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Eastern Oregon · WMU 59
Snake River Unit (59): tags, seasons and 2025 harvest
Everything ODFW prints for WMU 59: 17 drawn hunts, 2 general big game rows and how the 2025 seasons went across Wallowa County.
Photo: Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington (CC BY 2.0)
Counties inside the Snake River Unit
ODFW's unit layer gives the Snake River Unit 459 square miles (294,407 acres) on the Eastern Oregon side of the Cascade split, and 100% of it is in Wallowa County. The whole Snake River Unit falls inside Wallowa County, so one county page covers its towns and services.
| County | Square miles | Of the unit | Of the county |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wallowa County | 458.9 | 100% | 15% |
1 ODFW wildlife district reach into the Snake River Unit; the phone numbers below are the district offices.
| District | Office | Phone | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wallowa | Enterprise | 541-426-3279 | 100% |
Area, side, county overlap and districts from the ODFW Wildlife Management Units layer and the ODFW wildlife district layer (overlay with Census county lines; GIS measures); closed places from the big game regulations and land manager sources; checked November 8, 2026.
Special areas and limits in the Snake River Unit
- The general cougar tag works all year, but Zone E closes once 270 cougars are reported from its 20 units. 76 cougar hunters took 5 here in 2025.
- For deer, read the hunt area codes: Northeast (NE: NE01, NE02, NE03, NE04, NE05, NE06) cover parts of the Snake River Unit.
- During Eastern Buck Deer, Rocky Mtn Bull Elk 1st Season and Rocky Mtn Bull Elk 2nd Season, a centerfire rifle is legal in the Snake River Unit only with a matching big game tag, used or unused.
- 3 cooperative road closure areas cover parts of the Snake River Unit; check dates before driving in.
- Waterfowl zones here are map-only (duck Zones 1 and 2 and the map-drawn goose zones).
- Game bird shooting hours come from ODFW's printed table: Zone D (Wallowa).
- Chronic wasting disease has not been detected in Oregon; ODFW listed 3,682 deer and 1,607 elk results as not detected on October 15, 2026.
| Rifle-restricted season |
|---|
Eastern Buck Deer (Oct. 3 – Oct. 14) |
Rocky Mtn Bull Elk (controlled) 1st Season (Oct. 28 – Nov. 1) |
Rocky Mtn Bull Elk 2nd Season (Nov. 7 – Nov. 15) |
| TMA | Name | In effect |
|---|---|---|
| 58D | Hells Canyon National Recreation Area | Permanent Closure |
| 59A | Lord Flat Trail (#1774) | 3 days prior to opening of archery season through the end of all elk ALW seasons. |
| 59B | PO Saddle Rd | 3 days prior to opening of archery season through June 15. |
| Herd range | Code | Deer Hunt Areas |
|---|---|---|
| Northeast | NE | NE01, NE02, NE03, NE04, NE05, NE06 |
Cougar zones, Eastern Oregon Deer Hunt Areas, centerfire rifle restrictions, travel management areas, antlerless elk damage areas, goose zones, game bird hours and CWD testing from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife; checked November 8, 2026.
Controlled hunts in the Snake River Unit
The Snake River Unit sits inside 17 hunt areas: 5 buck deer, 5 elk, 2 Rocky Mountain bighorn, 2 mountain goat and 1 spring bear. Hunt 559A1 drew 2,070 first choices in 2025, the most of any hunt here; it has 2 tags for 2026. ODFW added 5 of these hunts for 2026, so they have no 2025 applicant count. The * on 4 hunts means a partial hunt area.
Each series takes one application with up to five choices; points and the random pool apply only to the first choice. These are 2026 tags and dates.
