The Okanogan's Wannacut, Sinlahekin and Pogue units are also open during the November late general archery season, as are Chelan County's celebrated Swakane and Manson units. The huge Beezley Unit, which is largely shrub-steppe habitat east of the Columbia and north of the Desert Unit, is open for 3-point or better bucks and antlerless. Archers achieved a 29 percent success rate in the Wannacut Unit recently, 14 percent in the Sinlahekin, and 10 percent in the Pogue. Despite large expanses of private land, the Beezley GMU also had a 15 percent success rate. The Manson and Swakane rates are low, usually lower than statewide averages, but there is always the potential for a trophy.

Region 3 units open to archery hunters during the late season include the Little Naches, Nile, Rimrock and Cowiche units. The Little Naches, Nile and Rimrock GMUs are clustered along the eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountains west of Yakima. The Cowiche Unit, which is bordered on the south by the Yakima Reservation and encompasses the foothills east of Mount Adams, has turned out trophy deer in the past. However, archery success rates are extremely low in Region 3 units, typically in the low single digits.

MUZZLELOADER OPTIONS IN NOVEMBER
Three GMUs and one Deer Area are open to black powder hunters during the November general muzzleloader season. However, Region 1's Cheney Unit, Region 3's Esquatzel and East Klickitat GMUs and Deer Area 3081 (the portion of Esquatzel west of highways 395 and 17) provide hunters a variety of settings, as well as a better than average chance at a deer.

The Cheney Unit is southwest of Spokane in an area dominated by farmland; its success rates have averaged around 15 percent in recent years. The Esquatzel Unit turns out some very large deer (see the October Washington-Oregon Game & Fish), but public access is limited and muzzleloader success rates hover around 5 percent. The East Klickitat Unit is also largely private land, but its harvest rates are much higher, often between 25 percent and 30 percent.

The pool of late-season permit hunts for muzzleloaders is much larger than during the general season. They range from the Ponderosa pine of the Okanogan to the scabrock east of the Columbia River to the ridges and canyons of the Cascade Mountains foothills west of Yakima. The Wannacut, Foster Creek, Benge and Lakeview are antlerless only hunts, as are the Moses Coulee B and Alkali D hunts. However, any deer is legal in the Chiwawa, Moses Coulee A, Desert and Esquatzel hunts. Three-point bucks and antlerless regulations are in effect in the popular Ritzville and Alkali C permit hunts.

LATE-SEASON STRATEGIES FOR MIGRATORY DEER
Many eastern Washington mule deer herds are migratory. They spend the summer in the foothills and mountains, waxing fat on succulent forbs and grasses, then they pick their way downhill to open river valleys when the first heavy winter snows blanket the high country. The Okanogan deer herd is the most well-known migratory deer population, but mulies in the Klickitat Valley, Selkirks and Blue Mountains also exhibit definite uphill/downhill movements. More recently, WDFW Region 3 biologists have seen evidence that some deer are migrating considerable distances to winter in the Esquatzel units.

"We had some deer with collars from Coffee Pot Lake," said Lee Stream, regional wildlife biologist. Stream says that the deer may be drawn to the more southern areas because they are warmer and have less snow cover.

As we have seen, deer tend to be easier to hunt after they are driven into lower elevation areas by the weather. With their networks of timber company, state and federal roads, not to mention section roads in farm country, the deer tend to be more accessible. But hunters who have traditionally spent the October season in the ridges and foothills need to adjust the area where they focus their effort during the late season. The Wannacut, Sinlahekin and Pogue units, which are open during various permit hunts and the late archery season, for example, are good examples of this.