GMU 133 - Roosevelt, Washington

GMU 133 runs roughly 50 miles east-west across Lincoln County from SR 231 on the east to SR 174 on the west, with Lake Roosevelt forming its northern boundary. Elevations range from approximately 1,400 ft on the plateau farmland to 2,638 ft at Meeker Mountain — the unit high point — which overlooks the lake. The northern edge consists of rugged, deeply incised river breaks where canyon walls drop roughly 1,000 ft to the water within half a mile, offering the thickest cover of buckbrush, sage, and ponderosa pine. The south-central interior around Bachelor Prairie (along SR 2) is more open — native bunchgrass and shrub-steppe dotted with pothole ponds. The bulk of the unit is flat-to-rolling dryland farm country planted in hay, canola, barley, and grass seed.

Public land comprises only about 6% of the unit — one of the lowest fractions in eastern Washington Region 1. The largest contiguous public block is BLM land in the south-central portion near Bachelor Prairie (along SR 2), featuring open native grassland with pothole wetlands. Scattered state BLM and DNR sections exist near Telford and along Sterrett Road. The northeastern corner of the adjacent Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area (GMU 136) lies near Telford and is sometimes referenced by hunters in this area. No WDFW Wildlife Area unit falls squarely inside GMU 133. A Vehicle Access Pass (free with any hunting or fishing license) is required on WDFW and many BLM parcels. Motorized access is restricted on most undeveloped BLM tracts. The bulk of productive habitat — especially the Lake Roosevelt canyon breaks — is private land or overlaps the Colville and Spokane Indian Reservations on the north shore, which require tribal permits.

Northern break habitat: ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and mixed shrub understory dominated by buckbrush (ceanothus), sage, and bitterbrush — classic mule deer thermal and escape cover. South-central Bachelor Prairie: native bunchgrass (bluebunch wheatgrass, Idaho fescue), big sagebrush, and shrub-steppe with seasonal potholes. Agricultural matrix: wheat, barley, canola, hay — edge habitat used heavily by white-tailed deer and turkey. Forest grouse (ruffed and dusky) are present at low but stable densities in the timbered draws.

Mule deer concentrate in the deep river-break canyons along Lake Roosevelt's south shore through fall and winter, using the timbered cuts as escape cover and thermal bedding sites. Elk numbers are modest — herds of 30-60 animals have been documented damaging crops in the river-break farmland, suggesting a migratory corridor between the breaks and agricultural fields. White-tailed deer are most common in the agricultural fringe and woodland edges of the eastern portions of the unit. Black bear movement follows riparian corridors and berry patches in the breaks. A resident Lincoln Cliffs bighorn sheep herd occupies the rugged terrain around Whitestone Rock and Sterling Valley on almost entirely private land.

Hunting pressure on public land is concentrated at Bachelor Prairie BLM and the few scattered state sections near Telford/Sterrett roads. Private land access is the primary limiting factor — hunters willing to knock doors or pay trespass fees report significantly better success, especially for mule deer bucks in the canyon breaks. The unit does not appear in WDFW elk general-season tables as a named open unit, suggesting elk opportunity is either incidental under a broader Eastern Washington general tag or requires a special permit; hunter success for elk is described as typically low. White-tailed deer carry a 3-point minimum antler restriction throughout the modern firearm and muzzleloader seasons. Wild turkey populations are described as doing extremely well. Bighorn sheep permits for the Lincoln Cliffs Herd are extremely limited and require a special draw — habitat is almost entirely private property.