GMU 666 - Deschutes, Washington

Low-elevation Puget Sound lowlands and foothills; predominantly flat to gently rolling terrain with roughly 80% of land at low slope gradients. Elevation ranges from near sea level along the Deschutes River and Black River drainages up to 500–800 ft at the Capitol State Forest margin. The Deschutes River and its riparian corridor run through the unit, providing important cover and travel corridors for deer and elk. Wetlands and former dairy farm properties (including the Black River USFWS refuge) are scattered throughout the western lowlands.

Approximately 4% public land overall. Key public access: (1) WDFW Scatter Creek Wildlife Area — primary public deer/small game area in GMU 666, requires Discover Pass or Vehicle Access Pass; (2) WDFW West Rocky Prairie Wildlife Area — south Thurston County, limited acreage but open to big game; (3) Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) — requires iSportsman permit (free, obtained via iSportsman app); hunting is allowed but 2025 surveys found few elk on JBLM properties. The Black River USFWS refuge (near 123rd Ave SW) is closed to hunting. The bulk of productive hunting land — including Manke Lumber, Port Blakely, Weyerhaeuser, and Bascom Pacific LLC timberlands in Thurston County — requires advance landowner permission. Hunters are strongly encouraged to knock doors or call timber companies weeks before season.

Mixed lowland habitat typical of western Washington's Puget Trough: second-growth Douglas fir and western red cedar timber on private industrial lands and the Capitol State Forest fringe; dense blackberry, Himalayan blackberry, and alder thickets along river bottoms and power line corridors; open agricultural fields, pasture, and hobby farms that attract deer and elk for forage. Regenerating clear-cuts on private timberlands offer excellent deer and elk browsing habitat. Power line right-of-ways off Delphi Road SW provide known elk concentration areas.

Deer and elk use river bottomlands and riparian corridors as primary travel lanes, particularly the Deschutes and Black River drainages. Elk are documented in the Capitol State Forest foothills east toward Delphi Road SW and Waddell Creek Road SW. A separate elk concentration exists in northwestern Thurston County off Delphi Road SW along power line corridors. JBLM properties near Rainier also hold occasional elk. Deer rut begins late October and runs through late December — the late archery and late muzzleloader seasons (Nov 25–Dec 15) directly overlap peak rut activity, making them productive for patient hunters. Elk rut begins in early September.

GMU 666 is classified under Elk Population Management Unit (PMU) 62 alongside GMUs 652 and 667. Elk harvest in GMU 666 reached a seven-year high in the 2023–24 season, and WDFW prospects for 2025 rate the unit average-to-better with archery hunters projected to have the highest success rates. Deer harvest and success rates have been trending upward since 2023 even as total hunter numbers decline from ~10,000 (2000) to ~5,000 (2024), meaning fewer hunters are competing for the same resource. GMU 652 and 666 are comparable in hunter numbers and success. General modern firearm deer season is any-buck only. Elk general season is any-elk (no bull restriction) for all weapon types. Late archery and late muzzleloader deer and elk seasons overlap Nov 25–Dec 15, allowing multi-season tag holders maximum flexibility. Firearm restrictions apply in parts of Thurston County — check co.thurston.wa controlled shooting zone maps before hunting. CWD has not been detected in western Washington as of 2025. Treponeme-associated hoof disease (TAHD) is present in elk in the broader southwest Washington region; harvest and report any elk with hoof abnormalities. Treaty of Medicine Creek (1854) ceded area — tribal hunters may operate concurrently under separate tribal season rules.