Arizona Unit 36A: public land, hunts and harvest
Arizona's game management Unit 36A covers 617 square miles, and 68.2% of it is public land open to hunting, mostly state trust land (measured from USGS PAD-US). AZGFD's 2026 hunt lists open 9 deer hunts here. On the hunts held only in Unit 36A, AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 475 deer taken.
Data updated October 2026. Hunts: AZGFD's 2026 booklets. Harvest: AZGFD harvest summaries to 2025. Land: USGS PAD-US 4.1. Boundary: AZGFD.
BLMState trust landNational wildlife refugeTribal land (tribal permit)City, county and otherUnit 36ANeighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| AZGFD region | Region 5 (Tucson) |
|---|---|
| Size | 617 square miles (395,141 acres) |
| Public land open to hunting | 68.2% (269,327 acres) |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 9 hunts, 1,765 permits |
| Towns in and near it | Three Points, Green Valley, Arivaca Junction, Sahuarita, Tucson and South Tucson |
| Highways | AZ 286 and AZ 86 |
How much public land is in Unit 36A?
68.2% of Unit 36A is public land open to hunting: 269,327 of 395,141 acres. The largest share is state trust land, 199,930 acres or 50.6% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 36A |
|---|---|---|
| State trust land | 199,930 | 50.6% |
| National wildlife refuge | 50,639 | 12.8% |
| BLM | 18,758 | 4.7% |
| City, county and other | 15,020 | 3.8% |
| Tribal land (tribal permit) | 37 | under 0.1% |
Measured by FilledTag inside AZGFD's unit boundary from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee managers). Public land open to hunting here means national forest, BLM, state trust land, AZGFD land, national wildlife refuges, national recreation areas and Bureau of Reclamation land. Tribal land, military land and national parks are counted on their own rows and left out of that figure. Arizona State Land Department rules let a licensed hunter on state trust land while hunting; other uses need its recreation permit.
What can you hunt in Unit 36A in 2026?
Draw hunts that include Unit 36A, by species. A hunt may cover other units too; the count of hunts held only here is in its own column.
| Species | Hunts | Only in Unit 36A | Permits | Earliest season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | 9 | 9 | 1,765 | Oct 9 to Oct 15 (hunt 1196) |
Source: AZGFD 2026 Pronghorn and Elk Hunt Draw Information (elk and pronghorn) and AZGFD 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations (deer, bighorn sheep, fall javelina and fall turkey).
How many elk, deer and pronghorn are taken in Unit 36A?
| Species | Year | Hunts only in Unit 36A | Hunters | Taken | Shared hunts that included it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | 2025 | 8 | 1,606 | 475 | 0 |
Sums of AZGFD's per-hunt figures for the hunts held only in Unit 36A. Source: AZGFD 2025 Deer Harvest Summary. Each hunt, year by year, is on the deer page.
Over-the-counter archery deer, 2024: AZGFD estimates 939 archers hunted Unit 36A for 5,225 days and took 58 deer (mule deer bucks 33, whitetail bucks 25) (AZGFD 2024 Over-the-Counter Archery Deer Harvest Summary).
How do you get to Unit 36A?
Highways through the unit: AZ 286 (about 17 miles inside it) and AZ 86 (about 3 miles inside it). Towns and places inside: Three Points, Green Valley and Arivaca Junction. Nearby towns: Sahuarita (on the line), Tucson (13 miles) and South Tucson (14 miles).
Which units border Unit 36A?
Unit 36A touches 5 other units. Their size, public land and the number of 2026 draw hunts that include each:
| Unit | Square miles | Public land | Elk hunts | Deer hunts | Pronghorn hunts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 34A | 690 | 59.3% | 7 | 2 | |
| Unit 36B | 561 | 83.8% | 7 | ||
| Unit 36C | 315 | 80.7% | 7 | ||
| Unit 37A | 1,674 | 67.6% | 2 | ||
| Unit 38M | 766 | 20.5% |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Arizona Unit 36A?
68.2% of Unit 36A is public land open to hunting, 269,327 of its 395,141 acres; the largest share is state trust land at 199,930 acres. 37 acres are tribal land, which needs the tribe's own permit.
What can you hunt in Unit 36A in 2026?
AZGFD's 2026 draw lists 9 deer hunts (1,765 permits) that include Unit 36A. Over-the-counter seasons are set statewide in AZGFD's regulations.
What is the closest town to Unit 36A?
Three Points, Green Valley and Arivaca Junction are inside the unit. Just outside: Sahuarita (on the line), Tucson (13 miles) and South Tucson (14 miles).
Which AZGFD region is Unit 36A in?
Region 5, run from the Tucson office. It borders Unit 34A, Unit 36B, Unit 36C, Unit 37A and Unit 38M.
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Where these numbers come from
- Hunts and permits: AZGFD's 2026 Pronghorn and Elk booklet and 2026-27 regulations.
- Harvest: AZGFD harvest summaries (AZGFD harvest reporting).
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee managers). Unit boundary: AZGFD game management unit boundaries.
- Highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, places.
FilledTag is not part of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Numbers are copied from AZGFD's published reports or measured from AZGFD and USGS maps; nothing here is estimated by FilledTag. AZGFD's regulations are the final word on every rule.
Arizona hunting Region 5 Unit 34A Unit 36B Unit 36C Unit 37A Unit 38M