This state's classification carries no date range for the species.
Utah recognizes scaled quail as an upland game species but the season is structurally closed statewide for 2026-27; no dates published, standing closure (guidebook states plainly "Season dates and daily bag limit: Closed statewide").
Scaled quail has no open season in Utah (closed statewide per the 2026-27 guidebook), but UDWR's own 2022 Upland Game Management Plan confirms a real, geographically precise, if very small and unconfirmed-wild population rather than pure absence: the species is only occasionally seen in southeastern Utah, in the Four Corners area (southern Utah sits just north of the species' native Chihuahuan Desert/southern Great Plains range). Two specific sites in extreme southeastern San Juan County have documented sightings, Montezuma Canyon and McCracken Mesa, first observed in 2007 and likely originating from a 2006 high-production year across the state line in New Mexico, though the plan notes climate models disagree on whether Utah's conditions can naturally sustain the species long-term. UDWR also ran its own establishment effort (40 birds released in 2013, 200 in 2014, 205 in 2015) and currently monitors via trail cameras at water sources near McCracken Mesa. The Southeastern Region priorities section separately names two historical-observation sites for continued monitoring: Bluff Bench and Lime Ridge, both also in San Juan County.
No formal population survey program exists for this species in this state.
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