Northeast Area

NE BIG GAME HUNTING

October 1, 2026

Currently open

Bear, cougar (check current harvest numbers), coyote, youth only controlled series hunts, general season antlerless elk damage, premium, auction and raffle hunts and western gray squirrel.

• Select controlled deer season opens Oct 3.

*Check Big Game regulations for hunt details and purchase your license and required tag before hunting.

Announcements and resources

Reminder -- tag sale deadline and sports pac tag pickup for deer, bear, and cougar – by Oct 2!

Get tested – hunters must check in for CWD at these locations.

Make a plan with this year's Big Game Hunting Forecast and get ahead of the game!

Big game statistics - You'll find links to population, harvest and maps that can help you decide where to hunt this season.

Check the Leftover Tag List, don't miss an opportunity to hunt this year.

Youth can register for the Mentored Youth Hunter Program free of charge online, find more youth hunting opportunities here.

Point Savers available for purchase now through Nov 30, 2026.

Please report elk with hoof disease - If you see elk showing signs of elk hoof disease, including lame or limping elk or elk with damaged, injured, missing or deformed hooves, please report it using this online form.

Coyote and wolf ID - Coyote hunters need to take extra care to identify their target as wolves can look like coyotes, especially wolf pups in the mid-summer and fall. Test your ID skills. Please report any wolf sightings or wolf sign to ODFW using the online reporting system.

For the most current fire closures and restrictions--KNOW BEFORE YOU GO.   

District updates

Habitat conditions: Watch local weather reports and prepare for possible weather changing conditions over the extension of your hunt. Areas are showing warmer and drier than normal conditions, please be mindful when recreating outdoors.

BAKER DISTRICT (Sumpter, Keating, Pine Creek, Lookout Mt.) 

Rifle Deer: Hunters should check for updates on fire restrictions for the areas that they plan to hunt. The cooler weather in the forecast will increase animal activity. Hunters will find deer up and more active throughout the day.

General Season Antlerless Elk: Season ends November 30. Hunters should be aware of the boundary change in the Keating area.

Bears: Hunters can find bears near berry patches, along riparian areas, or around fruit trees.

Cougar: Find cougars just about anywhere; remember to carry a tag. Hunters should target areas with high concentrations of deer and elk. Setting up on a fresh kill or using distress calls can all be productive techniques.

Coyote: Numbers are good throughout the district. Try calling in early morning and late afternoon. Remember to ask for permission before hunting private property.

GRANT DISTRICT (Murderers Creek, Northside, Desolation) 

Habitat Conditions: Last winter's lower than normal snowpack has led to range conditions drying out earlier than normal. Animals will be searching for green forage in wet meadows, riparian areas, and irrigated fields. Please check local BLM and USFS for update closures and fire activity.

Cougar: Cougar are well-distributed in our forested areas. Calling with distress calls or cougar vocalizations can be effective. However, locating a fresh, naturally made kill has the best chance of success.  

Coyote: Numbers are good in most of the district. Coyotes may respond to distress calls. Try calling in the early morning and late evening.

Bears: Bears can be found in huckleberry patches, in riparian areas, or around fruit trees. Please remember that hunters must check in harvested bears.

HEPPNER DISTRICT (Heppner, Fossil, East Biggs, Southern Columbia Basin)   

Cougar: Cougar are well-distributed in our forested areas. Calling with distress calls or cougar vocalizations can be effective. However, locating a fresh, naturally made kill has the best chance of success. 

Coyote: The population is healthy with good numbers of coyotes available for those who wish to pursue them. Watch wind directions to help prevent giving away your location. Calling with game distress calls can be very successful. 

UMATILLA DISTRICT (Walla Walla, Mt. Emily, Ukiah, eastern portion of Heppner, northern Columbia Basin)     

If you have questions about where to go hunting in Umatilla County, please call the Pendleton office at (541) 276-2344.  

Habitat Conditions: Cooler weather and potential rain in the forecast will improve hunting conditions. Forest fire closures have been updated, and access has improved in the Mt. Emily and Walla Walla units but make sure to check with the forest service to see if your chosen hunt areas are accessible.

Black Bear: Consider setting up and calling near food sources. Any sort of distress call is probably a good choice. If planning to glass for bears, focus your effort at daylight and evening time frames and stay out until shooting light ends. Mt. Emily and Walla Walla units have high bear numbers due to higher precipitation and diversity of foods that bears prefer. Ukiah unit also has a healthy bear population, but it is more common to harvest bears in Ukiah while pursuing something else.

Deer: Glassing early mornings/evenings in more open country is the best way to find bucks.

Elk: Expect rutting behavior as the season progresses.

Cougar: Well-distributed in forested areas of the Walla Walla, Mt. Emily, and Ukiah units. Hunters will have best success by finding a fresh naturally made kill and hunting near it, or by using predator calls. Some success has come from following tracks until the cougar is located. 

