Black bear draws by state: hunts and applications
Oregon had the most first-choice black bear applications of the 6 state draws on file: 16,903 in its 2026 draw (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife), ahead of Colorado (16,237, 2026) and Utah (9,509, 2025).
Data updated October 2026. From each state agency's latest draw report on file, fetched October 2026.
This table lists every state FilledTag has black bear draw results for, counting only the black bear hunts each state fills by drawing (most states also sell black bear licenses over the counter, which are not here); Alaska's brown bear drawings are not counted. Applications are counted on first choice, the way each agency prints them; a hunter who applies in two pools, or for two hunts, is counted twice. For Nevada, the report on file lists the hunts but not applicants per hunt.
Which states hold a black bear draw, and how many applied?
| State | Draw year | Points | Hunts in the draw | First-choice applications | Drew on first choice | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | 2026 | Hybrid: preference and random | 19 | 16,903 | 11,039 (65%) | Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife |
| Colorado | 2026 | Preference points | 130 | 16,237 | 11,222 (69%) | Colorado Parks and Wildlife |
| Utah | 2025 | Bonus points | 88 | 9,509 | 872 (9%) | Utah Division of Wildlife Resources |
| Alaska | 2025 | No points | 7 | 6,202 | not printed for every pool | Alaska Department of Fish and Game |
| Idaho | 2026 | No points | 6 | 4,038 | 390 (10%) | Idaho Department of Fish and Game |
| Nevada | 2025 | Squared bonus points | 2 | not printed | not printed | Nevada Department of Wildlife |
Questions about black bear draws
Which state had the most black bear draw applications?
Oregon, with 16,903 first-choice applications across 19 black bear hunts in its 2026 draw, as Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife reported it.
Where did the largest share of first-choice black bear applications draw?
Among states that print who drew for every pool, Colorado: 11,222 of 16,237 first-choice applications drew in 2026 (69%). The smallest share was Utah's, 872 of 9,509 in 2025 (9%). These are past results, not the chance of drawing next year.
Which states draw black bear tags with no points?
Alaska and Idaho: no applicant gains an edge from earlier years in those draws, by the agency's own rules. Oregon, Colorado, Utah and Nevada give an edge to applicants who have built points.
Do nonresidents apply for black bear in large numbers?
In Colorado's 2026 draw, 3,025 of the 16,237 first-choice black bear applications were from nonresidents (19%), the largest nonresident share among the states that split applications by residency.
Read each state's draw in full
Each state name in the table opens that state's own page on FilledTag, with the draw by hunt, the points it took where the agency prints them, and the units on the map. The draw rules by state page explains how each state uses points. To see where your own points could draw, use the tag draw planner.
Every number is the agency's, copied from its published report; FilledTag adds nothing to it. The share that drew is a past result for that year.