GMU 329 - Quilomene, Washington

Steep, rocky ridges and canyon drainages trending west-to-east from the eastern Cascades foothills to the Columbia River. Elevation ranges from roughly 700 feet at the Columbia shoreline to 5,500 feet on the western Cascade interface. The majority of the unit is shrub-steppe — big sagebrush and antelope bitterbrush over bunchgrasses — with broken ponderosa pine and Douglas fir forest along the upper western fringe near Colockum. Parke Creek, Skookumchuck Creek, and Quilomene Creek drain the core canyons. The unit appears less rugged from roads than it is; once off the ridgeline the terrain is dissected and physical.

Access is via Parke Creek Road (off Vantage Highway/US-10) on the south and Beacon Ridge Road on the north. All motorized travel restricted to designated green-dot roads; high-clearance 4WD strongly recommended. The Wild Horse Wind Facility (9,000 acres) operates a Hunt by Reservation system. Seasonal closures: area south of Quilomene Ridge Road / east of wind project / north of Vantage Hwy / west of Jackknife Ridge Road is closed to motorized vehicles February 1 through April 30; Beacon Ridge road through wind project closed December 1 through May 31. A Discover Pass is required on WDFW wildlife area lands.

Lower elevations: big sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, rabbitbrush, and bunchgrasses (bluebunch wheatgrass, Idaho fescue). Mid elevations: scattered ponderosa pine with sagebrush understory. Upper western fringe: ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, grand fir, and western larch. Riparian corridors along Quilomene, Parke, and Skookumchuck creeks. The unit is designated an Important Bird Area (Audubon) for Greater sage-grouse (state threatened) and associated shrub-steppe bird communities. Tall sage in canyon bottoms can conceal deer and elk, requiring careful glassing.

Deer and elk winter on the lower shrub-steppe benchmarks and migrate upslope into the Colockum and surrounding Cascades drainages during summer and fall. Hunting improves markedly once early-season snowfall drives animals off the higher Cascade slopes and into the open sage country. The L.T. Murray Wildlife Area feeds approximately 2,000 elk with supplemental hay mid-December through mid-March at two feed sites within the broader complex, concentrating animals at predictable winter locations. The Quilomene WA was specifically acquired to expand critical winter range for these herds.

GMU 329 deer is a permit-only (special permit) unit — no general season tag is valid here. Mule deer require at least 3 antler points on one side in nearby 300-series GMUs; confirm current antler restriction in the permit conditions. Elk seasons for 2026: early archery Sep 12–24 (spike bull or antlerless); early muzzleloader Oct 3–9 (true spike bull); modern firearm Oct 31–Nov 8 (spike bull); late archery Nov 25–Dec 8 (spike bull or antlerless). All 2023 antlered elk harvest were 1-point (spike) bulls — no branch-antlered bulls reported, indicating the unit is managed as a spike-bull unit. The Yakama Nation's 12-million-acre ceded territory encompasses the Quilomene area; enrolled Yakama Nation members hold treaty hunting rights on open and unclaimed (public) lands within the ceded area, with seasonal restrictions in designated winter wildlife sanctuaries (no hunting Dec 15–Mar 31 in winter feeding areas; Dec 31–Mar 31 in winter wildlife sanctuaries). Hunters should confirm current permit availability and application deadlines through WDFW's Special Permit system. GoHunt estimates 288 square miles and 79% public land.