Quick Tips
- Buy a wolf tag ($31.75 fee for nonresident hunters)
- Keep food and game carcasses out of reach of bears
On The Ground
Moose hunters rarely have difficulty finding mature bulls, which live in mountains and hills that have been heavily logged in the St. Joe and St. Maries river drainages.
This is one place where moose hunting has improved over the past dozen years as is evidenced by an increase in the number of tags. Lots of roads provide access to the St. Joe National Forest. Some hunters find bulls with racks from 40-45” in spread.
Terrain
Terrain is moderately steep and is mostly between 2,500 and 4,000 feet above sea level. Most high points are on the eastern, southern and northern boundaries and vary from about 5,000 to 6,500 feet in elevation. This unit has better moose habitat than much of the Idaho Panhandle because it has been heavily logged. Hundreds of old clearcuts not only create brushy edges and open up the forest but also are in various stages of regrowth, many of them containing large amounts of grass, browse and forbs that make good moose feed.
Roughly 1,052 square miles
55.5% public land
Elevations from 2,00 -6,500 feet
Vegetation
Dense forests once covered most of the mountains, but extensive logging has created countless edges between cover and feed with saplings, brush, grass and forbs growing in old clearcuts. The forests are mainly timbered by conifers such as pines, cedars and firs. Willows, alders, birches, aspen saplings, berry bushes and wild grasses grow in openings.
Access
The western half of this unit is largely private with some BLM and state parcels, while the eastern half is mostly in the St. Joe National Forest but still includes a lot of private land. Roads lead to many hunting sites on public land. A few canyons are roadless, but it is hard to get more than a couple of miles from a road, ATV trail or motorcycle trail. Some good roads for accessing Forest Service lands are Saint Joe River Road out of St. Maries, Idaho Route 3 southeast of St. Maries, Forest Roads 321 and 301 near the mouth of the Middle Fork of the St. Maries River.
Camping and Lodging
Hunters may camp along roads in the national forest. Emerald Creek Campground near Fernwood has 18 campsites. Shadowy St. Joe Campground is 10 miles east of St. Maries and can accommodate RVs. Lodging options in St. Maries:
Birch Tree Bed & Breakfast (phone: 208-245-2198)
Pines Motel (phone: 208-245-2545)
Fort Hemenway Manor (phone: 208-245-7979)
River Front Suites (phone: 208-582-1724)
Historical Temperatures
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