San Rafael (Desert) pronghorn unit: draw, harvest and public land
San Rafael, Desert is a 4,705-square-mile limited-entry buck pronghorn unit in DWR's Southeastern Region of Utah. Limited-entry buck pronghorn hunters here took 6 bucks on 8 permits in 2025, by DWR's 2025 harvest report (preliminary). The unit is 86.4% public land open to hunting, most of it BLM (2,314,182 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, 2013 to 2025. Draw: DWR's 2024 and 2025 results. Land: UGRC, 2023.
National forestBLMState trust land (SITLA)DWR wildlife landNational park or monument (NPS, no hunting)Military land (closed)State park (park rules)State sovereign land (lake and river beds)Other public land (highways, other state land)San Rafael, DesertNeighboring pronghorn unitsLake or riverHighway
| DWR region | Southeastern Region (Price office) |
|---|---|
| Size | 3,010,952 acres (4,705 square miles) |
| Public land | 86.4% (2,602,958 acres) |
| 2026 hunts on this unit | 2 (DWR guidebook) |
| Bucks harvested, 2025 | 6 on 8 permits |
| Harvest per 100 hunters, 2025 | 86 (from DWR's figures) |
| 2025 first-choice applicants | 110 residents, 82 nonresidents (8 drew) |
| Wildlife management areas | 1, 4,068 acres inside the unit |
| Towns in and near it | Hanksville, Green River, Emery and Torrey |
When are the 2026 pronghorn hunts on San Rafael, Desert?
DWR's 2026 guidebook lists 2 limited-entry buck pronghorn 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PB5045 | Rifle (any legal weapon) | Sept. 12-Sept. 20 | 100 | 5 | 82 | 1 |
| PB5055 | Archery | Aug. 15-Sept. 11 | 10 | 2 |
Source: 2026 Utah Big Game Application Guidebook, hunt tables, pages 62 and 63; 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 bucks are taken on San Rafael, Desert each year?
DWR's harvest reports cover San Rafael, Desert's limited-entry buck pronghorn hunts in 13 years from 2013 to 2025. In 2025, 7 hunters afield took 6 bucks, 86 for every 100 hunters. In 2024: 5 from 7 hunters on 7 permits.
| Year | Hunts reported | Permits | Hunters afield | Bucks harvested | Harvest per 100 hunters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 86 |
| 2024 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 71 |
| 2023 | 2 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 100 |
| 2022 | 2 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 82 |
| 2021 | 2 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 100 |
| 2020 | 2 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 94 |
| 2019 | 2 | 20 | 17 | 12 | 71 |
| 2018 | 2 | 18 | 17 | 13 | 76 |
| 2017 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 78 |
| 2016 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 100 |
| 2015 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 100 |
| 2014 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 83 |
| 2013 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 100 |
Source: DWR harvest reports, 2013 to 2025, every limited-entry buck pronghorn 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 San Rafael, Desert
| Hunt | Weapon | Permits | Hunters afield | Bucks harvested | DWR's percent success | Average days | Satisfaction (1 to 5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PB5045 | Rifle (any legal weapon) | 6 | 6 | 5 | 83.3% | 2.5 | 4.3 |
| PB5055 | Archery | 2 | 1 | 1 | 100% | 2 | 1 |
Source: DWR 2025 harvest report (preliminary).
San Rafael, Desert by weapon, year by year
Bucks harvested of permits issued, by weapon, for each year DWR reported since 2018:
| Weapon | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archery | 1 of 2 | 1 of 1 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 | 0 of 3 | 2 of 4 |
| Rifle (any legal weapon) | 5 of 6 | 4 of 6 | 10 of 10 | 8 of 10 | 13 of 13 | 13 of 13 | 12 of 17 | 11 of 14 |
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 San Rafael, Desert pronghorn permits?
In DWR's 2025 draw, 110 residents put a San Rafael, Desert pronghorn hunt first and 7 drew a permit, 6.4% of them; 82 nonresidents applied first choice and 1 drew (1.2%). In 2024, 109 residents applied first choice and 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PB5045 | Limited-entry ALW (rifle) buck pronghorn | 100 | 5 | 82 | 1 |
| PB5055 | Limited-entry archery buck pronghorn | 10 | 2 |
| Hunt | Residents, reserved permits: points | Residents, random permits: points | Nonresidents, reserved permits: points | Nonresidents, random permits: points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PB5045 | 8 to 9 | 3 | 5 | |
| PB5055 | 4 | 3 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PB5045 | Limited-entry ALW (rifle) buck pronghorn | 98 | 4 | 86 | 1 |
| PB5055 | Limited-entry archery buck pronghorn | 11 | 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 San Rafael, Desert is public land?
