Henry Mountains bison unit: draw, harvest and public land
Henry Mountains is a 1,395-square-mile once-in-a-lifetime bison unit in DWR's Southeastern Region of Utah. Once-in-a-lifetime bison hunters here took 91 bison on 101 permits in 2025, by DWR's 2025 harvest report (preliminary). The unit is 90.1% public land open to hunting, most of it BLM (717,423 acres), measured from UGRC's statewide land ownership map (last edited 2023).
Data updated October 2026. Seasons: DWR's 2026 guidebook. Harvest: DWR's reports, 2016 to 2025. Draw: DWR's 2024 and 2025 results. Land: UGRC, 2023.
National forestBLMState trust land (SITLA)National park or monument (NPS, no hunting)State sovereign land (lake and river beds)Henry MountainsNeighboring bison unitsLake or riverHighway
| DWR region | Southeastern Region (Price office) |
|---|---|
| Size | 893,027 acres (1,395 square miles) |
| Public land | 90.1% (804,554 acres) |
| 2026 hunts on this unit | 7 (DWR guidebook) |
| Bison harvested, 2025 | 91 on 101 permits |
| Harvest per 100 hunters, 2025 | 90 (from DWR's figures) |
| 2025 first-choice applicants | 8,922 residents, 5,935 nonresidents (80 drew) |
| Towns in and near it | Hanksville, Torrey and Boulder |
When are the 2026 bison hunts on Henry Mountains?
DWR's 2026 guidebook lists 7 once-in-a-lifetime bison hunts 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BI6503 | Rifle (any legal weapon) | Oct. 28-Nov. 8 | 4,964 | 4 | 3,798 | 2 |
| BI6504 | Rifle (any legal weapon) | Nov. 11-Nov. 22 | 1,761 | 5 | 1,720 | 2 |
| BI6505 | Rifle (any legal weapon) (cow only) | Dec. 9-Dec. 20 | 343 | 25 | 417 | 3 |
| BI6506 | Rifle (any legal weapon) (cow only) | Dec. 23, 2026-Jan. 3, 2027 | 384 | 30 | ||
| BI6509 | Archery | Jan. 18-Jan. 31, 2027 | 369 | 4 | ||
| BI6516 | Rifle (any legal weapon) | Nov. 25-Dec. 6 | 1,101 | 5 | ||
| BI6539 | Rifle (any legal weapon) (cow only) (new for 2026) | Jan. 6-Jan. 17 |
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 Henry Mountains each year?
DWR's harvest reports cover Henry Mountains' once-in-a-lifetime bison hunts in 10 years from 2016 to 2025. In 2025, 101 hunters afield took 91 bison, 90 for every 100 hunters. In 2024: 44 from 49 hunters on 49 permits.
| Year | Hunts reported | Permits | Hunters afield | Bison harvested | Harvest per 100 hunters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | 101 | 101 | 91 | 90 |
| 2024 | 6 | 49 | 49 | 44 | 90 |
| 2023 | 6 | 83 | 80 | 59 | 74 |
| 2022 | 6 | 73 | 70 | 50 | 71 |
| 2021 | 6 | 82 | 75 | 28 | 37 |
| 2020 | 7 | 46 | 46 | 20 | 43 |
| 2019 | 7 | 127 | 127 | 84 | 66 |
| 2018 | 9 | 222 | 202 | 147 | 73 |
| 2017 | 5 | 87 | 85 | 66 | 78 |
| 2016 | 4 | 63 | 52 | 39 | 75 |
Source: DWR harvest reports, 2016 to 2025, every once-in-a-lifetime bison hunt DWR printed for this unit's name each year, added up by FilledTag. 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 Henry Mountains
| Hunt | Weapon | Permits | Hunters afield | Bison harvested | DWR's percent success | Average days | Satisfaction (1 to 5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BI6503 | Rifle (any legal weapon) | 15 | 15 | 14 | 93.3% | 2.4 | 4.6 |
| BI6504 | Rifle (any legal weapon) | 13 | 13 | 13 | 100% | 4.5 | 4.2 |
| BI6505 | Rifle (any legal weapon) (cow only) | 28 | 28 | 22 | 78.6% | 4 | 4 |
| BI6506 | Rifle (any legal weapon) (cow only) | 29 | 29 | 27 | 93.1% | 5.5 | 4.3 |
| BI6509 | Archery | 3 | 3 | 2 | 66.7% | 7 | 4.3 |
| BI6516 | Rifle (any legal weapon) | 13 | 13 | 13 | 100% | 3.5 | 4.5 |
Source: DWR 2025 harvest report (preliminary).
Henry Mountains 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archery | 2 of 3 | 4 of 4 | 0 of 5 | 4 of 4 | 0 of 7 | 4 of 7 | 7 of 9 | 18 of 20 |
| Archery (cow only) | 8 of 12 | |||||||
| Late rifle | 0 of 13 | 0 of 10 | ||||||
| Late rifle (cow only) | 23 of 26 | 15 of 27 | ||||||
| Rifle (any legal weapon) | 40 of 41 | 40 of 45 | 59 of 78 | 46 of 69 | 28 of 62 | 16 of 29 | 33 of 55 | 46 of 57 |
| Rifle (any legal weapon) (cow only) | 49 of 57 | 13 of 25 | 19 of 28 | |||||
| Weapon not printed | 25 of 44 | |||||||
| Weapon not printed (cow only) | 24 of 46 |
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 Henry Mountains bison permits?
