LAST EDITED ON Sep-27-07 AT 11:01AM (MST)[p]You should figure out where you want to hunt first and go to you nearest forest service office to get a BLM map. This should give you little bit of topography for the area. You can then zoom in by using a USGS quad to get a better picture of trails and terrain. I like to back up an area with Google earth to get a better feel for the vegetation in an area. Sometimes you can't tell on there but many times you can tell if it is open or not, or has been burned or not.
Also be aware of all of the fires that we had this season (over 2 million acres burned this summer). I heard that some of the units are being closed because the fires have funneled game into one small area, or ran them out of an area completely.
I think USGS.gov can send you a quad for a fee of any area you request.
A word of caution about quads though, they are usually out of date with open versus timbered terrain, roads, trails, etc. but are very good for topography.