Siuslaw, Oregon

Predominantly steep, densely vegetated Coast Range hills mostly below 1,000 feet elevation; the unit ranges from sea-level coastal beaches and massive sand dunes (some reaching 500 feet) east to timbered ridges. Marys Peak (4,097 feet), the highest point in the Oregon Coast Range, anchors the northern Siuslaw National Forest but sits in the adjacent Alsea unit — it is outside WMU 20's boundary, which runs along Hwy 126 to the north. Drainages include the Siuslaw, Umpqua, Lake Creek, and numerous coastal tributaries. Terrain is generally rugged with short, sharp ridges and wet draws.

Primary highway access: US Highway 101 parallels the coast; Oregon Highway 126 connects Eugene to Florence through the Siuslaw River corridor; Highway 38 follows the Umpqua River from Drain west to Reedsport; Highway 36 runs through the northern interior to Triangle Lake. The Siuslaw National Forest is administered by two ranger districts: Hebo Ranger District (~151,000 acres, northern) and Central Coast Ranger District (~479,000 acres, southern), with the Forest Supervisor's office in Corvallis (3200 SW Jefferson Way). A dense network of improved and unimproved Forest Service roads provides access. Hunters should use the current Siuslaw National Forest Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) for designated routes; OHV cross-country travel is restricted to designated areas (Sand Lake and Oregon Dunes NRA only). No cooperative travel management areas (TMAs) are listed for WMU 20 in ODFW's TMA table. Fire-season closures apply. Rifle and handgun hunting are prohibited west of Highway 101 and north of Tahkenitch Creek. Large portions of private commercial timberland hold the highest elk densities but require landowner permission.

Coastal temperate rainforest dominates. The western third contains large blocks of old-growth and mature forest — coastal Sitka spruce near the shoreline transitioning east into western hemlock and Douglas-fir. The eastern two-thirds is a mosaic of logged areas, young conifer plantations, clearcuts, and regenerating stands interspersed with alder, bigleaf maple, berry bushes, sword fern, and dense brush. Early-successional clearcuts and plantation edges provide the highest wildlife densities. The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area occupies the southwestern coastal margin. Three designated wilderness areas lie within the Siuslaw National Forest: Drift Creek, Cummins Creek, and Rock Creek Wilderness.

Black-tailed deer (Columbian subspecies) are resident throughout the unit; higher populations occur on private agricultural and timberland edges relative to public Forest Service lands. Buck ratios are at or slightly below the 5-year average; fawn ratios have been below the 5-year average in recent surveys. Deer hair loss syndrome documented periodically in late winter and spring. Roosevelt elk are present but highly scattered across the unit on public Forest Service lands; larger herds concentrate on private farmland and commercial timberland, particularly targeting early-successional clearcuts, plantation edges, and agricultural interfaces. Bull ratios remain above management objective but show signs of a slight year-to-year decrease; calf ratios were higher this past year compared to the prior year. Black bear range throughout with high densities in the Coast Range corridor; the SW Oregon zone (units 20–30) produces the highest black bear harvest statewide. Cougar are present and huntable throughout. No pronghorn, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, or mule deer are present — this is a Coast Range unit with only Columbian black-tailed deer and Roosevelt elk.

1. Coast 2nd Season for WMU 20 is SPIKE BULL ONLY (not any bull) — confirmed via eRegulations elk seasons table. Coast 1st Season allows any bull. 2. Deer archery season has TWO windows for WMU 20: Aug 29–Sept 27 AND Nov 21–Dec 13 (eRegulations groups units 10, 15–20 in both windows). 3. Elk draw hunt #220 is a WINTER antlerless hunt (Jan 1–Mar 31 2027), not a fall bull hunt. 2025 draw odds ~9% at 0–2 pts; 2026 predicted ~3%. 4. Marys Peak (4,097 ft) is in the adjacent Alsea unit, outside WMU 20 boundary (which is bounded north by Hwy 126). 5. Bear tag quota of 4,840 is for the broader SW Oregon spring draw (#722A), not exclusively WMU 20. 6. No muzzleloader-only season for deer or elk in WMU 20; muzzleloader is a legal weapon during general any-legal-weapon seasons. 7. No TMAs listed for WMU 20 per eRegulations TMA table (Alsea 18A references Siuslaw NF lands but not WMU 20 specifically). 8. Hunter success figures: elk ~9% derived from 2024 harvest data for Siuslaw general Coast seasons; deer ~30% from 2022 NW Sportsman mid-coast unit average — unit-specific annual data not recoverable in machine-readable form from ODFW PDFs.