In what is being called an unprecedented die off, nearly 40 percent of the adult bison in Utah’s Book Cliffs have gone toes up over the past month or so. According to state biologists, the culprit is a rare pneumonia outbreak that swept through the Bitter Creek subunit of the free-ranging bison herd beginning in late July. Since then, the adult population of bison in the region has dropped from roughly 150 animals to about 90.
“In 20 years of GPS collaring bison in the Book Cliffs area, this kind of die-off event has never occurred in Utah,” Rusty Robinson, UDWR once-in-a-lifetime species coordinator said. “Bison have had incredible survival rates since we began researching and monitoring them, and this kind of event is unlike anything our state biologists have ever witnessed.”
For bison hunters, the timing could not have been worse. Utah’s public-land bison tags are among the most coveted once-in-a-lifetime hunting opportunities in the American west and now, just eight months after rolling out this year’s hunt, officials were left scrambling at last week’s board meeting.
Acting swiftly with the information on-hand, Utah’s Wildlife Board made some immediate changes to this year’s hunt they hope will help the herd recover. For the 2026 season, hunters who drew any-legal-weapon hunter’s-choice tags for the September 12–20 and October 3–15 seasons on the Bitter Creek unit were given an unusual option: keep the permit or surrender it without the normal 30-day restriction. Those who surrender get their bonus points restored, an extra point for the current year, a refund (minus the $25 processing fee), and a waiver of the once-in-a-lifetime waiting period.
Cow-only any-legal-weapon hunters scheduled for November 14–29 received similar flexibility and are able to either surrender under the same favorable terms or keep the permit and shift their hunt boundary to the neighboring Book Cliffs Little Creek/South unit.
The archery hunt, which was already under way when the die-off was confirmed, was left unchanged.
Looking Ahead to 2027 and Beyond
The biggest decisions made during last week’s meeting were more focused on the long-term viability of Utah’s bison. Looking ahead to next year, officials scrapped the 2027 cow-only any-legal-weapon hunt on the Bitter Creek unit in an effort to give the depleted herd breathing room to rebuild.
Utah’s Book Cliffs bison are part of a carefully managed free-ranging population that has grown significantly since reintroduction efforts began years ago. A recently updated management plan had raised the overall population objective and split it across three subunits (Bitter Creek, Little Creek, and South) with a combined target of 650 wintering adults. The pneumonia event has now forced managers to prioritize recovery on the hardest-hit subunit all while continuing to monitor the nearby Little Creek/South animals closely for any signs of the disease spreading. For now, officials believe the acute phase of the outbreak has passed, but they are treating the situation with caution.
Outside of the pneumonia outbreak, there was a bit of a silver lining coming out of last week’s meeting, at least for elk hunters. Given on-going drought conditions in certain units, the DWR has approved an additional 450 cow elk tags for this year’s season.
“Ongoing drought conditions have reduced the available amount of feed for wildlife in these areas,” DWR Big Game Coordinator Mike Wardle said in a press statement. “Issuing additional antlerless permits will help redistribute the elk in these areas, which will reduce the pressure and possible competition for limited forage.”
