Antelope Island bison unit: draw, harvest and public land
Antelope Island is a 44-square-mile once-in-a-lifetime bison unit in DWR's Northern Region of Utah. Once-in-a-lifetime bison hunters here took 2 bison on 2 permits in 2025, by DWR's 2025 harvest report (preliminary). The unit is 1% public land open to hunting, most of it BLM (279 acres), measured from UGRC's statewide land ownership map (last edited 2023). The largest landholder is state park land, where the park's rules apply: 24,410 acres, 87.6% of the unit.
Data updated October 2026. Seasons: DWR's 2026 guidebook. Harvest: DWR's reports, 2013 to 2025. Draw: DWR's 2024 and 2025 results. Land: UGRC, 2023.
BLMState park (park rules)State sovereign land (lake and river beds)Antelope IslandNeighboring bison unitsLake or riverHighway
| DWR region | Northern Region (Ogden office) |
|---|---|
| Size | 27,871 acres (44 square miles) |
| Public land | 1% (279 acres) |
| 2026 hunts on this unit | 1 (DWR guidebook) |
| Bison harvested, 2025 | 2 on 2 permits |
| Harvest per 100 hunters, 2025 | 100 (from DWR's figures) |
| 2025 first-choice applicants | 3,249 residents, 0 nonresidents (2 drew) |
| Towns in and near it | Syracuse, West Point and Hooper |
When are the 2026 bison hunts on Antelope Island?
DWR's 2026 guidebook lists 1 once-in-a-lifetime bison hunt on this unit, shown here with the 2025 draw for the same hunt number where DWR used it.
| Hunt number | Hunt | 2026 season | 2025 first-choice applicants (residents) | 2025 permits drawn (residents) | 2025 first-choice applicants (nonresidents) | 2025 permits drawn (nonresidents) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BI6500 | Rifle (any legal weapon) | Dec. 7-Dec. 9 | 3,249 | 2 |
Source: 2026 Utah Big Game Application Guidebook, hunt tables, page 65; boundaries from DWR Hunt Planner hunt table. DWR can change a season during the year: check the Utah Hunt Planner before you go.
How many bison are taken on Antelope Island each year?
DWR's harvest reports cover Antelope Island's once-in-a-lifetime bison hunts in 13 years from 2013 to 2025. In 2025, 2 hunters afield took 2 bison, 100 for every 100 hunters. In 2024: 2 from 2 hunters on 2 permits.
| Year | Hunt | Permits | Hunters afield | Bison harvested | DWR's percent success | Average days | Satisfaction (1 to 5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | BI6500 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 100% | 1 | 5 |
| 2024 | BI6500 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 100% | 1 | 5 |
| 2023 | BI6500 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 100% | 1 | 5 |
| 2022 | BI6500 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 100% | 1 | 5 |
| 2021 | BI6500 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 100% | 1 | 5 |
| 2020 | BI6500 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 100% | 1.1 | 4.9 |
| 2019 | BI6500 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 100% | 1 | 4.9 |
| 2018 | BI6500 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 100% | 1 | 5 |
| 2017 | BI6500 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 100% | 1 | 5 |
| 2016 | BI6500 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 100% | 1 | 5 |
| 2015 | BI6500 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 100% | 1 | 5 |
| 2014 | BI6500 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 100% | 1 | |
| 2013 | BI6500 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 100% | 1 |
Source: DWR harvest reports, 2013 to 2025, every once-in-a-lifetime bison hunt DWR printed for this unit's name each year. CWMU, landowner, conservation and sportsman permits are not included. Harvest per 100 hunters is worked out from DWR's own two numbers.
Each 2025 hunt on Antelope Island
| Hunt | Weapon | Permits | Hunters afield | Bison harvested | DWR's percent success | Average days | Satisfaction (1 to 5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BI6500 | Rifle (any legal weapon) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 100% | 1 | 5 |
Source: DWR 2025 harvest report (preliminary).