In DWR's 2025 draw, 8,922 residents put a Henry Mountains bison hunt first and 73 drew a permit, 0.8% of them; 5,935 nonresidents applied first choice and 7 drew (0.1%). In 2024, 8,552 residents applied first choice and 38 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BI6503 | Bison (hunter's choice) | 4,964 | 4 | 3,798 | 2 |
| BI6504 | Bison (hunter's choice) | 1,761 | 5 | 1,720 | 2 |
| BI6505 | Bison (cow only) | 343 | 25 | 417 | 3 |
| BI6506 | Bison (cow only) | 384 | 30 | ||
| BI6509 | Bison archery (hunter's choice) | 369 | 4 | ||
| BI6516 | Bison (hunter's choice) | 1,101 | 5 |
| Hunt | Residents, reserved permits: points | Residents, random permits: points | Nonresidents, reserved permits: points | Nonresidents, random permits: points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BI6503 | 28 | 11 | 29 | 11 |
| BI6504 | 27 to 28 | 16 to 26 | 28 | 1 |
| BI6505 | 16 to 24 | 4 to 16 | 21 to 26 | 6 |
| BI6506 | 15 to 19 | 1 to 13 | ||
| BI6509 | 19 to 21 | 8 to 12 | ||
| BI6516 | 26 to 28 | 13 to 23 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BI6503 | Bison (hunter's choice) | 4,858 | 9 | 2,464 | 1 |
| BI6504 | Bison (hunter's choice) | 1,702 | 9 | 1,151 | 1 |
| BI6505 | Bison (cow only) | 360 | 4 | 133 | 1 |
| BI6506 | Bison (cow only) | 292 | 6 | 144 | 1 |
| BI6509 | Bison archery (hunter's choice) | 352 | 4 | 581 | 1 |
| BI6516 | Bison (hunter's choice) | 988 | 6 | 1,030 | 1 |
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 Henry Mountains is public land?
90.1% of the Henry Mountains bison unit is public land open to hunting under its manager's rules: 804,554 of 893,027 acres. The largest share is BLM, 717,423 acres or 80.3% of the unit. 67,705 acres are National Park Service land, closed to hunting.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Henry Mountains |
|---|---|---|
| BLM | 717,423 | 80.3% |
| State trust land (SITLA) | 87,131 | 9.8% |
| National park or monument (NPS, no hunting) | 67,705 | 7.6% |
| Other public land (highways, other state land) | 72 | under 0.1% |
| Private and other land not shown | 20,696 | 2.3% |
Measured by FilledTag inside DWR's 2026 boundary from UGRC's statewide land ownership map (last edited 2023). State trust land (SITLA) is open to hunting where it can be reached legally; many sections touch no public road. A permit does not allow hunting on CWMUs, tribal land or national parks.
What other hunts share the Henry Mountains 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 Henry Mountains it covers |
|---|---|---|
| San Rafael, Desert | limited-entry buck pronghorn | 95% |
| Henry Mountains | limited-entry deer | 91% |
| Henry Mountains | general-season any bull elk (over the counter) | 91% |
| Henry Mountains | once-in-a-lifetime desert bighorn sheep | 91% |
How do you get to the Henry Mountains unit?
No numbered highway crosses the unit. Towns inside: Hanksville. Nearby: Torrey (16 miles) and Boulder (19 miles). Rivers: Fremont River (26 miles).
Questions hunters ask
When are the 2026 bison hunts on Henry Mountains?
DWR's 2026 guidebook lists 7 once-in-a-lifetime bison hunts on Henry Mountains: Rifle (any legal weapon) Oct. 28-Nov. 8 (BI6503), Rifle (any legal weapon) Nov. 11-Nov. 22 (BI6504), Rifle (any legal weapon) (cow only) Dec. 9-Dec. 20 (BI6505), Rifle (any legal weapon) (cow only) Dec. 23, 2026-Jan. 3, 2027 (BI6506), Archery Jan. 18-Jan. 31, 2027 (BI6509) and Rifle (any legal weapon) Nov. 25-Dec. 6 (BI6516), and 1 more in the table above.
How many bison were harvested on Henry Mountains in 2025?
91, by DWR's 2025 harvest report (preliminary): 101 hunters afield on 101 permits, 90 bison for every 100 hunters. In 2024 the count was 44.
How many people apply for Henry Mountains bison permits?
8,922 residents and 5,935 nonresidents made a Henry Mountains hunt their first choice in DWR's 2025 draw; 73 residents and 7 nonresidents drew (DWR 2025 drawing results).
Is Henry Mountains mostly public land?
Yes. 90.1% of the unit is public land open to hunting, most of it BLM (717,423 acres), measured from UGRC's land ownership map.
What is the closest town to the Henry Mountains bison unit?
Hanksville is inside the unit. Just outside: Torrey (16 miles) and Boulder (19 miles).
DWR's boundary description for Henry Mountains
Garfield and Wayne counties: Boundary begins in Hanksville at the junction of SR-24 and SR-95; south on SR-95 to the west shoreline of Lake Powell; south along this shoreline to SR-276 at Bullfrog; north on SR-276 to the Burr Trail-Notom road; north on this road to the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area boundary west of the Bullfrog Creek drainage; southwest on this boundary to the Capitol Reef National Park boundary; north on this boundary to SR-24; east on SR-24 to SR-95 at Hanksville. EXCLUDES ALL NATIONAL PARKS. USGS 1:100,000 Maps: Escalante, Loa, Hanksville, Hite Crossing. Boundary questions? Call the Price office, 435-613-3700.
From DWR's 2026 unit layer.
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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.