GMU 418 Nooksack

The marquee hunt: GMU 418 is the core of the North Cascades (Nooksack) elk herd (~1,600 elk in the core area, bull:cow near 18:100). Bull elk are permit-only — about 29 GMU 418 bull permits in a recent year — and though the 2024 all-methods success dipped to 38% (11 of 29), it has historically run very high (up to 100%) thanks to light pressure and long seasons, and produces genuine trophy bulls (multiple 6-point-plus bulls taken). Expect many years of applying to draw.

• →Apply and be patient — this is a hard-to-draw, permit-only bull hunt; treat drawing as a multi-year project.
• →Once drawn, hunt the defined core elk area (Acme–Baker Lake–Hwy 20–Hwy 9 box) where herd density is highest.
• →Use the Sierra Pacific Industries PLAP access opened to GMU 418 permit holders, and lock in any additional private permission early.
• →Scout hard across the long season; glass clearcuts, forage openings, and river-bottom edges, and be ready to work timber for bedded bulls.
• →Consult the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie NF road/trail conditions for gate status before committing to a drainage.

District 14's standout bear unit. A 2021 WDFW hair-snare study estimated ~28 bears per 100 km2 in GMU 418, and about 42% of the four-GMU (407/418/426/437) bear harvest came from 418 in 2024. Berry-rich clearcuts and regen in the working forest make for excellent spot-and-stalk bear hunting — but note the grizzly recovery-area bear-ID exam requirement.

• →Pass the WDFW bear-identification exam (80%+) and carry proof — mandatory in the 418/426 grizzly recovery area.
• →Glass berry-rich clearcuts and regen stands (huckleberry, salmonberry, blackberry) at dawn and dusk in early fall.
• →Hunt the open cut units so you can spot a bear before it winds you in the thick coastal cover.
• →Find a productive feeding cut with fresh sign and sit it patiently rather than covering ground.
• →Work the logging-road network for glassing vantages, and know your bear ID cold — grizzlies are protected here.

Columbian black-tailed deer are present throughout, though WDFW notes valley/foothill densities in 418 have trended down. The unit's signature deer experience is the rugged high-country hunt: the September 15–25 High Buck Hunt in the Mt. Baker Wilderness for a remote, trophy-caliber blacktail, plus a permit-only late-season quality-buck hunt during the rut (low success, ~12% in 2024, but shots at mature bucks).

• →For the High Buck Hunt, be fit and self-reliant — hunt small alpine basins and lightly forested ridges away from main trails; crowds are common even miles in.
• →Glass subalpine parkland and heather benches at first and last light for bucks summering high.
• →In the working forest, hunt clearcut/regen edges and river-bottom cover at low light.
• →Chase the late-season quality-buck permit for rut movement, but keep expectations realistic on success.
• →Check NF road/trail conditions and the Noisy-Diobsud Wilderness boundary (NOT open to the High Buck Hunt) before you go.

Cougars occur throughout the unit and are managed under a harvest cap (recently 6 cougars in GMU 418). Most are taken opportunistically by deer, elk, and bear hunters. The cap-managed season can close mid-season, so verify status via the WDFW cougar hotline or webpage before and during your hunt.

• →Carry a cougar tag as an opportunistic add-on while hunting deer, elk, and bear.
• →Check the cougar hunt-area status regularly — cap-managed units close once the cap is hit (updated weekly).
• →Hunt where deer and elk concentrate; cougars follow the prey.
• →After fresh snow at mid/high elevation, cut logging roads and trails for tracks to follow up.

Mt. Baker's flanks in GMU 418 hold mountain goats hunted under a handful of tightly limited special permits split among small hunt areas (e.g., Chowder Ridge, Lincoln Peak, Avalanche Gorge). Populations on Mt. Baker have been declining in recent years and permits are scarce (sometimes zero for a given unit), so this is a once-in-a-lifetime, draw-and-pray alpine hunt.

• →Apply for the limited Mt. Baker goat permits and expect very long odds; treat a tag as once-in-a-lifetime.
• →If drawn, prepare for serious alpine mountaineering — glaciers, exposure, and technical approaches near Mt. Baker.
• →Scout survey areas and glass high cliff-and-meadow goat habitat well before the season.
• →Watch WDFW goat-population updates — Mt. Baker numbers have been declining and permit levels reflect it.