Coyote: Numerous throughout the county and hunters should have good success calling. Remember to ask permission before hunting private land.  

Columbia Basin Wildlife Areas (Willow Cr WA, Coyote Springs WA, Irrigon WA, Power City WA)  Big game hunting is permitted except at Coyote Springs WA. Use of rifles and handguns are prohibited at all times except Willow Cr WA. Please review the regulations for shot and weapon restrictions. Please be mindful of our neighbors and respect the safety zones.  

Bridge Cr Wildlife Area 

UNION COUNTY (Starkey, Catherine Creek, East Mt. Emily, southern portion of Wenaha, southwest portion of Sled Springs)

Habitat Conditions: There are still some fire closures but all the fires in the area are in mop up phases. The beginning of October looks fairly warm and dry, so animal activity will be higher in the mornings and evenings when temperatures are cooler. We got some green up from precipitation early in September, but it has been dry since.

Elk: We have a few elk hunts going on right now. Elk activity will likely be higher in the cool mornings and evenings and lower in the middle of the day with these warm temperatures.

Deer: The rifle deer opener is October 3. In more open country, hunters should set up in a spot where they can glass a lot of area. With these warmer temperatures deer will probably be quick to bed down for the day so spending a lot of time behind optics to find deer will be beneficial. In more timbered country, still hunting down closed roads or through timber is a good tactic.

Black Bear: Deer/elk hunters that have not purchased a fall black bear tag need to purchase a tag by Oct 2. Remember the centerfire rifle restriction period begins on October 3 so any hunter that would like to hunt for black bear either needs a valid tag for those time periods, or use non centerfire rifle weapons. The berry crop is very spotty with many people saying that huckleberries are very sparse. This time of year, berries are a huge part of a bear's diet, so finding pockets of huckleberries, choke cherries, hawthorn, or thimbleberries are where bears are going to be. Glassing open slopes like hunters do in the spring is not very productive if there is no food source nearby. Early in the morning and late in the evening are the times that bears are most active during the late summer months.

Cougars: Common in Union County. Focus on game rich areas with long ridgelines or saddles that cats typically travel. Setting up downwind of a deer or elk killed by a cougar and calling can be productive. Finding fresh snow has been a little difficult this year with the mild winter we have had, but that just means travelling around in the mountains may be easier. If we do get fresh snow, cutting fresh tracks and pursuing can be effective.  

Coyote: Numbers are high throughout the district. Try calling in early morning and late afternoon. Remember to ask for permission before hunting on private property.   

Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area 

All lands north and east of Foothill Road are open to hunting weekends, Wednesdays and all federal holidays. Please refer to Big Game and Game Bird regulations for season dates and additional regulations.  

Hunting equipment is limited to short range (shotgun, archery or muzzleloader) equipment only. Rifles and handguns are prohibited at all times.  

The Glass Hill portion of the wildlife area is open seven days a week as of April 1. Please refer to Big Game and Game Bird regulations for season dates and additional regulations. The wildlife Area is closed from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. In addition, there is no camping in the wildlife area. Violators will be asked to leave and or will be issued citations.  

Please call the Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area with any questions (541) 963-4954.  

WALLOWA COUNTY (Wenaha, Sled Springs, Chesnimnus, Snake River, Minam, Imnaha) 

Habitat Conditions (as of 8/17/2026): There is a forest closure in east Sled Springs unit, updates to this closure can be found here.

Elk: With peak rut coming in the next week or so, elk will become more talkative and active. Many hunters are already reporting elk being chatty. General season antlerless elk damage hunts started Aug 1, and hunters are off to a successful start, with many elk coming down to irrigated crops. Youth only controlled elk hunts opened Aug 15. Hunting early on youth tags can be very productive, especially on public lands where elk have not yet felt the pressure of other hunting seasons. Elk populations remain similar to previous years and hunters should have good opportunities.

Deer: With cooler weather and rain hunters should expect to find deer moving much more. Take advantage of the weather and quieter woods to stalk in. White-tailed deer numbers are stable or increasing in all units. Mule deer, however, remain below management objectives and at lower densities.

Bear: This time of year, hunters can find bears in berry patches, riparian areas, or around fruit trees, although it appears to have been a bad crop year for huckleberries. Please remember that hunters must check in harvested bears.

Cougar: Populations are moderate throughout Wallowa County. Most lions are taken incidentally to other hunting. However, calling with fawn bleat, or locating a cougar kill and waiting for a cat to return are often successful techniques. Please remember to check in your harvest at your local district office to help with population estimates.  

Coyote: Good numbers of coyotes can be found throughout Wallowa County. Calling coyotes with rabbit distress type calls has been effective for hunters. It is important to choose areas with abundant coyote signs and little human activity.