Unit 612 North Slope

The marquee once-in-a-lifetime hunt. The north slope's willow bottoms, beaver ponds and riparian corridors grow some of Utah's best Shiras moose — bulls with spreads of 40-45 inches or wider are taken here. A hard-won limited draw and a bucket-list backcountry bull.

• →Work the willow flats, beaver-pond complexes and stream bottoms of the Henrys Fork, Smiths Fork and Blacks Fork at dawn and dusk
• →Glass aspen-and-willow edges near water where bulls feed and rut
• →Plan a backcountry hunt — the best bulls hold deep in wilderness willow basins reachable by foot or horse
• →Hunt the rut when bulls move and respond, and be ready to pack meat a long way out

A premier alpine mountain-goat hunt on the crags, talus and high basins of the Uinta crest. Part of the Uintas goat range managed across multiple subunits, this is a backpacking, glass-and-grind hunt in some of the highest terrain in Utah.

• →Backpack or use pack stock into the high basins below the crest and stay in goat country
• →Glass cliff bands, talus fields and alpine ledges for days to locate and judge billies
• →Hunt escape-terrain edges early and late when goats feed off the crags
• →Be prepared for extreme elevation, weather and long approaches

A general-season buck unit — not managed for trophy quality, though quality bucks are taken annually. Deer are found throughout the unit, with some migrating into Wyoming and Colorado for winter. Broad public access over a huge, rugged range rewards those who hike away from the trailheads.

• →Hunt the aspen-conifer edges and high meadows early season before snow
• →Get well off the road-accessed drainage bottoms into the backcountry benches
• →Glass alpine and subalpine parks at first and last light
• →Follow deer downslope and toward the Wyoming migration as early snow hits

A general-season elk unit across a huge landscape — rugged wilderness paired with more accessible timbered north-slope benches. Elk hold in the dark timber and high parks; hunters willing to pack in find good numbers.

• →Push into the roadless spruce-fir timber and high basins where elk escape pressure
• →Cover country to locate herds, then work timber-and-meadow edges at dawn
• →Cow-call and bugle sparingly during the archery rut near wallows
• →Use horses to reach and pack out of the wilderness core

Black bears range the aspen, timber and berry basins of the north slope. Be bear aware in the backcountry — store food properly.

• →Glass aspen and berry-producing slopes in early fall
• →Check creek bottoms and mast-heavy pockets at dawn and dusk
• →Focus on feeding sign in mid-elevation timber

Mountain lions follow the deer through the timbered canyons and foothills of the north slope. A pursuit hunt on fresh tracking snow.

• →Cut fresh tracks on the North Slope Road and drainage roads after snow
• →Focus on lower-elevation deer-wintering terrain and canyon breaks
• →Work the timbered benches below the wilderness