Ogden, Utah

Elevation ranges from approximately 4,250 feet in the valley floors to 9,800 feet along high Wasatch ridgelines. Terrain east of Ogden is steep and heavily dissected, with narrow canyons — most notably Ogden Canyon (carved by the Ogden River along SR-39) and its side drainages — rising abruptly into forested ridges and alpine basins. Most public land tracts are on steep slopes; valley floors and benches are largely private. The unit encompasses roughly 634 square miles.

Primary vehicle access is via SR-39 (Ogden River Scenic Byway) through Ogden Canyon to Pineview Reservoir and Huntsville, then continuing east toward Woodruff; SR-167 (Trappers Loop Road) connects Ogden Valley to I-84 near Mountain Green. The Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest (Ogden Ranger District) manages the main public-land block; Forest Service road closures typically run November through May/June on the Ogden Ranger District per published Motor Vehicle Use Maps. The unit contains approximately 26% public land — most accessible tracts are steep and hard-to-reach, with some parcels landlocked by private property. Private land dominates valley floors and benches, constituting roughly 76% of summer range and 81% of winter range (per the 2023 Elk Herd Unit Management Plan). CWMUs are explicitly excluded from general-season public hunting within the Ogden boundary. UDWR-managed Wildlife Management Areas include Middle Fork WMA and Cinnamon Creek WMA (recently acquired), which are actively being restored for elk and deer winter and summer range. Access to private land requires written permission from landowners.

Mid-elevation slopes support dense Gambel oak brush, bigtooth maple, and shrub fields that transition to Douglas-fir, white fir, and aspen stands on north-facing aspects. Higher elevations carry spruce-fir timber. Sagebrush and mixed shrub communities dominate lower benches and winter range. Riparian corridors along the Ogden River, South Fork Ogden River, and Weber River provide willows and cottonwoods. Pineview Reservoir sits within the unit boundary.

Mule deer are the primary big-game species. Rocky Mountain elk occupy the unit year-round; the spring 2023 population survey estimated 1,950 elk against a 2,000-animal objective, with animals using Cache Valley and Ogden Valley as winter range. Significant elk-human conflict occurs when elk move onto private agricultural lands during hard winters — the 2023 elk management plan notes that elk from the adjacent Morgan-South Rich and Cache units also winter on the Ogden unit, complicating population management. Moose are present; hunt unit MB6008 carries 9 once-in-a-lifetime permits (9/9 harvested in 2024, 100% success). Pronghorn occur in the Cache/Morgan-South Rich/Ogden combined boundary (hunt PB5032, 3 limited-entry OIAL permits, 3/3 harvested in 2024). Mountain goat are present at Willard Peak (1 annual OIAL permit, GO6810; 0 of 1 permit resulted in harvest in 2024 — population noted as not yet rebounded). Black bear and mountain lion inhabit the forested terrain. Ruffed and dusky grouse use oakbrush and aspen habitats. CWD has been detected in the unit — mandatory CWD sample submission is required for all general-season any-legal-weapon deer hunters harvesting on this unit beginning 2026.