Buck deer, 100 series (5)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NE101 new | Northeast 01 Mule Deer | Any legal weapon | Oct 3–14 | One mule deer buck with visible antler | 1,100 | — | 53, 59, 60, 61 |
| NE101-1 new | Northeast 01 Whitetail | Any legal weapon | Oct 3–14 | One white-tailed deer buck with visible antler | 660 | — | 53, 59, 60, 61 |
| NE101M new * | Northeast 01 Muzzleloader Whitetail | Muzzleloader | Dec 1–15 | One white-tailed deer CWD Sampling Required | 275 | — | 53, 59, 60, 61 |
| NE101R new | Northeast 01 Bow Mule Deer | Archery | Aug 29–Sep 27 | One mule deer buck with visible antler | 330 | — | 53, 59, 60, 61 |
| NE101R1 new | Northeast 01 Bow Whitetail | Archery | Aug 29–Sep 27 | One white-tailed deer | 319 | — | 53, 59, 60, 61 |
Premium deer, L hunts (1)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LNE01 | Northeast 01 | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30 | One animal (either sex); premium deer tags are good for any species of deer hunted in that unit | 1 | — | 60, 59, 61, 53 |
Elk, 200 series (5)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200R * | Oregon Youth Bow | Youth only | Aug 29–Sep 27 | One elk | 330 | 124 | 62 units |
| 259R | Snake Rvr Unit Bow | Archery | Aug 29–Sep 27 | One bull elk | 297 | 40 | This unit only |
| 259T | Snake Rvr Unit Youth | Youth only | Aug 15–Dec 31 | One antlerless elk | 11 | 30 | This unit only |
| 259X | Snake Rvr Unit No. 1 | Any legal weapon | Oct 28–Nov 1 | One spike elk | 154 | 96 | This unit only |
| 259Y | Snake Rvr Unit No. 2 | Any legal weapon | Nov 7–15 | One bull elk | 165 | 926 | This unit only |
Premium elk, M hunts (1)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M59 | Snake River | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30 | One animal (either sex); premium deer tags are good for any species of deer hunted in that unit | 1 | — | This unit only |
Rocky Mountain bighorn (2)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 559A1 * | N Snake Rvr | Any legal weapon | Aug 15–Oct 31 | — | 2 | 2,070 | 58, 59 |
| 559A2 * | S Snake Rvr | Any legal weapon | Aug 15–Oct 31 | — | 1 | 648 | This unit only |
Mountain goat, 900 series (2)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 959B1 | Snake Rvr No. 1 | Any legal weapon | Sep 1–30 | — | 2 | 1,284 | This unit only |
| 959B2 | Snake Rvr No. 2 | Any legal weapon | Oct 1–31 | — | 2 | 903 | This unit only |
Spring bear, 2026 hunts (1)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 759 | Snake Rvr Unit | Any legal weapon | Apr 1–May 31 | — | 440 | 681 | This unit only |
Hunt numbers, dates, bags, 2026 tags and 2025 first-choice applicants from the 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations and the 2026-27 game bird regulations (sage-grouse); hunt areas from ODFW’s 2026 hunt boundary layers; draw rules from the controlled hunt pages; checked November 8, 2026.
Snake River Unit hunts without a draw
Over-the-counter big game in the Snake River Unit means black bear and cougar; mule deer hunting needs a controlled tag. Elk need a 200 series or premium tag in WMU 59.
General tags (2)
| Species | Season | Tag | Area | Dates | Bag | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black bear | General fall black bear (statewide) | General tag | Statewide | Aug 1–Dec 31 | One bear per tag; unlawful to take cubs less than one year old or sows with cubs less than one year old | |
| Cougar | General cougar (statewide, zone quotas) | General tag | Statewide | Jan 1–Dec 31 | One cougar per tag; unlawful to take spotted kittens or females with spotted kittens |
19 bird and furbearer rows also apply here. Not shown: 13 falconry or pursuit rows.
