La Sal, Moab Valley, Utah

The unit occupies the transition zone between the Colorado Plateau canyon country and the lower forested flanks of the La Sal Mountains, ranging roughly from 4,000 to 7,500 feet in elevation. The lower portions feature sandstone canyon and mesa topography — red rock cliffs, narrow drainages, and broken slickrock benches — characteristic of the Moab Valley. Mid-elevation terrain transitions to rolling foothills with moderate to steep ridgelines. The La Sal Mountains themselves (which extend above this subunit boundary into the broader La Sal Mtns unit) rise to 12,721 feet at Mount Peale, but the Moab Valley subunit captures the lower, drier flanks and desert-fringe terrain rather than the high alpine core.

Primary highway access is US-191, the main Moab corridor running north-south along the western edge of the unit. State Route 46 (La Sal Mountain Loop Road) provides the main mountain access, a 60-mile scenic backway beginning approximately 6 miles south of Moab on US-191 and looping through the range. Graded BLM and Forest Service roads extend off SR-46 and US-191 into the unit's canyons and foothills; the Warner Lake Campground road (approximately 5 miles off SR-46) is one notable FS access point. La Sal Junction (intersection of US-191 and SR-46, roughly 20 miles south of Moab) serves as a key access hub and was used as a UDWR check station location in recent deer seasons. The unit is approximately 70% public land, split between Manti-La Sal National Forest (upper slopes) and BLM Moab Field Office (lower canyon terrain). Some private land blocks exist, particularly in lower valley areas and near the town of La Sal. The Circle E Ranch CWMU (DB1253, Grand County, 1 public permit) may fall within or adjacent to this boundary — verify private land before hunting. No wilderness areas are designated within the lower subunit footprint, though some FS roadless terrain exists at higher elevations. Arches and Canyonlands National Parks are not within the La Sal, Moab Valley subunit boundary.

At lower elevations (4,000–5,500 ft), vegetation is dominated by sagebrush steppe, desert scrub, and sparse grasses typical of the Colorado Plateau. Pinyon pine and Utah juniper woodland is the most prevalent cover type through the mid-elevation foothills (5,500–7,000 ft), with Gambel oak appearing on north-facing slopes and riparian corridors supporting cottonwood and willow along creek bottoms. At the upper edge of the subunit boundary, ponderosa pine and mixed conifer begin to appear, transitioning into the aspen and spruce-fir forests that characterize the higher La Sal Mtns unit above. The late-season timing of the hunt (November) means deer targeted here have typically migrated downslope toward winter range in the pinyon-juniper and sagebrush zone.

Mule deer are the primary species managed within this specific boundary. CWD is present in the Moab Valley area — Utah first documented CWD statewide in 2002, and the Moab Valley area subsequently tested positive; the unit's mandatory sampling requirement is one of only three statewide (Castle Valley, Moab Valley, Ogden). The late-season hunt targets older age-class bucks, believed to be primary CWD vectors. Elk are present in the broader La Sal Mountains and managed under the separate La Sal Mtns elk unit (population objective 1,800 animals; estimated at 1,800 in 2025, with a 3-year average bull age of 6.0 years). Black bear density in the La Sal Mountains is among the higher in the state, with populations along the mountain flanks and forested canyons. Mountain lion are present year-round. Wild turkey (Merriam's subspecies) inhabit the higher pinyon-juniper and mixed-conifer zones. Pronghorn occur in the desert flats adjacent to the range under the separate La Sal, Potash/South Cisco pronghorn boundary. Desert bighorn sheep inhabit canyon walls and lower desert terrain under the La Sal, Potash/South Cisco desert bighorn boundary. Mountain goat occupy the highest La Sal terrain under a once-in-a-lifetime permit unit.

1. SPECIES SCOPE: The La Sal, Moab Valley named boundary is a mule deer-only limited-entry unit. Elk, black bear, mountain lion, mountain goat, pronghorn, and desert bighorn are geographically present but hunted under separate unit boundaries. 2. CWD MANDATORY: Mandatory sample submission upon harvest; one of three such units statewide in 2026. Utah first documented CWD in 2002 near Vernal; Moab-specific detection year not confirmed in available UDWR web sources (draft claim of 2003 removed as unsupported). 3. TAG QUOTA: 25 permits sourced from GoHunt 2026 permit recommendation article referencing CWD management LE for La Sal; not independently confirmed in UDWR PDF guidebook (PDF not machine-readable via fetch). Mark as indicative. 4. BOUNDARY PDF: wildlife.utah.gov boundary map PDF (map-2024-11-la-sal-moab-valley-buck-deer-unit.pdf) returned 404. 5. UNIT SIZE: ~175 square miles per GoHunt profile. 6. PUBLIC LAND PCT: 70% per GoHunt unit profile. 7. CWMU: Circle E Ranch CWMU (DB1253, Grand County) may fall within or adjacent — verify before hunting private land.