North Dakota’s Unit 3E1 features badlands, sandstone buttes, brushy creek and river bottoms and a lot of agricultural property. Although it’s part of the state’s secondary mule deer range, the northwest corner of 3E1 is only 7 miles from the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and the unit’s western edge is 5 miles from the primary mule deer range. This unit provides everything mule deer and whitetail could want. Consider yourself lucky if you’re able to draw a tag here.

Great deer populations and hunting conditions are found here along with excellent habitat.

Badlands and sandstone buttes exist throughout this unit, and there’s even some wetlands and state waterfowl production areas. The remainder of the unit is rolling hills and agricultural property. Unit 3E1 is considered part of North Dakota’s Slope Region that features mixed-grass prairies and very few trees outside of the creek bottoms. There are a large number of creeks running throughout this unit, providing a variety of spots for deer to water. The creek bottoms in 3E1 provide some of North Dakota’s best opportunities for a successful hunt. As you head east across the unit, you’ll see a mixture of ridges and badlands with crops and livestock pasture. The Heart River flows east from the far northwest corner of the unit at Belfield. It runs along the northern edge of the unit before dropping south and filling Lake Tschida at the unit’s eastern edge. The Cannonball River flows east through the southern portion of the unit. Each river creates a lush, cottonwood valley.

Wheatgrass fields, grama grass prairies, and sagebrush cover much of Unit 3E1’s landscape. The semiarid soils support alfalfa, wheat and barley production. Creek bottoms throughout this unit are forested with cottonwood and aspen, and some ash, elm, birch, oak and juniper. Dense thickets of brush can be found in some of the draws and areas near creeks.

Highway 22 runs north and south between Dickinson and New England, providing access to most secondary roads in the western end of Unit 3E1 while Hiway 8 runs north and south between Richardton and Mott in the eastern side of the unit. Between these roads and the highways that form the unit’s borders, you can get you to virtually any spot in 3E1. There are some areas that don’t have great access due to large buttes and deep canyons, however paved or maintained dirt roads form a fairly consistent grid across the unit. Travel less than 15 miles west of New England and you’ll find 5,000+ acres of public access on the Little Missouri National Grassland. Head southwest out of Dickinson less than 15 miles and you’ll be in the Little Badlands. There’s generally some excellent PLOTS properties in this area. Whitetail deer are found throughout, especially near creeks and rivers with nearby wheat and alfalfa fields. Public access is scattered throughout the unit and consists primarily of State Trust Land and PLOTS properties. The PLOTS properties in this unit have been productive in recent years because there’s typically a large number of them. So much of this unit is excellent deer habitat that you’ve got a good opportunity for success anywhere across the unit. Landowners will often put attached properties into the PLOTS program during the same year, providing some substantial pieces of huntable property. Although Unit 3E1 is part of North Dakota’s Slope Region, it doesn’t exactly fit typical Slope Region characteristics. It does have some rolling hills and short grass prairies, however steep ridges, badlands buttes and even some small wetlands can be found throughout the unit.

With I-94 forming the unit’s northern border, there’s no shortage of motels, RV parks and campgrounds in and around the various towns. Along the southern border, New England is a decent sized town with a campground, RV park, motel and restaurant. Dickinson is the largest town in the area and has numerous sporting goods stores, hardware stores and grocery stores. If there’s anything you need, Dickinson is your best bet for finding it.