GMU 330 - West Bar, Washington

GMU 330 is a small, geographically isolated unit along the Columbia River in Kittitas and Douglas/Grant county borderlands. The unit spans from the Cape Horn cliffs — an 800-foot bluff dropping in roughly 300 yards — down to the West Bar bottomland along the Columbia River. The landscape is extremely open and arid, characterized by sagebrush steppe, bunchgrass, and sparse riparian brush along the river. Elevation ranges from approximately 550 feet at the Columbia River to the clifftop rim. The unit sits at the eastern terminus of the Colockum Plateau, with the Colockum Wildlife Area occupying the broader plateau to the west. There is virtually no timber within the unit itself; the dramatic cliff escarpment is the only significant topographic structure.

The unit is almost entirely public land and falls within the Colockum Wildlife Area and Colockum Game Range managed by WDFW. The broader L.T. Murray Wildlife Area complex (approximately 118,300 acres across five units) lies adjacent to the west. A WDFW Discover Pass is required on wildlife area lands. Access is from the Columbia River side via Crescent Bar area (Grant County side) or from the plateau above via Colockum Road out of Ellensburg/Kittitas. The unit operates under the Green Dot road management system, restricting motorized vehicles to designated roads. No Wenatchee National Forest land lies within the unit itself, but NF lands are accessible on the plateau just to the west. No BLM Spokane District lands are within the unit. The Yakama Nation holds off-reservation treaty hunting rights (1855 Treaty) across their ceded territory which spans much of south-central Washington including portions of the Columbia Plateau; hunters should consult current WDFW regulations and Yakama Nation guidance on any applicable restrictions.

Arid shrub-steppe dominates — Wyoming big sagebrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, Sandberg bluegrass, and rabbitbrush. Riparian corridors along the Columbia River support cottonwood, willow, and dense brush. The cliff faces and talus hold chukar partridge habitat. No significant conifer stands exist within the unit. The habitat supports low-density mule deer year-round with winter concentration near the river when snow drives animals off the plateau.

Collared Colockum elk herd females (WDFW GPS collar study) show that elk concentrate primarily in the Naneum and Quilomene drainages to the west and southwest during September and October, with West Bar at the far eastern fringe of the herd range. Elk presence in GMU 330 proper is marginal and opportunistic; significant elk use occurs mainly during heavy snow years when animals are pushed to lower elevations near the Columbia River. Mule deer similarly migrate to the river breaks during hard winters. The Cape Horn cliff rim creates a sharp natural boundary for ungulate movement. Cougar follow deer and elk to lower elevations in late fall and winter, with the timbered stringers above the cliffs providing daytime cover.

GMU 330 is one of the smallest units in District 8 and receives very low hunter pressure — only 18 hunters in the 2019-2021 average period. Despite low absolute numbers, it posted a 24% buck success rate in the District 8 biologist report (2019-2021 average: 4 bucks harvested, 18 hunters), well above the district average of 7%. This reflects a low-competition environment on largely roadless, dramatic terrain. The unit does not appear in District 8 general season elk harvest tables, indicating GMU 330 is not open to general elk hunting or elk activity is too low to register. Black bear and cougar range throughout the Colockum Plateau and are present in the unit; cougar season runs Sept 1 - Dec 31 (early) with a late season Jan 1 - Apr 1 subject to harvest thresholds. Washington uses a pure random draw with no preference point system for special permits. Bighorn sheep also inhabit the broader Colockum area (District 8 holds over 70% of Washington's bighorn sheep) though GMU 330 is peripheral to core sheep range.