Plateau, Utah

Elevation ranges from approximately 6,000 feet on lower desert winter ranges (Wayne County valleys) to 11,633 feet at Fish Lake Hightop Plateau and roughly 11,317 feet at Bluebell Knoll on Boulder Mountain (Aquarius Plateau). The three sub-units span distinct terrain: 25A (Fishlake) centers on the Fish Lake Mountains with steep roadless high-elevation summer range and open sagebrush benches west of SR-24; 25B (Thousand Lakes) includes Thousand Lake Mountain and Capitol Reef-adjacent canyon country with broad winter-concentration basins (Solomon Basin, Horse Valley, Sand Flat, Paradise Flat, Lyman Slopes) and lower winter range limits of 6,000–7,400 ft; and 25C (Boulder/Kaiparowits) encompasses the flat-topped Boulder Mountain (approximately 50,000 acres above 10,500 feet), the Kaiparowits Plateau slickrock country, and the Escalante Mountains, with steep cliffs dropping to lower canyon and mesa terrain south of Boulder Mountain.

The outer boundary of the combined Plateau unit runs from SR-24/US-89 at Sigurd south on SR-24 to SR-62, south on SR-62 to SR-22, south on SR-22 to the Widtsoe-Antimony road, south to SR-12, east on SR-12 to the Paria River, south to the Utah-Arizona state line, east to Lake Powell, along the lakeshore to the Burr Trail, north on the Burr Trail to the Notom Road, north on Notom Road to SR-24, east on SR-24 to Caineville Wash road, north to I-70, and west on I-70 back to US-89. Principal paved access routes include US-89/SR-24 (main spine west of unit), SR-72 (Loa-to-I-70 corridor through the Thousand Lakes sub-unit), SR-12 (Torrey to Escalante, traversing Boulder Mountain's east face), and the Burr Trail (paved/dirt, Boulder to Capitol Reef boundary). Forest Service roads on the Fishlake sub-unit provide access to Fish Lake, Johnson Valley Reservoir, and high-elevation trailheads off SR-25 and the Fish Lake Scenic Byway. Boulder Mountain is accessed via backcountry jeep trails and ATV routes off SR-12 and Hell's Backbone Road, with summit access generally snow-free only July–September. Public land (USFS, BLM, NPS, SITLA) constitutes approximately 84% of 25A deer range, ~94% of 25B deer range, and ~91% of 25C deer range (UDWR Herd Unit Plan, Table 1.3/2.3/3.3); private land blocks exist primarily in agricultural valleys near Loa, Fremont, Lyman, and Torrey. Capitol Reef National Park (closed to hunting) occupies a significant portion of the 25B Thousand Lakes sub-unit winter range (37% of winter deer range per plan).

Upper elevations (above ~9,000 ft) support spruce-fir and aspen-dominated forests; Boulder Mountain's summit plateau (~10,500+ ft) has extensive fir, spruce, and aspen stands interspersed with sage flats and meadows. Mid-elevations feature ponderosa pine with mountain brush understory, as well as transitional aspen communities. Pinyon-juniper woodland constitutes approximately 22–27% of each sub-unit (per LANDFIRE existing vegetation data) and forms the primary winter cover and thermal refuge for elk and deer. Lower elevation winter ranges are dominated by sagebrush-steppe, antelope bitterbrush, and mixed shrub types; annual grasses including cheatgrass are present but constitute a small proportion of winter range. Riparian corridors follow the Fremont River, Sevier River, Paria River, and their tributaries. Precipitation ranges from 6 inches on the lower east side of the Thousand Lakes sub-unit to 41 inches on the high elevation peak of the Fish Lake Hightop Plateau (1981–2010 PRISM model; UDWR 2020 Herd Unit Plan).

Mule deer are the primary big game species, managed under Deer Herd Unit #25/26; combined target winter population is 16,900 deer across all sub-units (7,000 in 25A, 1,400 in 25B, 8,500 in 25C/26), down from prior objectives of 25,000 due to habitat limitations (UDWR 2020 Herd Unit Plan). Rocky Mountain elk are present throughout: Fishlake/Thousand Lakes is managed as a spike-only general season unit (EB1003/EB1004 statewide spike-only category) with limited-entry bull elk permits (EB3018, EB3063, EB3064, EB3065, EB3096, EB3120); the Boulder sub-unit supports elk managed under separate antlerless and LE frameworks (EA1075/EA1076/EA1077 Boulder antlerless elk; EB3135 Barney Top/Kaiparowits LE archery). Pronghorn antelope are documented on the unit — antelope are noted on the open winter range and sagebrush benches in the Fishlake sub-unit (25A) in the herd plan, and Parker Mountain pronghorn (in or adjacent to 25C) are managed as a separate limited-entry draw unit (PB5076/PB5077/PB5078). Black bear occupy the unit and are hunted under Fishlake/Thousand Lakes bear management seasons with multiple limited-entry and harvest-objective permit types. Mountain lion are managed in Fishlake (25A) and Thousand Lakes (25B) cougar management units under Utah's general cougar permit system. Wild turkey are huntable within Fishlake National Forest. No mountain goat, moose, bighorn sheep, or bison units exist within this boundary.

1. Unit_code 'plateau' corresponds to the combined UDWR mule deer herd boundary encompassing three sub-units: Plateau Fishlake (25A — Sevier/Piute/Wayne), Plateau Thousand Lakes (25B — Sevier/Wayne), and Plateau Boulder/Kaiparowits (25C/26 — Garfield/Piute/Wayne). Separate hunt numbers are issued per sub-unit. 2. Harvest statistics removed from species_data: the draft's claimed 62.3% success / 116 harvest for deer and 8.1% / 76 harvest for elk are not supported by 2024 UDWR harvest reports; actual 2024 Fishlake any-ALW success was 53.0% with 182 harvested (plus additional harvests by archery, muzzleloader, early ALW, and dedicated hunter seasons). 3. Public land percentage updated to 90% (weighted estimate from herd plan Tables 1.3/2.3/3.3): 25A ~84% public winter range, 25B ~94% (NPS 37%+BLM 30%+USFS 24%+SITLA 3%), 25C ~91% (BLM 42%+USFS 28%+NPS 11%+SITLA 10%). 4. Fishlake/Thousand Lakes is confirmed spike-only general season elk (EB1003/1004 statewide category). 5. Boulder elk managed separately under antlerless and Barney Top/Kaiparowits LE frameworks — NOT under Fishlake/Thousand Lakes LE permits. 6. Capitol Reef NP (closed to hunting) comprises 37% of 25B winter deer range. 7. Lower desert elevation corrected to 6,000 ft (not 5,200 ft) per herd plan winter range lower limits.