Henry Mtns, Utah

The Henry Mountains form a north-south laccolith range approximately 30 miles long rising dramatically from the surrounding Colorado Plateau. The northern cluster contains the three highest peaks: Mount Ellen (11,522 ft), Mount Pennell (11,371 ft), and Mount Hillers (10,723 ft). The southern cluster, known as the Little Rockies, includes Mount Ellsworth (8,235 ft) and Mount Holmes (~8,000 ft). The overall elevation range within the hunt boundary spans from approximately 3,700 ft at the western reaches near Lake Powell and the Dirty Devil River drainage to 11,522 ft at the Mt. Ellen summit, yielding roughly 7,800 ft of vertical relief. Terrain includes steep, broken canyon country in the lower reaches; mid-elevation rolling sagebrush benches and mesas (Swap Mesa, Stevens Mesa, Coyote Benches); and rugged alpine ridges at the highest elevations. Deep canyons — Bullfrog Creek, Trachyte Creek, Fourmile Canyon, Granite Creek, and North Wash — dissect the range and drain toward Lake Powell and the Dirty Devil River. The unit is described in UDWR management plans as one of the most remote and isolated big game units in the state.

The unit is primarily BLM-administered public land (~87%) with state trust lands (~10%) and a small private block (~2%). National Park lands (Capitol Reef NP edges the northern boundary) are excluded. Primary access roads include: SR-95 (the eastern boundary, paved, connecting Hanksville south to Hite Crossing and Lake Powell); SR-276 (paved, running south along the unit's western edge from Hanksville vicinity to Bullfrog Marina); and the Burr Trail/Notom Road (partially paved, partially graded dirt, forming the western and northern boundary, connecting Boulder to Capitol Reef NP). Interior access relies on a network of maintained and primitive BLM dirt roads including Sawmill Road, Little Egypt Road, Star Springs Road, Bull Creek Pass Backcountry Byway (4WD required, crosses the main range), and Coyote Benches/Stanton Pass roads. Lonesome Beaver, McMillan Springs, and Starr Springs are developed BLM campgrounds providing base camps. Several Wilderness Study Areas within or adjacent to the unit restrict motorized vehicle travel. The unit is extremely remote; BLM personnel make infrequent patrols and cell service is essentially nonexistent. Hunters should carry extra fuel, water, and emergency gear. There are no known CWMUs within the primary Henry Mountains deer/bison boundary, though the unit management plan references Walk-In Access and LOA programs for private land coordination.

Vegetation follows distinct elevation bands. Desert shrub and salt desert scrub (blackbrush, galleta grass, shadscale) dominate the lowest canyon floors and lake-adjacent flats below roughly 5,500 ft. Sagebrush steppe and desert shrub communities dominate mid-elevation winter range benches (5,500–7,000 ft) — including key winter deer range at Cave Flat, Crescent Creek, Dugout Creek, Quaking Aspen Spring, and Stevens Mesa. Pinyon-juniper woodland is extensive at mid-elevations and has been the subject of active vegetation treatment (lop-and-scatter, chaining, bullhog) under the Watershed Restoration Initiative since 2004, with 8,258 net acres treated within the unit. Higher slopes (above ~8,000 ft) support ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, Engelmann spruce, and quaking aspen. Alpine grasslands and meadows occur on the highest ridges of Mt. Ellen and Mt. Pennell. Riparian corridors along drainages support cottonwood and willows. Overall moisture is limited, ranging from about 6 inches/year at 5,000 ft to 15 inches/year at 7,000 ft, making water developments critical for wildlife distribution.

Mule deer are the primary game species, managed as a Premium Limited Entry (PLE) buck unit targeting mature bucks; the herd objective is 2,700 wintering deer. The 2024 post-season population estimate was approximately 1,280 deer, well below objective, reflecting drought-related declines from a 2015 peak; the population has recently begun recovering. Buck-to-doe ratios in 2024 were approximately 48 per 100 does. The Henry Mountains free-ranging bison herd — one of the few genetically pure, brucellosis-free, publicly accessible herds in the lower 48 states — numbers 300–400 animals managed at a target of ~325. Bison occupy the full elevation range from desert benches (~4,800 ft) to alpine grasslands on Mt. Ellen (~11,500 ft), seasonally moving to higher elevations in spring/summer and lower western slopes in fall/winter; key bison habitat includes Mud Spring, Stevens Mesa, Swap Mesa, Birch Spring, and Nasty Flat areas. Desert bighorn sheep (transplanted beginning in 1985) occupy the Little Rockies, Trachyte area, and eastern Mt. Hillers; the 2016 aerial count recorded 92 sheep with an estimated population of ~153; disease (Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae) has been a limiting factor. Elk are present but deliberately discouraged by UDWR; bulls are rare and generally small; hunters report many days without sighting elk or sign. Mountain lion is present as the primary predator, managing deer and bighorn populations. Black bear presence is low in this desert-dominated unit.