going scouting, trying to understand where to hunt GMU 572,560, 556, 574, 568

[FlipNh0nky]

i use to hunt in these areas years ago before i went into the military and it seem after 20 years to hunt in these areas, you need permission to hunt on most of the land areas. im heading to these are to go scouting and i have no clue where to go. i got on (onX Hunt) app and its hard to tell were i can and cant go.  anyone have any pointers?

[optic2]

OnX shows you where the public land is. Do you have the correct layers turned on? Click on layers on the left, then click on Washington and then turn on "WA Private Lands" and "Wa Gov Lands". They shade different types of lands, green is National Forest, blue is state owned land and yellow is Indian Reservation lands. If you look at unit 560 you will see that the vast majority of it is national forest with a little bit of private land in the southwest and southeast corners. Unit 572 is almost all national forest with some state lands and some private in the north central area. Units 574 and 568 are still mostly national forest and state forest. Unit 556 is mostly Weyerhauser land in which you will need a permit but there is some state land in the north and a little bit in the south part of the unit.

I would also suggest going to the Trails and Rec layer and turning on "Motor vehicle roads and trails". It isn't entirely accurate but it will be a big help.

[elksnout]

572,560, 574 and 568 have plenty of public land.

Elksnout

[pianoman9701]

From the foothills east of Vancouver and Battleground to the Yakima border east of the PCT there's a ton of public land. The national forest is unhealthy and choked in most of it. DNR and other state land has more open spaces for grazing. Concentrate on those and the timber company land open to access. I don't know anything about Weyerhaeuser land and whether you can still buy permits but that's a real hit on your pocket if you can.

[Lumpy Taters]

556 is mostly weyco land and you need their permit for access. There is some public access but it is fairly limited.  All of the weyco land is permit only now.  Some walk in areas and the rest motorized.   We have been seeing quite a few does in there but not to many shooter bucks.  The elk have been hit hard by the hoof rot.

[fishnfur]

DNR land - well away from any roads.