San Rafael, Dirty Devil, Utah

Low-to-mid desert canyon country on the Colorado Plateau. The management plan documents elevation ranging approximately 4,200–7,900 ft within the San Rafael WMU. The landscape is characterized by sheer canyon walls along the Dirty Devil River and its tributaries (Happy Canyon, Beaver Canyon, Poison Springs Canyon, No Mans Canyon, Fiddler Cove), wide sandstone slickrock mesas (Sams Mesa, Twin Corral Flats), rugged escarpments, badlands, buttes, and deep box canyons. The Dirty Devil River begins near Hanksville where the Muddy and Fremont rivers join and flows south into the Colorado River. The Green River forms the northeastern boundary before meeting the Colorado. Much of the terrain is roadless and requires cross-country travel. UDWR rates the terrain as strenuous for hunters.

The unit is 99%+ public land: approximately 52.8% BLM, 40.9% National Park Service (principally Canyonlands National Park western boundary and Glen Canyon NRA/Lake Powell shoreline), 6.1% Utah State Institutional Trust Lands, and 0.1% private, based on modeled bighorn sheep habitat (total modeled area 539,872 acres per 2019 UDWR management plan). No CWMUs are documented within this boundary. Hunting is not permitted within National Park boundaries; active bighorn and game hunting occurs on BLM and state lands. Primary highway access: State Route 24 runs north–south through Hanksville; SR-95 forms the western perimeter running south toward Hite Crossing and Lake Powell. I-70 defines the northern boundary from the Green River east to Green River town. Interior access is via maintained and unmaintained BLM dirt roads—many created during 1950s–1960s uranium mining exploration. A high-clearance 4WD vehicle is strongly recommended. Large portions—particularly the Dirty Devil drainage, Happy Canyon, No Mans Canyon, and Sams Mesa Box Canyon—are roadless and require foot or pack travel. The nearest services and fuel are in Hanksville (Wayne County). The BLM Henry Mountains Field Station (380 South 100 West, Hanksville, UT 84734; 435-542-3461) is the primary land management contact. The BLM Price Field Office (125 South 600 West, Price, UT 84501; 435-636-3600) covers the northern portions.

Dominant cover is desert shrub and blackbrush at lower elevations, grading into pinyon-juniper woodland on canyon rims and mesa tops. Riparian corridors along the Dirty Devil River, its side canyons, and the Colorado and Green rivers provide cottonwood, tamarisk, and willow stands. Open sagebrush flats occur on elevated benches. The BLM and UDWR have identified pinyon-juniper encroachment as a habitat management concern and have targeted canyon rims around Twin Corral Flats, Sams Mesa Box, and French Spring canyons for potential PJ removal to improve desert bighorn habitat.

Desert bighorn sheep are the signature species, reintroduced in 1991 with the first hunt in 2003. The 2022 aerial survey recorded 158 animals (73 ewes, 53 rams, 32 lambs), concentrated along the Dirty Devil River face, Poison Springs area, Colorado River canyon walls, Sams Mesa, Twin Corral, and Marinus. Herd population objective is 200 animals (per 2019 UDWR unit management plan). Most hunting and occupied sheep habitat is between the western Canyonlands National Park boundary and along the Dirty Devil drainage with associated canyons and mesas. The herd carries confirmed Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae respiratory pathogens (tested 2015); mountain lion predation is a documented limiting factor. The unit is designated a bighorn sheep protection area with a liberal cougar harvest quota and a year-round cougar hunting season. Mule deer are present throughout the unit and hunted under the general-season framework (Manti/San Rafael general-season deer boundary). Elk are present in low, dispersed densities in scattered habitat pockets; the unit is part of the San Rafael South-Dirty Devil spike elk boundary. Black bear and mountain lion are present. Kit fox occur in the drier reaches. The Dirty Devil River and Colorado River confluence area supports raptors including golden eagles.

1. The San Rafael, Dirty Devil boundary is primarily managed as a desert bighorn sheep sub-unit of San Rafael WMU #12. The bighorn boundary covers Emery, Garfield, and Wayne counties; the San Rafael North sub-unit (Carbon, Emery, Sevier counties) and San Rafael South sub-unit (Emery, Wayne counties) are separate. 2. Modeled bighorn habitat totals 539,872 acres; overall unit area is larger. NPS lands (40.9% of modeled habitat) are closed to hunting. 3. 2026 desert bighorn quotas: DS6608 (any-legal-weapon) = 4 permits total; DS6624 (archery) = 2 permits total; combined = 6 permits. The draft's quoted quota of 9 reflects 2025 totals. 4. The herd carries confirmed Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae; mountain lion predation is an ongoing management concern per UDWR. 5. 2025 bighorn season dates (Sep 13–Nov 10 any weapon; Nov 11–Dec 17 archery) confirmed by eRegulations. 2026 unit-specific dates not yet confirmed; statewide framework is Sept 1–Dec 31, 2026. 6. Mule deer and elk boundaries in this geography use different hunt unit names and may not be coextensive with the bighorn sub-unit boundary.