Oregon Elk — Unit 54

Mount Emily

Oregon Unit 54 covers 494,384 acres and lies 21 miles north-west of La Grande and 52 miles east of Hermiston. 44% of it is public land, mostly national forest (43%). A further 24% is tribal land rather than public land. In 2025, 525 people hunted elk here and took 173 — 33% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 528 tags here for 63 first-choice applicants, and the last tag went to someone with 1 points.

Tags (2026):1,111 Nonresident share:capped at 5% Applicants:835 Hunter success (2025):33% Public land:44% Size:494,384 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Unit 54, 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

254R1 Mt Emily Unit Bow No. 1 58 tags · 221 applicants · needed 27 pts

<1% Point builder
254R2 Mt Emily Unit Bow No. 2 189 tags · 18 applicants · needed 1 pts

100% Likely draw
254X Mt Emily Unit No. 1 528 tags · 63 applicants · needed 1 pts

39% Long shot
254Y1 Mt Emily Unit No. 2 59 tags · 517 applicants · needed 29 pts

<1% Point builder
254Y2 Mt Emily Unit No. 3 277 tags · 16 applicants · needed 1 pts

78% Likely draw

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	Points needed	Tags / applicants	Season
254R1 ↗ Mt Emily Unit Bow No. 1 Archery	<1% Point builder	27 +4 since 2022	58 / 221	Aug 29 – Sep 27, 2026
254R2 ↗ Mt Emily Unit Bow No. 2 Archery	100% Likely draw	1 −5 since 2022	189 / 18	Aug 29 – Sep 27, 2026
254X ↗ Mt Emily Unit No. 1 Rifle	39% Long shot	1 steady since 2022	528 / 63	Oct 28 – Nov 1, 2026
254Y1 ↗ Mt Emily Unit No. 2 Rifle	<1% Point builder	29 +2 since 2022	59 / 517	Oct 28 – Nov 15, 2026
254Y2 ↗ Mt Emily Unit No. 3 Rifle	78% Likely draw	1 −1 since 2022	277 / 16	Nov 7–15, 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.

The country

Unit 54 within Oregon

Unit 54 and its neighbours

Zoomable USGS topo, aerial imagery and shaded relief, with the neighboring areas drawn on.

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

Who owns the ground

National Forest 214,598 ac · 43%
Private 157,982 ac · 32%
Tribal 117,574 ac · 24%
BLM 1,445 ac · 0%
State land 914 ac · 0%
Other public 59 ac · 0%

Source: BLM Oregon/Washington Land Status Ownership (BLM_OR_Ownership MapServer)

Nearby areas

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.