Cache, South, Utah

The unit spans from Cache Valley floor near Logan (~4,400–4,500 ft) up to Naomi Peak at 9,979 ft, the highest point in the Bear River Range. Terrain is steep and rugged throughout the middle and upper elevations, with deep canyon drainages (Logan Canyon, Blacksmith Fork Canyon, Providence Canyon, Millville Canyon, Temple Fork) incising the range. Ridgelines and plateaus above 7,500 ft provide summer elk range. Winter range drops to canyon-bottom benches and south-facing slopes generally between 4,400 and 6,500 ft. The eastern slope descends toward Bear Lake (approximately 5,900 ft).

The dominant public land manager is the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, covering roughly 65% of the summer range across the full Cache elk unit. US-89 (Logan Canyon Highway) is the primary east-west corridor, running from Logan into Rich County and past Bear Lake — it is the only major paved route through the mountains. SR-101 connects Cache Valley to Hardware Ranch WMA via Blacksmith Fork Canyon (~15 miles east of Hyrum). USFS Road 054 (Ant Flat Road) provides north-south access along the national forest boundary east of the range and forms the southern and eastern boundary of the Cache South unit, connecting SR-101 to SR-39. Numerous maintained and 4WD Forest Service roads and ATV trails branch off these main routes. Hardware Ranch Wildlife Management Area (~19,000 acres, state-owned, managed by UDWR) sits at the head of Blacksmith Fork Canyon and is a significant interior public land block. Private land is particularly prevalent at lower elevations where urban development has reduced traditional wintering areas. The Ant Flat Road corridor in Rich County also passes through private agricultural land. Several CWMUs operate within the broader Cache elk unit boundary (including Coldwater Ranch and Sharp Mountain); these are separate private-land permits not included in the Cache South limited-entry draw.

Lower elevations and canyon mouths support sagebrush, bitterbrush, and desert shrub communities on south-facing slopes that serve as critical deer and elk winter range. Mid-elevation slopes (6,000–8,500 ft) transition through mountain brush, oakbrush, and aspen with an understory of forbs; aspen restoration has been an active management priority to reverse conifer encroachment. Upper elevations include spruce-fir forests and subalpine meadows that provide summer and early fall elk grazing. Juniper expansion at lower elevations is an ongoing management concern; habitat projects have focused on juniper removal in Logan Canyon, Left Hand Fork, and Temple Fork, as well as aspen restoration via prescribed fire (Red Ryder burn area). Riparian corridors along the Logan River, Left Hand Fork, and Blacksmith Fork support dense willow and deciduous cover.

Rocky Mountain elk are the premier game species; the Cache unit targets a winter population of approximately 2,300 elk (2023 estimate: ~1,600, below objective), with bulls managed for a mature age structure — the age objective for Cache South (2B) is 6.5–7.0 years at harvest, one of the highest in Utah. The 2023 average bull age at harvest was 6.5 years. Elk generally summer on higher-elevation national forest land and migrate to lower canyon benches and valley foothills for winter. Hardware Ranch WMA provides supplemental winter feeding for a portion of the herd. Mule deer are abundant across the unit as part of Deer Herd Unit 2 (Cache), managed for a target of 25,000 wintering deer (2023 estimate: ~12,500, below objective); the Cache unit has important winter range in Blacksmith Fork, Logan, Providence, and Millville Canyons. Moose are present in the Cache unit (once-in-a-lifetime any legal weapon tags, MB6000, 16 issued annually with 100% harvest success in 2024). Black bear are hunted in the Cache/Ogden combined harvest-objective unit (BR7017 spring, BR7121 late spring, BR7228 fall) with very limited permits. Mountain lion can be pursued year-round with a hunting license and no additional permit required. Pronghorn exist in the Cache/Rich county area under the Cache, Rich limited-entry pronghorn boundary (PB5073/5074/5075), a separate species-specific boundary; antelope range is primarily in Rich County open sagebrush areas rather than the forested Bear River Range.

1. BOUNDARY SCOPE: Cache South is an elk-specific limited-entry boundary only. Mule deer are hunted under the broader Cache general season unit (Deer Herd Unit 2). Pronghorn fall under the separate Cache, Rich species boundary. Moose use the Cache unit (MB6000). Deer and moose data reflect the larger Cache unit, not Cache South exclusively. 2. ELK AGE OBJECTIVE: The 2023 Utah Big Game Annual Report lists Cache South (Unit 2B) age objective as 6.5–7.0 years at harvest — higher than the 6.0–6.5 figure in earlier drafts. The 2023 actual average bull age at harvest was 6.5 years. 3. PERMIT QUOTA (ELK): Total of 43 permits across all Cache South LE bull elk codes in 2024 (EB3005:9, EB3036:4, EB3037:7, EB3083:5, EB3107:2, EB3170:5, EB3171:11). Individual season allocations vary year to year. 4. HUNTER SUCCESS (ELK): 40% figure is total harvest (17) divided by total permits (43) for 2024; per-code success ranged from 0% (EB3036 early rifle) to 100% (EB3107 multiseason). 5. CWMU EXCLUSION: Several CWMUs operate within the broader Cache elk unit area. These are private-land units with separate permits not available through the Cache South LE draw. 6. RESTRICTED WEAPONS (DEER): Beginning in 2025, Cache general deer unit adopted restricted-weapon regulations for rifle and muzzleloader general seasons. 7. PUBLIC LAND PCT (52%): Sourced from GoHunt Cache unit profile representing the whole Cache deer/elk herd unit. Cache South elk boundary likely has higher public-land percentage but a Cache-South-specific figure was not found in available sources. 8. WINTER POPULATION: Cache elk unit (Unit 2) 2023 winter population estimate was ~1,600, below the 2,300 objective (2023 Annual Report). Cache deer unit (Unit 2) 2023 estimate was ~12,500, below the 25,000 objective.