Salt Lake City — If putting locally sourced, nutritious meat on the table while enjoying Utah's beautiful outdoors sounds good to you, take note that the application period for Utah's 2025 antlerless hunts opens next week!
Depending on the age, a cow elk can provide between 120 to nearly 200 pounds of boneless meat. That meat can then be eaten in a variety of ways, including hamburger, roasts, steaks, stews, stir-fry or in fajitas. A doe deer will provide approximately 40 pounds of boneless meat.
"The antlerless big game hunts are a great opportunity to not only harvest meat and make some great memories outdoors, but they also help manage wildlife populations and maintain healthy herds and landscapes," DWR Licensing Coordinator Lindy Varney said. "There are only a few doe deer hunts in Utah, and all of them are designed to be very targeted to address localized areas of specific concern, conflicts or public safety considerations."
Beginning on Wednesday, June 4 at 8 a.m. MDT, you can apply for a permit to hunt Utah's antlerless big game animals, including:
- Antlerless deer
- Antlerless elk
- Antlerless moose
- Doe pronghorn
- Ewe bighorn sheep (Although you cannot apply for both an antlerless moose permit and a ewe bighorn sheep permit in the same year — you must pick one or the other.)
You must submit your application no later than 11 p.m. MDT on Wednesday, June 18 to be included in the drawing for hunting permits. Before you can apply for a 2025 antlerless permit or a bonus point or preference point for either antlered or antlerless species, you must be at least 12 years old by your hunt date and have a valid Utah hunting or combination license. You can buy a license online, by calling the nearest Utah Division of Wildlife Resources regional office or by visiting a license agent.
To be included in the drawing for antlerless hunts, you can apply online or over the phone by calling the nearest DWR office. You can find details about the different hunting units — including boundary descriptions, biologists' notes, and population and harvest statistics — on the Utah Hunt Planner.
The drawing results will be available on or before July 3. If any antlerless permits are available after the drawing, you can purchase them beginning at 8 a.m. MDT on July 29. Check the online 2025 Utah Antlerless Application Guidebook for details. You can find all of the regulations for hunting both antlered and antlerless big game in the 2025 Utah Big Game Field Regulations Guidebook.
The DWR issues antlerless permits for big game species in Utah for several reasons:
- To manage population size to the approved population objectives
- For herd health, including reducing disease concerns in certain parts of the state
- To improve the health of the habitat (and to avoid overutilization)
- To reduce conflicts on private property, including depredation issues
- To reduce animals on busy roads or within city/town limits, to reduce public safety concerns
Updates for 2025
Hunters should also be aware of a few changes approved by the Utah Wildlife Board and passed by the Utah Legislature during the 2025 legislative session, which impact the antlerless hunts, including:
Residency requirements: To apply for a resident permit, you must be a Utah resident on the date you submit your application. (Previously, the residency date was linked to the date of purchase.)
Late-season harvest reporting: Hunts ending Jan. 16 or later must have a harvest report submitted by Feb. 15, whether you harvested an animal or not. This change will allow DWR biologists more time to consider harvest data before making recommendations for the following season.
As a reminder, mandatory reporting is required for any antlerless big game harvested during the antlerless hunts. Hunters will have 30 days after the hunting season ends to report their antlerless harvest online or over the phone. (The only change to the 30-day requirement is for the late-season hunts.) Failure to comply will result in a $50 fine and/or exclusion from next year's big game and antlerless hunt drawings. The harvest reporting can be completed on the DWR website.
Nonresident fee increase: During the 2025 session, the Utah Legislature authorized higher nonresident fees to help fund the purchase of large blocks of land for wildlife habitat and conservation. These nonresident fee increases will begin July 1 for hunting, fishing and combination licenses, and Sept. 1 for hunting application fees and hunting permits. Visit the DWR website for a full list of Utah's license and permit fees.
Utah Statewide Mule Deer Management Plan: The Utah Wildlife Board approved a new mule deer management plan that will be in effect through 2030. Part of this updated plan includes modifying some hunting units' buck-to-doe ratio objectives and implementing strategies to improve hunter opportunity and satisfaction.
You can see all of the changes for this year's hunts on the DWR website.
If you have questions about applying for an antlerless permit, call 800-221-0659 or your nearest DWR office.