Antelope Island by weapon, year by year
Bison harvested of permits issued, by weapon, for each year DWR reported since 2018:
| Weapon | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle (any legal weapon) | 2 of 2 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 2 | 8 of 8 | 8 of 8 | 10 of 10 |
Source: DWR harvest reports, 2018 to 2025. An empty cell means DWR printed no hunt of that kind on this unit that year.
How many hunters apply for Antelope Island bison permits?
In DWR's 2025 draw, 3,249 residents put an Antelope Island bison hunt first and 2 drew a permit, 0.1% of them; no nonresident applied first choice. In 2024, 3,089 residents applied first choice and 2 drew. Limited-entry and once-in-a-lifetime permits are drawn on bonus points: DWR reserves half of each hunt's permits for the applicants with the most points and draws the rest at random (Utah Admin. Rule R657-62-8).
| Hunt | DWR's hunt name | Resident applicants | Residents drawn | Nonresident applicants | Nonresidents drawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BI6500 | Bison (hunter's choice) | 3,249 | 2 |
| Hunt | Residents, reserved permits: points | Residents, random permits: points | Nonresidents, reserved permits: points | Nonresidents, random permits: points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BI6500 | 30 | 1 |
From DWR's 2025 drawing results, which list each point level's permits from the reserved half (most points first) and from the random half. A blank cell means no permit of that kind went to the group.
| Hunt | DWR's hunt name | Resident applicants | Residents drawn | Nonresident applicants | Nonresidents drawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BI6500 | Bison (hunter's choice) | 3,089 | 2 |
Source: DWR 2025 drawing results and DWR 2024 drawing results, first-choice applications only, as DWR reports them; DWR leaves out second to fifth choices. The share who drew in a past year is not a forecast for the next draw. Deadlines and fees: Utah draw deadlines and fees.
How much of Antelope Island is public land?
1% of the Antelope Island bison unit is public land open to hunting: 279 of 27,871 acres, the largest share BLM (279 acres). The largest landholder is state park land, where the park's rules apply: 24,410 acres, 87.6% of the unit. DWR uses the same boundary for its limited-entry deer hunts; the land table by manager, the access notes and DWR's boundary description are on the Antelope Island limited-entry deer page.
Measured by FilledTag inside DWR's 2026 boundary from UGRC's statewide land ownership map (last edited 2023).
What other hunts share the Antelope Island bison unit's ground?
Utah draws a separate map of units for each species and hunt type. These units cover part of the same ground, measured from DWR's 2026 boundaries:
| Unit | Hunt type | Share of Antelope Island it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Antelope Island | once-in-a-lifetime Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep | 100% |
| Antelope Island | limited-entry deer | 100% |
Questions hunters ask
When are the 2026 bison hunts on Antelope Island?
DWR's 2026 guidebook lists 1 once-in-a-lifetime bison hunt on Antelope Island: Rifle (any legal weapon) Dec. 7-Dec. 9 (BI6500).
How many bison were harvested on Antelope Island in 2025?
2, by DWR's 2025 harvest report (preliminary): 2 hunters afield on 2 permits, 100 bison for every 100 hunters. In 2024 the count was 2.
How many people apply for Antelope Island bison permits?
3,249 residents and 0 nonresidents made an Antelope Island hunt their first choice in DWR's 2025 draw; 2 residents and 0 nonresidents drew (DWR 2025 drawing results).
Get a Utah hunt plan when they open
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Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Utah included.
Where these numbers come from
- Harvest, permits, hunters, days and satisfaction: DWR harvest reports, 2013 to 2025 (2025 preliminary).
- 2026 hunts and season dates: 2026 Utah Big Game Application Guidebook; boundary names: DWR Hunt Planner hunt table.
- Applicants and permits drawn: DWR drawing results, 2024 and 2025.
- Unit boundary: DWR 2026 hunt unit boundaries. Public land: UGRC's statewide land ownership map (last edited 2023). WMAs: DWR public access properties (WMAs). Walk-In Access: DWR Walk-In Access properties (December 17, 2025).
- 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 Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Numbers are copied from DWR and the State of Utah, or measured from their maps; nothing on this page is estimated by FilledTag.