La Sal, Potash/South Cisco, Utah

Deeply incised canyon country centered on the river corridors of the Colorado and Green rivers and their tributary side canyons. Sheer Wingate sandstone walls rise hundreds of feet above canyon bottoms; talus slopes provide escape terrain along canyon walls. Mesa tops above the canyons are relatively flat and open. Canyon bottom elevations along the Colorado River near Cisco sit around 4,100 feet; mesa rims and Blue Hills terrain north of Moab rise into the 5,000–6,000 ft range. GoHunt cites an elevation range of approximately 4,200–6,300 feet across the unit (total area 1,462 sq miles).

The primary paved access corridor is Utah State Route 279 (Potash Road/Lower Colorado River Scenic Byway), which leaves US-191 about 4 miles northwest of Moab and runs approximately 15 miles along the Colorado River to the Intrepid Potash Mine and a BLM boat ramp. Beyond the boat ramp the road becomes graded dirt and 4WD track, connecting to the Shafer Trail — a steep switchback 4WD/jeep route climbing roughly 2,000 feet to the Island in the Sky mesa rim of Canyonlands NP (non-huntable). I-70 forms the northern boundary and provides access at Green River (Exit 164) to BLM roads entering the unit from the north near the Cisco area. US-191 runs through Moab and provides the main regional corridor. BLM manages the majority of huntable canyon and mesa land; three BLM campgrounds operate along Potash Road (Jaycee Park, Williams Bottom, Gold Bar). The UDWR bighorn management plan identifies three BLM domestic sheep grazing allotments in the northeast (Cisco, Little Hole, Pipeline allotments) that require attention for wild sheep separation. Arches National Park (north of Moab) and Canyonlands National Park (Island in the Sky and Needles) fall within the boundary's geographic area but exclude hunting entirely. Private land is minimal (approximately 1.9% of modeled bighorn habitat). Remote side canyons off both river corridors have no maintained roads and require cross-country foot or pack travel.

Canyon walls and talus slopes are largely bare rock and sparse desert shrub — classic desert bighorn habitat. Mesa tops are covered with pinyon-juniper woodland. Canyon bottoms along the Colorado and Green rivers support a narrow riparian corridor of cottonwood, tamarisk, willows, and riverside shrubs. The Blue Hills area north of Moab is open with scattered shrub and good visibility. Overall the unit is arid with low precipitation and exposed Permian/Triassic sandstone geology. The UDWR management plan identifies pinyon-juniper on mesa tops as a management target for habitat treatment to expand bighorn range.

Desert bighorn sheep are the signature species; the population occupies primarily rugged canyon walls and talus slopes along the Colorado and Green river corridors and side canyons, with the Blue Hills area providing additional habitat. The UDWR 2019 management plan estimated the population at approximately 220 animals against an objective of 300; the population has shown variability linked to disease (bacterial pneumonia) and low lamb production. Permit quotas have grown from 2–3 annually in earlier years to 6 permits in 2025 and 8 in 2026, reflecting management progress. Mountain lions are the primary bighorn predator and are managed on the overlapping La Sal cougar hunt unit. Pronghorn antelope inhabit the flatter mesa and bench terrain in the unit. Mule deer are present across the unit though this boundary is not a primary mule deer management unit. The unit boundary is also listed by UDWR as a peregrine falcon use area. Cougar are confirmed present and managed for harvest annually.

1. Bighorn sheep quota updated: draft cited 2-3 permits but UDWR data shows growth — 3 permits in 2023, 6 in 2025, 8 in 2026. tag_quota set to 6 (most recent confirmed full-season value). 2. Potash Road length corrected to ~15 miles paved per americansouthwest.net (draft said 17 miles). 3. National Parks (Arches and Canyonlands) are explicitly excluded from hunting per UDWR bighorn management plan; these parks occupy a substantial portion of the outer boundary. The 97% public land figure includes national park land; huntable public land is smaller. 4. Pronghorn tag quota of 24 is sum of 2023 LE archery (PB5009: 5 permits) and LE any legal weapon (PB5035: 19 permits). 5. Population estimate corrected from 223 to ~220 per search-verified sources (2019 plan, objective 300). 6. South Cisco refers to Cisco area in Grand County near I-70; unit encompasses both river-corridor canyon terrain and drier bench/mesa country toward Cisco.