With a two month season, this area of the state offers a great opportunity at a good bull moose. Access can be a serious issue, but there are a few thousand acres of state land in the southeast corner of the unit if you choose to plan a DIY hunt. Be particularly careful and always have your land use maps and a GPS when hunting, as there are also pieces of state park land scattered around that do not allow hunting.

Inland Empire Paper Company and Hancock Timber are the main landholders in this area, you should be working towards gaining access to these areas as well as understanding each of their rules and regulations as soon as you know you have the tag. Information regarding hunting these properties can be found on their websites, or by calling ahead to get a better understanding of what is expected and allowed when gaining access.

This unit is made up of large amounts of agricultural land and timber company property, with a small section of state land and scattered pieces of state parkland in the southeast region of the unit. Expect milder hiking conditions seeing as there are a lot of rolling hills covered in red-brush and different conifer species. The slightly higher elevations tend to have more dense timber with clear cuts scattered throughout. Look towards Blanchard Hump and Lake of the Woods, as these areas tend to have some of the better moose densities in the area. Access is very limited in these areas and permission to hunt private property is a must. During the rut, you may see bulls traveling through the agricultural areas, but this is not typical as they tend to stay on or closer to the mountains for the majority of the year. Using the timber company roads to navigate the unit can reduce the amount of time spent on your boots, and is a fun way to sneak and peek into the different drainages and clear cuts.

The vegetation varies greatly on this unit as there is a large amount of land being used for agriculture throughout the lower elevations of the unit, especially on the western side towards Hwy 2 and as you head south towards Spokane. In the higher elevations, the vegetation is primarily different species of pine ranging from ponderosa pine and douglas fir on drier sites to western red cedar, western hemlock, and western white pine. The forest also has a large amount of lodgepole pine and the incredible western larch. There are many north and east facing slopes that have little to no ground cover, and what is there is often very low profile, making for some fantastic opportunities to locate game. Creek beds, river bottoms, and marshy areas are scattered across the more mountainous areas and are lined with willows and varieties of grass.

Access will very much depend on where you obtain permission to hunt and what areas will be available to you. Working with the landowners whether they are homesteaders or lumber companies will very much depict where you will be accessing the area. If you are trying to pull off a DIY hunt you will more than likely be headed to the 3,000+ acre piece of state property in the southeastern portion of the unit, just north of the Mount Spokane State Park. Be very careful as to where you are hunting in this area, as there are checkerboard pieces of state park property in this area that are off limits to hunting. The main access to this piece of state property is the East Blanchard Road which borders this piece of property on the far northern edge. Often hunters are confused as to which “Blanchard Road” is the southern boundary to this unit, just remember that North Blanchard Road is your southern boundary.

There are multiple hotel accommodations near Mt. Spokane State Park if you are looking for a bed and a shower during your hunt. If you are in need of a proper grocery store you will need to look towards Milan, Washington or Blanchard, Idaho as these are the two closest entities to the southern portion of this unit. If you are looking to hunt near the north end of the unit, you will more than likely need to look towards Newport Washington which sits on the northeast corner of the unit along the banks of the Pend Oreille River. This small community offers multiple locally owned hotels, grocery stores, gas stations, and even the Pend Oreille Valley Sportsman store. Camping in this unit is very limited, as many of the campgrounds close near the middle of September as the winter weather begins to set in on these locations.