Oregon Elk — Unit 56

Wenaha

Oregon Unit 56 covers 264,421 acres and lies 38 miles north of La Grande and 50 miles east of Pendleton. 73% of it is public land, mostly national forest (68%) and state land (4%). In 2025, 362 people hunted elk here and took 103 — 28% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 336 tags here for 34 first-choice applicants, and the last tag went to someone with 1 points.

Tags (2026):835 Nonresident share:capped at 5% Applicants:660 Hunter success (2025):28% Public land:73% Size:264,421 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Unit 56, 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

256A Bartlett Bench 22 tags · 6 applicants · needed 7 pts

22% Long shot
256R1 Wenaha Unit Bow No. 1 42 tags · 253 applicants · needed 28 pts

<1% Point builder
256R2 Wenaha Unit Bow No. 2 176 tags · 11 applicants · needed 2 pts

100% Likely draw
256X Wenaha Unit No. 1 336 tags · 34 applicants · needed 1 pts

77% Likely draw
256Y1 Wenaha Unit No. 2 43 tags · 348 applicants · needed 27 pts

<1% Point builder
256Y2 Wenaha Unit No. 3 216 tags · 8 applicants · needed 1 pts

100% Likely draw

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	Points needed	Tags / applicants	Season
256A ↗ Bartlett Bench Rifle	22% Long shot	7 +5 since 2022	22 / 6	Aug 1 – Oct 31, 2026
256R1 ↗ Wenaha Unit Bow No. 1 Archery	<1% Point builder	28 +1 since 2022	42 / 253	Aug 29 – Sep 27, 2026
256R2 ↗ Wenaha Unit Bow No. 2 Archery	100% Likely draw	2 +1 since 2022	176 / 11	Aug 29 – Sep 27, 2026
256X ↗ Wenaha Unit No. 1 Rifle	77% Likely draw	1 steady since 2022	336 / 34	Oct 28 – Nov 1, 2026
256Y1 ↗ Wenaha Unit No. 2 Rifle	<1% Point builder	27 +2 since 2022	43 / 348	Oct 28 – Nov 15, 2026
256Y2 ↗ Wenaha Unit No. 3 Rifle	100% Likely draw	1 steady since 2022	216 / 8	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 56 within Oregon

Unit 56 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 180,013 ac · 68%
Private 70,098 ac · 27%
State land 11,175 ac · 4%
BLM 2,881 ac · 1%
Other public 173 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.