Birds and small game (19)
| Species | Season | Tag | Area | Dates | Bag | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Turkey | Fall wild turkey | General tag | WMUs 36, 37 | Oct 10–Nov 30 Dec 1–Jan 31 2027 | One wild turkey of either sex | |
| Wild Turkey | Spring 2027: youth spring wild turkey hunt | General tag | Statewide | Apr 10–11 Apr 15–May 31 | One male or bearded turkey per day | |
| Wild Turkey | Spring 2027: spring wild turkey | General tag | Statewide | Apr 15–May 31 | One male wild turkey or a wild turkey with a visible beard per day; season limit 3 | |
| Western Gray Squirrel | Western gray squirrel – remainder of state | License | Statewide | Sep 1–Nov 15 | 5 daily, 15 in possession | |
| Ruffed Grouse | Ruffed grouse | Validation | Statewide | Sep 1–Jan 31 2027 | 3 daily, 9 in possession | |
| Blue Grouse | Blue grouse (dusky and sooty) | Validation | Statewide | Sep 1–Jan 31 2027 | 3 daily, 9 in possession | |
| Chukar | Partridge (chukar and Hungarian combined) | Validation | Statewide | Oct 10–Jan 31 2027 | 8 daily, 24 in possession (combined) | |
| Hungarian Partridge | Partridge (chukar and Hungarian combined) | Validation | Statewide | Oct 10–Jan 31 2027 | 8 daily, 24 in possession (combined) | |
| Pheasant | Rooster pheasant | Validation | Statewide | Oct 10–Dec 31 | 2 daily, 8 in possession | |
| Ducks | Youth waterfowl hunt (ducks, mergansers, coots, geese) | Validation | Statewide | Sep 26–27 | Regular bag limits | |
| Ducks | Veterans and active military personnel waterfowl hunt | Validation | Statewide | Feb 6 | Regular bag limits | |
| Band-tailed Pigeon | Band-tailed pigeon | Permit | Statewide | Sep 15–23 | 2 daily, 6 in possession | |
| Crow | Crow | Validation | Statewide | Oct 1–Jan 31 2027 | No limit | |
| Brant | Brant | Permit | Statewide | Nov 28–Dec 13 | 2 daily, 6 in possession | |
| Gray Fox | Gray fox | Furtaker | Statewide | Oct 15–Feb 28 2027 | — | |
| Muskrat | Muskrat and mink | Furtaker | Statewide | Nov 15–Mar 31 2027 | — | |
| Mink | Muskrat and mink | Furtaker | Statewide | Nov 15–Mar 31 2027 | — | |
| Raccoon | Raccoon | Furtaker | Statewide | Nov 15–Mar 15 2027 | — | |
| River Otter | River otter | Furtaker | Statewide | Nov 15–Mar 15 2027 | — |
Season rows from the 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations, the 2026-27 Oregon Game Bird Hunting Regulations and the furbearer regulations; general tag deadlines from the general season page; duck and dove zones on the ODFW waterfowl map; checked November 8, 2026.
Snake River Unit harvest in 2025
The 2025 table for the Snake River Unit lists 17 hunt rows; elk, any weapon tops it at 136.
Unit total, buck deer, any weapon: 108 animals, 215 hunters. Unit total, elk, any weapon: 136 animals, 230 hunters.
Rows with no hunters and no harvest are left out of the table.
| Kind | Hunt | Hunters | Taken | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buck deer, any weapon | 159 Snake Rvr Unit | 215 | 108 | 50% |
| Deer, archery | 159R Snake Rvr Unit Bow | 34 | 3 | 8% |
| Deer, muzzleloader | 159M Cnake Rvr Private Muzzleloader | 12 | 4 | 33% |
| Elk, any weapon | 259T Snake Rvr Unit Youth | 7 | 4 | 50% |
| Elk, any weapon | 259X Snake Rvr Unit No. 1 | 76 | 41 | 54% |
| Elk, any weapon | 259Y Snake Rvr Unit No. 2 | 147 | 91 | 62% |
| Elk, archery | 200R Oregon Youth Bow | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| Elk, archery | 259R Snake Rvr Unit Bow | 145 | 48 | 33% |
| Black bear | 759 Snake Rvr Unit | 272 | 96 | 35% |
| Black bear | Additional Fall Bear | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Black bear | Fall Bear | 103 | 15 | 14.5% |
| Cougar | Cougar | 76 | 5 | 6% |
| Bighorn sheep | 559A1 N Snake Rvr | 2 tags | 1 | 50% |
| Bighorn sheep | 559A1 S Snake Rvr | 2 tags | 1 | 50% |
| Bighorn sheep | 559A2 S Snake Rvr | 1 tags | 1 | 100% |
| Mountain goat | 959B1 S Snake Rvr No. 1 | 2 tags | 2 | 100% |
| Mountain goat | 959B2 S Snake Rvr No. 2 | 2 tags | 2 | 100% |
ODFW 2025 harvest estimates: Buck deer, any weapon, Deer, archery, Deer, muzzleloader, Elk, any weapon, Elk, archery, Black bear, Cougar, Bighorn sheep, Mountain goat; checked November 8, 2026.
