Hunt Area SE-02 Southeast (SE-02)
The heart of the legacy Owyhee unit: honeycombed rhyolite canyons and sage tableland between Owyhee Reservoir, Jordan Valley, and the Idaho line.
ODFW Southeast Oregon — Malheur County (Ontario field office), lower Owyhee canyonlands · Last reviewed 2026-07-17
Area
2,314
sq mi
Public land
83%
approx.
Elevation
2,200–6,500
feet
Motorized
moderate
access
Overview
SE-02 is the northern half of ODFW's new Southeast herd range — one of the 2026 Deer Hunt Areas that replaced eastern Oregon's WMU-based deer hunts — covering roughly 2,300 square miles of Malheur County from the Owyhee River's confluence with the Snake River near Adrian south to Jordan Valley and Highway 78, bounded on the west by the Crowley Road–Dry Creek–Owyhee Reservoir line. It is the core of the legacy Owyhee WMU (67): ODFW's transition guide maps 76% of the old 167 buck hunt into the new SE102, with the remaining western (Crowley) quarter moved into the Juntura JT-02 area. The ground is 83% public, dominated by BLM Vale District sage steppe cut by the lower Owyhee canyon, the Leslie Gulch–Honeycombs badlands, and the Jordan Craters lava field. ODFW's recent forecasts have been upbeat for this ground — stable-to-rising fawn and buck ratios, several consecutive years of tag increases, and comparatively strong hunter success for a desert unit. Hunts offered are Southeast 02 (any legal weapon), 02 Bow, plus the Southeast 02 Agri and Agri Youth antlerless hunts on the irrigated Owyhee/Snake fringe near Adrian and Graveyard Point, which exist to relieve crop damage on the valley farmland.
Terrain
The biggest vertical spread in the Southeast herd range: from the Snake River lowlands near Adrian (about 2,200 ft) up through rolling sage tableland at 3,500–5,000 ft to Mahogany Mountain (~6,500 ft), the eroded volcanic high point above Leslie Gulch. The signature terrain is sculpted rhyolite ash-tuff — the honeycombed spires and slot gulches of Leslie Gulch, Three Fingers, and the Honeycombs — plus the deep lower Owyhee River canyon and reservoir breaks. It hunts as rim-glassing and draw-picking country, with the northern ag fringe hunting like a farmland edge unit.
Cover: Big sagebrush and bunchgrass steppe across the tables; salt-desert shrub and greasewood on low flats; mountain mahogany and scattered juniper on Mahogany Mountain's high ground; willow/rose riparian stringers in Succor Creek and the canyon bottoms; raw lava and thin cover on the Jordan Craters flow; irrigated alfalfa, row crops, and pasture along the Owyhee and Snake valley fringe near Adrian and Nyssa.
Landmarks: Owyhee Reservoir / Lake Owyhee State Park and Owyhee Dam · Leslie Gulch and the Honeycombs · Succor Creek State Natural Area · Three Fingers Rock / Three Fingers Gulch · Mahogany Mountain · Jordan Craters lava field (Coffeepot Crater) · Birch Creek Historic Ranch (BLM, lower Owyhee River) · US Hwy 95 (Idaho line to Jordan Valley to Burns Junction) · State Hwy 201 (Adrian/Succor Creek approaches) · Owyhee–Snake River confluence at the Idaho line
Access
ODFW lists SE-02 at 83% public land, and the BLM interior is open country — but the road story rules everything. The main gravel arteries (Succor Creek Road from Hwy 201 or US 95, Leslie Gulch Road, Jordan Craters Road off US 95) are passable to most vehicles when dry and genuinely impassable clay gumbo when wet; BLM's own guidance for the Leslie Gulch approach is 'don't go when it is wet.' Inside the Leslie Gulch Area of Critical Environmental Concern, camping and fires are limited to Slocum Creek Campground, vehicles must stay on existing roads, and overnight backpacking and horses are not allowed. Wilderness Study Areas (Honeycombs; parts of the Lower Owyhee Canyon WSA along the river above the reservoir) keep vehicles to existing routes, so the best canyon country is hunted on foot. The northern ag fringe is private farmland — the Agri antlerless hunts there are functionally permission hunts, so line up landowner access before applying. A boat launched at Lake Owyhee State Park opens roadless reservoir-breaks country that road hunters never touch.