86.4% of the San Rafael, Desert pronghorn unit is public land open to hunting under its manager's rules: 2,602,958 of 3,010,952 acres. The largest share is BLM, 2,314,182 acres or 76.9% of the unit. 361,653 acres are National Park Service land, closed to hunting.
| Manager | Acres | Share of San Rafael, Desert |
|---|---|---|
| BLM | 2,314,182 | 76.9% |
| National park or monument (NPS, no hunting) | 361,653 | 12% |
| State trust land (SITLA) | 284,712 | 9.5% |
| State park (park rules) | 9,305 | 0.3% |
| DWR wildlife land | 4,064 | 0.1% |
| State sovereign land (lake and river beds) | 3,797 | 0.1% |
| Other public land (highways, other state land) | 781 | under 0.1% |
| Private and other land not shown | 32,458 | 1.1% |
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.
DWR wildlife management area inside the unit: Lower San Rafael River WMA (4,068 acres).
DWR's Walk-In Access program has 1 active hunting property on private land in the unit, about 52 acres. Each has its own rules: DWR Walk-In Access.
What other hunts share the San Rafael, Desert pronghorn 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 San Rafael, Desert it covers |
|---|---|---|
| San Rafael, South-Dirty Devil | general-season spike elk (over the counter) | 72% |
| Manti/San Rafael | general-season deer | 72% |
| San Rafael, Dirty Devil | once-in-a-lifetime desert bighorn sheep | 44% |
| San Rafael, South | once-in-a-lifetime desert bighorn sheep | 29% |
| Henry Mountains | limited-entry deer | 28% |
| Henry Mountains | general-season any bull elk (over the counter) | 28% |
| Henry Mountains | once-in-a-lifetime desert bighorn sheep | 28% |
| Henry Mountains | once-in-a-lifetime bison | 28% |
How do you get to the San Rafael, Desert unit?
Highways through the unit: US 50 and I-70 (one road, about 118 miles inside it), US 6 (about 5 miles inside it) and US 191 (about 5 miles inside it). Towns inside: Hanksville. Nearby: Green River (on the line), Emery (8 miles), Torrey (15 miles) and Lyman (17 miles). Rivers: Dirty Devil River (79 miles), Green River (57 miles) and San Rafael River (42 miles).
Which pronghorn units border or overlap San Rafael, Desert?
| Unit | Square miles | Public land | Bucks harvested (DWR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiparowits | 3,252 | 68.3% | 1 (2025) |
| La Sal, Potash/South Cisco | 1,462 | 73.1% | 27 (2025) |
| Nine Mile, Range Creek | 1,546 | 71.4% | 16 (2025) |
| Plateau | 3,283 | 82.6% | 146 (2015) |
| San Rafael, North | 1,930 | 83.9% | 99 (2025) |
Questions hunters ask
When are the 2026 pronghorn hunts on San Rafael, Desert?
DWR's 2026 guidebook lists 2 limited-entry buck pronghorn hunts on San Rafael, Desert: Rifle (any legal weapon) Sept. 12-Sept. 20 (PB5045) and Archery Aug. 15-Sept. 11 (PB5055).
How many bucks were harvested on San Rafael, Desert in 2025?
6, by DWR's 2025 harvest report (preliminary): 7 hunters afield on 8 permits, 86 bucks for every 100 hunters. In 2024 the count was 5.
How many people apply for San Rafael, Desert pronghorn permits?
110 residents and 82 nonresidents made a San Rafael, Desert hunt their first choice in DWR's 2025 draw; 7 residents and 1 nonresident drew (DWR 2025 drawing results).
Is San Rafael, Desert mostly public land?
Yes. 86.4% of the unit is public land open to hunting, most of it BLM (2,314,182 acres), measured from UGRC's land ownership map.
What is the closest town to the San Rafael, Desert pronghorn unit?
Hanksville is inside the unit. Just outside: Green River (on the line), Emery (8 miles) and Torrey (15 miles).
DWR's boundary description for San Rafael, Desert
Emery, Garfield, Kane and Wayne counties: Boundary begins at the junction of I-70 and the Green River; south along the Green River to the Colorado River; south along the Colorado River and the west shore of Lake Powell to SR-276 at Bullfrog; north along SR-276 to the Notom road; north along this road to SR-24; east on SR-24 to Caineville and the Caineville Wash road; north along the Caine-ville Wash road to the Cathedral Valley road; west on the Cathedral Valley road to Rock Springs Bench and the Last Chance Desert road; north on the Last Chance Desert road to the Blue Flats road; north and east on the Blue Flats road to the Willow Springs road; north on the Willow Springs road towards Windy Peak and the Windy Peak road; west on the Windy Peak road to SR-72; north on SR-72 to I-70; east on I-70 to the Green River. USGS 1:100,000 Maps: Escalante, Hanksville, Hite Crossing, Huntington, Loa, Salina, San Rafael Desert. 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.
Utah hunting units Southeastern Region Utah draw deadlines Kaiparowits La Sal, Potash/South Cisco Nine Mile, Range Creek San Rafael, North