Idaho Elk · Unit 59-1

Idaho Unit 59-1 covers 490,945 acres and lies 48 miles north-west of St. Anthony. 78% of it is public land, mostly national forest (39%) and BLM (36%). In 2025, 225 people hunted elk here and took 97, a 43% success rate (sum of published weapon rows). Its most applied-for hunt, 2095, put up 250 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 24 nonresident first-choice applicants, 12 of whom drew.

No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.

Tags, 2026
250

1 license · NR capped at 10%

Applicants
24

first choice, NR

Hunter Success
43%

2025, all licenses

Public Land
78%

39% Forest Service

Size
767 mi²

490,945 acres

Sugar City 59-1
43%hunter success 2025 · 225 hunters, 97 elk

Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.

Best Bets

Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2025. Nonresident, first choice, 2026 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.

Every License in Unit 59-1

90–100% 50–89% 10–49% 1–9% under 1% fewer than 5 tags: one applicant swings it
2095 50%

First-choice nonresident odds, 2026 draw. No points in this draw: every applicant has the same chance.

Draw results: IDFG 2026 Hunt Planner drawing odds, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.

If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): $854.75 ($203 to apply). Open May 1 – Jun 5, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

Harvest

Year Hunters Elk Success
2025 (summed) 225 97 43%
2024 (summed) 224 112 50%
2023 (summed) 223 88 39%
2022 (summed) 228 125 55%
2021 (summed) 241 100 41%
2025 by LicenseHuntersElkSuccess
2095 225 97 43%

2025 split: firearm 97 (100%) from 225 hunters, 43%

What Idaho Department of Fish and Game publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. Idaho Department of Fish and Game publishes no whole-unit line for 2025; a year's total is the sum of published weapon rows, added only where the lines do not overlap. Idaho's figures are counts from mandatory hunter reports and check stations rather than survey estimates, so they behave differently from the survey states. Source: IDFG 2025 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk; IDFG 2024 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk; IDFG 2023 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk.

The Ground

National Forest 191,590 ac 39%
BLM 177,213 ac 36%
Private 107,951 ac 22%
State land 10,160 ac 2%
Other public 3,536 ac <1%

Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Idaho State Office 2026 BLM Surface Management Agency.

What the Agency Says About the Area

All of Units 59 and 59A.

Source: IDFG 2025 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk.

▸ Sources 9
  1. IDFG 2026 Hunt Planner drawing odds draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  2. IDFG 2026 License, Tag, and Permit Costs fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  3. IDFG 2025 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk harvest, area description, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  4. IDFG 2024 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  5. IDFG 2023 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  6. IDFG 2022 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  7. IDFG 2021 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  8. IDFG 2025 Controlled hunt area boundaries boundary, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  9. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Idaho State Office 2026 BLM Surface Management Agency land ownership, retrieved Aug 31, 2026

About These Numbers

Odds are from the 2026 draw, the latest on file, computed from Idaho Department of Fish and Game's published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.

Report an error on this page

Every report is checked against the agency source before we change anything.

We don't take applications: check Idaho Department of Fish and Game's site and apply there.

Prior-draw odds from Idaho Department of Fish and Game's results, not a forecast · Methodology · All Idaho elk hunts