GMU 667 - Skookumchuck, Washington

Transitions from steep old-growth conifer forest in the eastern portion (bordering Mount Rainier NP drainages) to rolling lower-elevation second-growth and prairie on the western edge near I-5. Elevation ranges from roughly 200 ft at the valley floor near Tenino and Yelm to approximately 3,000 ft at eastern ridgelines. The Skookumchuck River and its tributaries cut through the unit. Large clearcuts in multiple age classes create diverse edge habitat throughout.

Approximately 87% private, 13% public. Public lands: WDFW Skookumchuck Wildlife Area (multiple units, Discover Pass); DNR Crawford Block and Bloody Run Block (Discover Pass); portions of Tahoma State Forest (gated roads — walk/bike/horse). Private industrial timberlands: Weyerhaeuser Vail Tree Farm (152,073 acres; motorized and non-motorized paid permits required, sell out before season — purchase in spring at Weyerhaeuser recreation page); Bascom Pacific LLC (non-motorized, no permit required); Port Blakely (non-motorized public access); Rayonier (free and fee permits available); Manke Lumber. Centralia Coal Mine (TransAlta) accessible only via senior/disabled Landowner Hunting Permit (10 total permits, 2 weekends). Firearm discharge restrictions in parts of Thurston and Pierce counties — verify with county GIS before hunting.

Douglas fir and western red cedar dominate mature second-growth stands in the eastern half. Clearcuts and regenerating timber stands provide native grasses, forbs, bracken fern, and buckbrush — primary forage for deer and elk. Capitol Prairie remnants and wet prairie near the western boundary offer seasonal concentration areas. Berry production (elderberry, salal, huckleberry) is critical summer bear forage. Skookumchuck Wildlife Area and West Rocky Prairie Wildlife Area contain prairie and wetland pockets.

Sub-herds of the South Rainier elk herd are increasing around the Skookumchuck Wildlife Area and expanding south toward the Centralia Coal Mine. WDFW explicitly directs hunters to scout from the Wildlife Area south to the mine's northern boundary. Elk concentrate more in the southern half of the Vail Tree Farm. Black-tailed deer are year-round residents with no significant elevation migration — distributed throughout clearcut edges and timber interiors. Bear activity concentrates in regenerating clearcuts during berry and mast seasons.

GMU 667 is in Elk PMU 62 (with GMUs 652/666) and Deer PMU 62. General elk hunter success is the lowest in District 11 due to private-land access barriers, not low elk numbers. TAHD (treponeme-associated hoof disease) is present; WDFW runs an incentive harvest program for limping elk in west-side GMUs. CWD detected in eastern Washington only as of summer 2025. Cougar season Sept. 1 – March 31 with a 4-cougar harvest cap; GMU 667 leads District 11 in cougar harvest annually. Weyerhaeuser motorized permits close during bull elk seasons — confirm current rules. WDFW Disabled Hunter Program: vehicle access behind locked gates at Skookumchuck Wildlife Area (1 early muzzleloader, 1 late muzzleloader, 2 modern firearm draws). Hanaford Elk Area 6069 provides senior permit damage hunts (10 permits via TransAlta mine, escorted elk hunt only).