Oregon Elk — Unit 16
Santiam
Oregon Unit 16 covers 2,127,257 acres and lies 24 miles south-east of Molalla and 33 miles south-east of Canby. 64% of it is public land, mostly national forest (52%) and BLM (8%). In 2025, 2,766 people hunted elk here and took 303 — 11% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 95 tags here for 1 first-choice applicants, and the last tag went to someone with 3 points.
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in Unit 16, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.
Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.
Simple view Odds at every point level-
2% Point builder
-
100% No first-choice applicants
-
216R1 Santiam Unit Traditional Bow (Long or recurve bow ONLY; compound bows prohibited) 95 tags · 1 applicants · needed 3 pts100% Likely draw
-
100% No first-choice applicants
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 216B ↗ SW Santiam Rifle | 2% Point builder | 9 +2 since 2022 | 11 / 2 | Dec 1 – Mar 31, 2027 |
| 216D ↗ NW Santiam Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | 4 +1 since 2022 | 22 / 0 | Dec 1 – Mar 31, 2027 |
| 216R1 ↗ Santiam Unit Traditional Bow (Long or recurve bow ONLY; compound bows prohibited) Archery | 100% Likely draw | 3 +2 since 2022 | 95 / 1 | Sep 28 – Oct 2, 2026 |
| 216T ↗ Santiam Unit Youth Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | 2 steady since 2022 | 22 / 0 | Aug 15 – Dec 31, 2026 |
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 nonresident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per application | $203 | $203 | $863 |
Application window: opens Dec 1, closes May 15, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Other licenses valid in Unit 16
Not in the table above because they had no result in the 2026 draw.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Who owns the ground
- National Forest 1,114,620 ac · 52%
- Private 757,709 ac · 36%
- BLM 167,641 ac · 8%
- State land 61,210 ac · 3%
- Other public 14,521 ac · 1%
- County or city land 12,060 ac · 1%
- National Wildlife Refuge 124 ac · 0%
- Tribal 1 ac · 0%
Source: BLM Oregon/Washington Land Status Ownership (BLM_OR_Ownership MapServer)
How the hunting has gone
What Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes these per hunt rather than per unit; the rows below add its own figures together, since a hunter holds one tag for the species in a season. Oregon requires every tag holder to report, but the numbers ODFW publishes are survey estimates expanded from the reporting rate — the agency's own tables are titled "Estimated harvest... based on Mandatory Harvest Survey Reports" — not a count of animals checked in.
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,766 | 303 | 11% |
| 2024 | 2,907 | 256 | 9% |
| 2023 | 2,778 | 251 | 9% |
| 2022 | 2,710 | 260 | 10% |
| 2021 | 2,805 | 247 | 9% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Rifle 186 · 61% · 1,706 hunters, 11% success
- Archery 111 · 37% · 987 hunters, 11% success
- Muzzleloader 6 · 2% · 73 hunters, 8% success
Boundary: ODFW Wildlife Management Unit boundaries (Compass ArcGIS service)
Harvest: ODFW 2025 Estimated Any Legal Weapon Elk Harvest by Zone, Wildlife Management Unit and Hunt
Harvest: ODFW 2025 Estimated Archery Elk Harvest by Zone, Wildlife Management Unit and Hunt
Harvest: ODFW 2025 Estimated Muzzleloader Elk Harvest by Zone, Wildlife Management Unit and Hunt