Snake River Unit wildlife areas and forests
2 land records cross into WMU 59, including 0 Access and Habitat or Open Fields areas.
Hells Canyon National Recreation Area (Wallowa-Whitman National Forest)
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest
Land records and unit overlaps from ODFW, USFS, BLM, USFWS and ODF layers (see each land page); A&H and Open Fields access rules on the ODFW access program pages; checked November 8, 2026.
the Snake River Unit sunrise and shooting times
Oregon clocks fall back on November 1, 2026 and spring forward on March 14, 2027, so the the Snake River Unit times below jump an hour across those dates.
| Date | Opener | Rise | Set | Mammal hours | Bird table |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 3, 2026 | Eastern buck rifle | 6:48 a.m. | 6:27 p.m. | 6:18 a.m. to 6:57 p.m. | 6:27 a.m. to 6:24 p.m. |
| Oct 10, 2026 | Duck opener and upland opener | 6:57 a.m. | 6:14 p.m. | 6:27 a.m. to 6:44 p.m. | 6:35 a.m. to 6:12 p.m. |
| Dec 21, 2026 | Shortest day | 7:26 a.m. | 4:07 p.m. | 6:56 a.m. to 4:37 p.m. | 6:55 a.m. to 4:18 p.m. |
| Apr 15, 2027 | Spring turkey | 6:05 a.m. | 7:33 p.m. | 5:35 a.m. to 8:03 p.m. | Not in table |
Hours rules from the ODFW general hunting regulations; game bird times from the 2026-27 game bird shooting hours table; mammal sunrise and sunset worked out for this location with the NOAA solar formula (Pacific Time); checked November 8, 2026. Legal hours for every county.
Snake River Unit towns and neighbours
No listed town lies in the Snake River Unit.
If tags in the Snake River Unit run short, these units share its counties:
| Neighbour | Same counties | Sq mi | Hunt numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imnaha Unit | Wallowa | 424 | 18 |
| Chesnimnus Unit | Wallowa | 656 | 19 |
| Minam Unit | Wallowa | 574 | 21 |
| Sled Springs Unit | Wallowa | 882 | 22 |
| Wenaha Unit | Wallowa | 412 | 16 |
| Catherine Creek Unit | Wallowa | 662 | 26 |
| Pine Creek Unit | Wallowa | 378 | 18 |
| Keating Unit | Wallowa | 607 | 19 |
Towns and their units from Census places and the ODFW unit layer; checked November 8, 2026.
Snake River Unit questions
Which counties does the Snake River Unit cross?
Wallowa; Wallowa County holds 100% of its 459 square miles.
Which drawn hunts are valid in WMU 59?
17 hunt numbers (5 buck deer, 5 elk, 2 Rocky Mountain bighorn, 2 mountain goat, 1 spring bear, 1 premium deer and 1 premium elk); the table lists each one.
Is elk hunting in the Snake River Unit general or controlled?
Controlled: 6 elk hunts reach it.
Which cougar zone takes in the Snake River Unit?
Zone E, Blue Mountains.
Are any roads closed in the Snake River Unit during hunting season?
Yes, 3 cooperative travel management areas.
How many land pages on this site touch the Snake River Unit?
2.
What towns lie within the Snake River Unit?
None on our list.
What did 2025 hunts in the Snake River Unit take?
136 in elk, any weapon, the largest report.
Where is the nearest ODFW office to the Snake River Unit?
Enterprise hosts the main district office.
Can I buy a general buck tag for WMU 59?
No; Eastern Oregon buck deer is controlled only.
Answers drawn from the ODFW sources cited on this page; checked November 8, 2026.
Other photos on this page: USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0).