| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Season | 26 SEP – 18 OCT 2026 | 23d |
As publishedSept. 26-Oct. 18, 2026
Permit required (apply via utahdraws.com, code SAG for preference point; application period June 30-July 14, 2026). NOT statewide - limited to named units: Diamond/Blue Mountain (SG1000), Parker Mountain (SG1001), Rich County (SG1002), West Box Elder County (SG1003). Only 2 birds of either sex may be taken for the entire season, not a daily bag.
The 2026-27 Waterfowl, Upland Game and Turkey Guidebook states the season is open only in four named limited-entry permit units, each identified by its own UDWR permit-unit code: Diamond/Blue Mountain (SG1000), Parker Mountain (SG1001), Rich County (SG1002), and West Box Elder County (SG1003). Only 2 birds of either sex may be taken per permit for the entire season, not a daily bag. These are not arbitrary regulatory boundaries: UDWR's own Sage-grouse Management Areas (SGMA) GIS layer defines SGMAs specifically around the state's highest sage-grouse breeding-density areas, and an independent source (Wild About Utah, a Utah State University Extension-affiliated outlet) states plainly that the largest sage-grouse populations in Utah are found in western Box Elder County, on Blue and Diamond Mountains in Uintah County in northeastern Utah, in Rich County, and on Parker Mountain in south central Utah, the same four areas named in the hunt units. Diamond Mountain (Uintah County, north of Vernal) hosts one of Utah's few sage-grouse populations robust enough to support a hunt at all. Parker Mountain spans portions of Garfield, Piute and Wayne counties in south-central Utah.
UDWR's 2026 Lek Count Report shows statewide counts down sharply, 18.3%, inside Utah's Sage-grouse Management Areas: 4,536 males across 233 leks, versus a stronger 2025. Every one of the state's 11 management areas declined, even as counts outside those areas actually rose. UDWR points to two straight dry years and weaker chick survival as the cause. This permit hunt is limited to four units (Diamond/Blue Mountain, Parker Mountain, Rich County, and West Box Elder County), with a strict 2-bird season bag, so it was never a high-volume season; this year's numbers make it a tougher one too.
Two consecutive dry years cutting into chick survival, per UDWR's own 2026 lek counts.
Join the waitlist and tell us what you’re working on — the planner reads it first once your access opens.
Free, invite-gated, unsubscribe anytime. See what it returns