Managers: BLM Vale District, Private irrigated farmland (Owyhee/Snake valley fringe, Adrian–Nyssa), Private ranch inholdings (creek bottoms and homesteads), State of Oregon (Succor Creek State Natural Area, Lake Owyhee State Park, scattered sections)
Access points: Succor Creek Road (from State Hwy 201 near Adrian or from US 95) · Leslie Gulch Road to Slocum Creek Campground and the reservoir · Owyhee Lake Road up the river canyon to Owyhee Dam and Lake Owyhee State Park · Jordan Craters Road off US 95 northwest of Jordan Valley · US Hwy 95 south through Jordan Valley (southern tier two-tracks)
Species notes
Mule Deer
common qualityThe strongest deer story in the Southeast herd range right now: ODFW's 2025 forecast cited stable-to-increasing fawn ratios and largely increased buck ratios in the legacy Owyhee unit, a third straight year of tag increases, and hunter success holding relatively high — the best stretch this ground has had since the mid-2010s. It is still desert deer hunting: densities are modest by Blue Mountains standards, but buck ratios have run at or above management objective and age class is real for hunters who work the canyons.
- →Glass the canyon and gulch systems — Leslie Gulch tributaries, Three Fingers, the reservoir breaks, and Succor Creek — at first and last light; deer bed in the shaded tuff pockets by mid-morning.
- →Hunt the elevation band that matches the weather: high mahogany pockets on Mahogany Mountain early and warm, dropping toward the ag fringe and river breaks as fronts and cold arrive.
- →The edges of the Jordan Craters lava and the rimrock above riparian stringers are consistent travel and bedding edges — sit them rather than still-hunting the open tables.
- →Use a boat on Owyhee Reservoir to reach roadless east-shore canyons that see almost no pressure.
- →Along the northern fringe, deer shuttle between irrigated fields and adjacent BLM rims — an evening field-edge pattern scouted from public ground can set up a morning rim ambush.
Pronghorn
common opportunityThe sage tables between the canyon systems hold pronghorn throughout, and the legacy Owyhee ground carries controlled pronghorn hunts. Expect to see antelope daily on the flats while deer hunting.
- →Glass the open tables between Succor Creek and the Owyhee rim at long range early in the day.
- →Stock ponds and reservoir fingers are the ambush points in a dry fall.
- →Use shallow draws and rimrock edges to stalk — the tables themselves offer no cover.
Bighorn Sheep
limited trophyLeslie Gulch is where Oregon's California bighorn restoration began — 17 sheep reintroduced in 1965 — and the Owyhee drainage grew into one of the largest California bighorn populations in the nation, with the Leslie Gulch/lower Owyhee cliffs the most visible herd. A Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae outbreak detected in the Owyhee herd in late 2015 knocked numbers back, so treat this as a once-in-a-lifetime draw dream and verify current hunt offerings with ODFW.
- →Glass the tuff cliffs of Leslie Gulch, the Honeycombs, and the reservoir rims — sheep here are remarkably visible compared to most bighorn country.
- →Boat access on the reservoir reaches cliff bands with no road approach.
- →Deer hunters should note ram sightings — firsthand intel is gold for a future once-in-a-lifetime application.
Pro tips
- →Hunt this as canyon-edge country: the tables look empty because the deer live in the gulch systems and rimrock below them.
- →The reservoir is a tool — a small boat from Lake Owyhee State Park opens miles of roadless breaks that road-bound hunters never see.
- →Know the Leslie Gulch ACEC rules before you plan a camp there: camping and fires only at Slocum Creek, vehicles on existing roads, no overnight backpacking.
- →If you draw an Agri hunt, secure landowner permission on the Adrian/Graveyard Point farm ground before the season — that hunt is a private-land damage hunt in all but name.
