Cache, North, Utah

Steep to very steep mountain terrain rising abruptly from Cache Valley (approximately 4,500 ft) to Naomi Peak at 9,979 ft in the Mount Naomi Wilderness. The Bear River Range runs north-south forming the eastern edge of Cache Valley. Major drainages include Logan Canyon (US-89 corridor), Blacksmith Fork Canyon, Temple Fork, Right Hand Fork, and Franklin Basin. The Wellsville Mountains—often claimed to be one of the steepest mountain ranges in North America—rise to 9,372 ft (Box Elder Peak) along the western margin. Terrain is generally rough to very rough with limited road penetration into higher elevations.

Primary vehicle access via US-89 through Logan Canyon, which bisects the unit east-west and provides the backbone for dispersed access to Forest Service roads (e.g., Temple Fork, Right Hand Fork, Franklin Basin Road/USFS Rd 054 "Ant Flat road"). SR-101 leads northeast from Logan to Hardware Ranch (a UDWR wildlife management area). The Mount Naomi Wilderness (44,523 acres, northeast of Logan) requires foot or horse travel and contains approximately 73 miles of trails; Naomi Peak trail from Tony Grove Lake is the main access. The Wellsville Mountain Wilderness (22,986 acres, northwest of Logan) has approximately 17 miles of trail and is accessible only on foot due to very steep terrain. The Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest manages the majority of public lands; ATVs and 4WD vehicles recommended on secondary roads. Private land blocks exist primarily on the valley-floor edges and in the Rich County drainages; hunters must verify ownership before accessing. No CWMUs are noted specifically for Cache North elk, but private inholdings within the NF boundary require written permission. The west-side access points (Hyrum, Millville, Providence canyons) serve winter-range habitat; summer and hunting-season access is primarily from Logan Canyon.

Lower foothills and canyon mouths feature sagebrush-bitterbrush winter range transitioning to mountain shrub communities (oakbrush, serviceberry). Mid-elevation canyon slopes carry stands of bigtooth maple, oakbrush, and riparian cottonwood/willow. Higher zones hold aspen groves, which are a priority for restoration given ongoing conifer encroachment. Sub-alpine terrain is spruce-fir and mixed conifer (Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir, Douglas-fir). Alpine meadows top out near Naomi Peak. Pinyon-juniper is largely absent at these latitudes; instead, encroaching Rocky Mountain juniper and white fir are habitat concerns. The Rich County (east face) side carries more open sagebrush-steppe with scattered aspen at mid elevations.

Mule deer are the most abundant big game, using the Bear River Range as summer range and migrating to lower canyon slopes for winter. Elk herds are present and use the same high-elevation summer range; bulls are the primary target. The Cache moose unit (MB6000) encompasses this area—Shiras moose are present in the riparian corridors of Logan Canyon and its tributaries, with 14 permits issued annually and 100% hunter success in 2023. Black bears are managed under the Cache/Ogden bear unit (BR7017/BR7121/BR7228/BR7320) with limited spring, summer, and fall seasons. Mountain lions are present and managed under the Cache cougar unit (unit 2). Pronghorn occupy the Rich County (east-side) grasslands and are hunted under the separate 'Cache, Rich' pronghorn unit—their presence within the Cache North elk-specific boundary is incidental and not a targeted hunt species here. Wild turkey are established in the canyon bottoms. Non-game species include yellow-bellied marmot, beaver (with closures on Temple Fork and Right Hand Fork), and raptors. The Cache unit maintains a mule deer winter population objective of 25,000 animals; actual population was approximately 14,300–17,900 during 2019–2021 (57–72% of objective).

1. The 'Cache, North' boundary is a UDWR elk-specific hunt unit (unit 2A) carved from the broader Cache deer/game management unit (unit 2). For mule deer, the applicable general-season unit is simply 'Cache' (DB1502/DB1627/DB1628 etc.) — there is no separate 'Cache North' mule deer hunt; the data above reflects the Cache general-season unit as a whole. 2. The elk LE September archery hunt (EB3132) had 22 permits in 2023 (18.2% success) and the HAMSS hunt (EB3139) had 21 permits in 2023 (40.0% success); the tag_quota of 43 is the sum of these two 2023 LE allocations. General-season spike-only OTC and any-bull OTC elk tags are also valid within the Cache North boundary under the broader unit 2 designation. 3. The 2026 HAMSS season dates are Nov 7–30; the 2025 dates were Nov 8–30. 4. Cache unit mule deer general-season rifle and muzzleloader are restricted-weapon hunts (recurve/longbow archery, open-sighted muzzleloader only) as part of a UDWR research study beginning 2025. 5. Pronghorn (Cache, Rich unit) are excluded from the species array — their boundary is distinct from Cache North; presence within the elk unit is incidental. 6. Public land percentage (64%) is from GoHunt's Cache North elk unit profile. 7. Harvest data for general-season elk (spike and any-bull OTC) combines the entire Cache unit (unit 2): spike general season 40 bulls harvested from 614 hunters afield (6.5% success) in 2023; early any-bull 8 bulls from 190 afield (4.2%); late any-bull 17 bulls from 59 afield (28.8%). 8. CWMU areas for elk are excluded from hunt unit boundaries per UDWR policy. 9. Moose (MB6000) and Black Bear (Cache/Ogden) boundaries are the full Cache management unit (unit 2), which is larger than the Cache North elk-specific boundary; inclusion reflects confirmed species presence and huntability within the Cache North geographic area. 10. Wellsville Mountains steepness claim corrected: Wikipedia describes them as 'often claimed to be one of the steepest mountain ranges in North America' (not specifically 'narrowest, steepest in the Rockies' as originally drafted).