Hunt Area 98, Chain Lakes, Wyoming

Flat-to-gently rolling high-desert steppe in Wyoming''s Red Desert, roughly 32 miles northwest of Rawlins. Elevation ranges from approximately 6,500 ft at the chain of lakes basins to 6,750 ft along the Chain Lakes rim. Terrain is open and treeless, characterized by broad sagebrush flats, greasewood basins surrounding a series of alkaline lakes, and gradual swells with little vertical relief. The unit is bounded by I-80 to the south, US Hwy 287 to the east, Wyoming Hwy 73 and Bairoil Road to the north, and Sweetwater County Road 23 (Wamsutter-Crooks Gap Road) to the west. Annual precipitation averages approximately 6 inches, typical of high-desert basin conditions.

The core of the unit is the Chain Lakes Wildlife Habitat Management Area (WHMA), a 62,387-acre cooperative management area between WGFD and BLM. The broader unit is a classic BLM checkerboard landscape (alternating BLM and private sections) where BLM sections are legally huntable. Maintained BLM roads provide access through most of the unit. The Chain Lakes WHMA is open to hunting year-round. Sweetwater County Walk-In Access program may provide additional private land opportunities in adjacent areas. No trophy fees or outfitter requirements; access for do-it-yourself hunters is generally good on BLM and WHMA ground.

Dominant vegetation is sagebrush-grassland steppe: big sagebrush, Wyoming sagebrush, and rabbitbrush on uplands; greasewood, saltbush, and alkali sacaton in the low basins. The chain of alkaline lakes and surrounding wetlands attract waterfowl and shorebirds during migration. No timber stands — the unit is entirely open country. Excellent long-range glassing terrain; mule deer are spotted from roads and rimlines.

The Chain Lakes WHMA was established primarily as pronghorn winter range and migration corridor — large pronghorn herds move through seasonally. Mule deer in this unit are largely resident desert deer adapted to the Red Desert basin. Elk are present in the unit (elk hunt area 118 overlaps Chain Lakes WHMA) but are not a primary deer hunting consideration. A notable feral horse population occupies the WHMA. Mule deer tend to concentrate near water sources and greener basins in fall, particularly around the chain of lakes.

Public land percentage estimated from BLM checkerboard ownership pattern plus the 62,387-acre Chain Lakes WHMA; exact figure not confirmed from official source. Harvest data from WGFD 2023 Deer Harvest Report (Table III-A). Season dates from WGFD Chapter 6 Deer Hunting Seasons (2025 regulations). Boundary description from Chapter 6 Section 1 legal descriptions. The Chain Lakes WHMA is also listed as pronghorn hunt area 61 in some sources. Elk hunt area 118 overlaps this unit for elk-specific tags.