- →The Agri hunt boundary follows a power line and section lines, not roads — run the official boundary on GPS.
- →Watch the sky more than the clock: a dry forecast window is the real season opener for the interior roads.
- →Preload offline maps with ownership layers; the public/private weave along Succor Creek and the valley fringe is where trespass mistakes happen.
Watch out for
- !Wet clay roads are the defining hazard — BLM's own guidance for the Leslie Gulch approach is 'don't go when it is wet.' A storm can strand you for days.
- !No cell service in the canyon country; carry a satellite communicator and file your route with someone.
- !Leslie Gulch ACEC restrictions (camping only at Slocum Creek, no overnight backpacking, vehicles on existing roads) carry real enforcement — don't treat it as ordinary BLM.
- !Flash floods in the slot gulches and unmarked sheer rims; rattlesnakes early in the season.
- !The eastern boundary is the Idaho state line with nothing marking it on the ground — verify your position before shooting near the line.
- !Private farmland and ranch inholdings control the northern fringe and many water sources; a locked gate can end an approach that looks public on a small map.
- !Wilderness Study Area rules keep vehicles to existing routes in the Honeycombs and river canyon — plan for foot retrieval of game.
Logistics
The north end is the easy end: Ontario (I-84) has full services — motels, groceries, tires, fuel — within about an hour of the Succor Creek country, with Nyssa, Adrian, and Vale closer for fuel and basics. Jordan Valley covers the south end with fuel, a cafe, and limited lodging. Camping options are better than anywhere else in the Owyhee country: Lake Owyhee State Park campgrounds on the reservoir, BLM's Slocum Creek Campground at Leslie Gulch (nine sites, no drinking water), primitive camping at Succor Creek State Natural Area, and dispersed dry camps on BLM elsewhere. Haul water everywhere south of the reservoir, expect no cell service in the canyons and gulches (spotty coverage near the valley towns and parts of US 95), and carry a satellite communicator, extra fuel, and a real spare for the gravel miles.
Nearest towns: Adrian, Jordan Valley, Nyssa, Vale, Ontario
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Oregon sources:
Research sources: ODFW Southeast Hunt Area SE-02 page (83% public lands, boundary, SE602/SE602T Agri hunts) · ODFW Eastern Oregon Deer Hunt Area Boundary Descriptions (2026) — SE02 boundary and SE602/SE602T Agri hunt boundary · ODFW WMU-to-Deer-Hunt-Area Transition Guide (Jan 2026) — legacy hunt 167 (Owyhee) maps 76% to SE102, 24% to JT102; 667A antlerless maps mostly to SE602 · ODFW 2025 Big Game Hunting Forecast — Owyhee: rising fawn/buck ratios, third consecutive year of tag increases, high hunter success · ODFW Owyhee Unit 67 page (legacy unit boundary, 89% public, species hunt series) · BLM Leslie Gulch ACEC (camping/fire limits at Slocum Creek, vehicle and backpacking restrictions, road conditions) · BLM Slocum Creek Campground (nine sites, no water, high-clearance recommended, roads impassable when wet) · BLM Lower Owyhee Canyon Wilderness Study Area (72,250 acres near Rome) · Owyhee Canyonlands — Leslie Gulch (1965 reintroduction of 17 California bighorn; Owyhee drainage among largest CA bighorn herds; 2015 M. ovipneumoniae outbreak)
FAQ
- How big is Hunt Area SE-02 in Oregon?
- Hunt Area SE-02 (Southeast (SE-02)) covers about 2,314 square miles, ranging from roughly 2,200 to 6,500 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in Hunt Area SE-02?
- Approximately 83% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: BLM Vale District, Private irrigated farmland (Owyhee/Snake valley fringe, Adrian–Nyssa), Private ranch inholdings (creek bottoms and homesteads), State of Oregon (Succor Creek State Natural Area, Lake Owyhee State Park, scattered sections). Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
- What species does the catalog list for Hunt Area SE-02?
- Mule Deer, Pronghorn, Bighorn Sheep. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Oregon agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put Hunt Area SE-02 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.