North Dakota Elk — Unit E1E
Unit E1E
North Dakota Unit E1E covers 3,162,801 acres and lies 12 miles north-west of Park River and 23 miles south-west of Cavalier. 2% of it is public land, mostly wildlife refuge (1%) and state land (1%). In 2025, 134 people hunted elk here and took 69 — 52% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 91 resident tags here for 143 first-choice applicants.
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in Unit E1E, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice resident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.
Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice resident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.
Simple view Odds at every point level-
64% Real chance
-
<1% Long shot
| Hunt | Your odds | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E1E-ANTL ↗ Unit E1E antlerless elk | 64% Real chance | — | 91 / 143 | Oct 2 – Jan 3, 2027 |
| E1E-ANY ↗ Unit E1E any elk | <1% Long shot | — | 25 / 4,222 | Oct 2 – Jan 3, 2027 |
What these columns mean
- Your odds —
- the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
- The badge —
- plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
- Points needed —
- the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
- Tags / applicants —
- tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.
What it costs to apply (2026 resident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per application | $27 | $7 | $62 |
Application window: closes Mar 25, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Who owns the ground
- Private 3,104,936 ac · 98%
- National Wildlife Refuge 29,054 ac · 1%
- State land 20,273 ac · 1%
- Department of Defense 5,545 ac · 0%
- State trust land 2,722 ac · 0%
- BLM 219 ac · 0%
- County or city land 50 ac · 0%
Source: PAD-US 4.1 — Manager Type (fee interests), North Dakota subset
How the hunting has gone
What North Dakota Game and Fish Department publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast.
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 134 | 69 | 52% |
| 2024 | 147 | 74 | 50% |
| 2023 | 128 | 90 | 70% |
| 2021 | 74 | 47 | 64% |
| 2019 | 85 | 49 | 58% |
| 2018 | 57 | 33 | 58% |
| 2017 | 64 | 33 | 52% |
What the agency says about the area
Cavalier, Pembina and Walsh counties, and those portions of Grand Forks, Nelson and Ramsey counties bordered on the north by Canada, on the east by Minnesota, and on the south and west by a line starting where US Highway 2 crosses the Red River, then west along US Highway 2 to ND Highway 1, then north to ND Highway 17, then west to the junction of ND Highway 17 and ND Highway 20, then north to Canada.
Boundary: North Dakota elk hunting units (NDGF General Information map service, layer 34)
Harvest: 2025 Big 3 Harvest Statistics (news release, 2026-03-05)
Harvest: North Dakota OUTDOORS, Buffaloberry Patch, May 2025
Harvest: North Dakota OUTDOORS, Buffaloberry Patch, May 2024