibits shooting within 0.5 miles of a highway or 500 feet of a public road, campground, picnic area, or improved trail. Las Vegas and Henderson (approximately 45 miles north) are the nearest services, lodging, and fuel.

Mojave desertscrub dominates the lower elevations, with creosote bush, yucca, cholla and other cacti species, and desert willow covering the bajadas and canyon floors. Higher terrain transitions to mountain mahogany woodlands and scrub oak. Riparian washes (including Keyhole Canyon and White Rock Wash) provide isolated moisture. The unit lacks the pinyon-juniper and sagebrush associations typical of higher-elevation northern Nevada units, remaining in the Sonoran/Mojave transition zone throughout.

Desert bighorn sheep are the signature big game species; the population is described as healthy, with sheep concentrated in Ireteba Peaks, Keyhole Canyon, and White Rock Wash — rugged, vertical terrain typical of desert bighorn habitat. Mule deer are present but resident numbers are low; this is not a destination mule deer unit and deer do not undertake the large-scale elevation migrations seen in northern Nevada — animals are essentially year-round residents at low to mid elevations. Mountain lion is present as a predator associated with bighorn sheep habitat. Desert tortoises and Townsend's big-eared bats also inhabit the unit.