New Mexico Unit 6B: public land, hunts and harvest
Game Management Unit 6B covers 88,794 acres (139 square miles) of Northwest New Mexico; 99.9% of it is public land, the largest share National Park Service (88,673 acres), by the BLM's New Mexico land status map (2026). NMDOW's 2026-27 booklet lists 15 elk hunt codes valid here, with 350 draw licenses. NMDGF's 2025-26 totals for Unit 6B, which count public and private-land hunters, show 169 elk taken.
Data updated October 2026. Hunts: NMDOW's 2026-27 Hunting Rules and Information. Harvest: NMDGF reports to 2025-26. Land: BLM New Mexico, 2026-10.
National forestNational Park ServiceTribal landUnit 6BNeighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| Quadrant | Northwest New Mexico |
|---|---|
| Size | 88,794 acres (139 square miles) |
| Public land | 99.9% (88,748 acres) |
| Elk hunt codes, 2026-27 | 15 (350 draw licenses) |
| Towns in and near it | Jemez Springs, Española and Cuba |
Most of Unit 6B is the Valles Caldera National Preserve, run by the National Park Service. National Park Service land is closed to hunting elsewhere in New Mexico, but NMDOW holds elk draw hunts in the preserve, and its hunters must attend a hunter orientation (2026-27 Hunting Rules and Information, page 44). The public land share here counts the preserve.
How much public land is in Unit 6B?
99.9% of Unit 6B is public land open to hunting under its manager's rules: 88,748 of 88,794 acres. The largest share is National Park Service, 88,673 acres or 99.9% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 6B |
|---|---|---|
| National Park Service | 88,673 | 99.9% |
| National forest | 75 | 0.1% |
| Tribal land | 5 | under 0.1% |
Measured by FilledTag inside NMDOW's unit boundary from the BLM New Mexico surface management agency map (read 2026-10). Land not listed is private or unmapped. NMDOW requires a Habitat Stamp on national forest and BLM land (2026-27 booklet, page 14). The National Park Service land here is the Valles Caldera National Preserve, where NMDOW holds hunts, and it is counted as public.
What can you hunt in Unit 6B?
15 hunt codes in NMDOW's 2026-27 booklet are valid in Unit 6B. Some cover neighboring units too; each species page lists them all with their recent results.
| Species | Hunt codes | Draw licenses | Season span, 2026-27 | Harvest, newest NMDGF unit total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 15 | 350 | Sep 1 to Dec 9 | 169 (2025-26) |
Hunts: NMDOW 2026-27 Hunting Rules and Information, pages 77 and 78. Harvest: NMDOW elk harvest reports; "with other units" means NMDGF prints this unit's total together with other units.
How do you get to Unit 6B?
Highways through the unit: NM 4 (about 6 miles inside it). Nearby: Jemez Springs (5 miles), Española (19 miles) and Cuba (19 miles).
Which units border Unit 6B?
Unit 6B touches 2 other units. Their size, public land and 2026-27 hunt codes, for comparison:
| Unit | Square miles | Public land | Elk codes | Deer codes | Pronghorn codes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 6A | 1,321 | 47.8% | 8 | 4 | |
| Unit 6C | 1,215 | 53.4% | 9 | 4 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Unit 6B?
99.9% of Unit 6B, 88,748 of its 88,794 acres, is national forest, BLM, state trust, Commission, refuge or Reclamation land or the Valles Caldera National Preserve, measured by FilledTag from the BLM's New Mexico land status map. The largest share is National Park Service (88,673 acres).
What can you hunt in Unit 6B?
NMDOW's 2026-27 Hunting Rules and Information lists 15 elk hunt codes valid in Unit 6B. 15 of them are drawn hunts with 350 licenses in all.
What is the closest town to Unit 6B?
No town is inside it. The nearest are Jemez Springs (5 miles), Española (19 miles) and Cuba (19 miles).