West Desert, Swasey Unit: public land and hunting map
West Desert, Swasey Unit is one of Utah Division of Wildlife Resources’s 31 mule deer general-season hunting units in Utah. It covers about 6,145 square miles (3,932,577 acres), and roughly 93% of it is public land: BLM 62%, Dept. of Defense 25%, state land 6.4%.
- 93%public land
- 6,145square miles
- 3,665,162public acres
- 4neighbouring units
Measured Oct 12, 2026 from agency boundaries and USGS PAD-US 4.1 · sources and method
Who manages the land
- Bureau of Land Management62%
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serviceunder 1%
- Department of Defense25%
- State land (wildlife, trust and natural-resource agencies)6.4%
Share of the unit’s area. Federal agencies plus state wildlife, trust and natural-resource land, as the WikiHunt map classifies it. The rest is private, tribal, local or other land.
Military land: 25% of this unit is Department of Defense land, which is usually closed to the public or open only with a base permit. Check with the installation before planning a hunt.
Rut: Published deer rut timing for Utah: Mid-November. Rut dates and sources for Utah.
Units next to West Desert, Swasey Unit
Utah season dates, 2026
Statewide general seasons. Many units have their own dates, quotas or draw-only hunts, so check the unit in the regulations before you go.
| Species | Season | 2026 dates |
|---|---|---|
| Deer | Archery Deer | Aug 15 – Sep 11 |
| Deer | Muzzleloader Deer | Sep 23 – Oct 1 |
| Deer | General Rifle Deer | Oct 17 – Oct 25 |
| Elk | Archery Elk | Aug 15 – Sep 16 |
| Elk | Rifle Elk | Oct 3 – Oct 16 |
| Turkey | Fall Turkey | Sep 6 – Nov 28 |
Full notes on the Utah page · Utah regulations.
Questions
How much of West Desert, Swasey Unit is public land?
About 93% of West Desert, Swasey Unit (3,665,162 of 3,932,577 acres) is federal or state public land in USGS PAD-US 4.1, mostly Bureau of Land Management, Department of Defense and State land (wildlife, trust and natural-resource agencies). Public land is not always open land: check access and closures before you go.
Who manages the land in West Desert, Swasey Unit?
Bureau of Land Management: 62%; Department of Defense: 25%; State land (wildlife, trust and natural-resource agencies): 6.4%; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: under 1%. The rest is private, tribal, local government or other land.
Which units border West Desert, Swasey Unit?
Box Elder Unit, Cedar/Stansbury Unit, Fillmore B Unit and Southwest Desert Unit.
Where are the season dates and rules for West Desert, Swasey Unit?
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources sets them. Start at the Utah hunting regulations. WikiHunt shows the statewide general seasons on the Utah page and in the app.
Sources and method
- Boundary: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (owner dwrdata, State of Utah shared org), the same layer the WikiHunt map draws.
- Public land: USGS Protected Areas Database (PAD-US) 4.1, Fee Managers layer (public domain).
- Method: the unit and PAD-US polygons are simplified to about 100 m and measured on a grid of about 250 cells across the unit, so overlapping records are counted once. Expect about ±1 percentage point.
- Season dates: WikiHunt’s season table, updated Sep 2, 2026, checked against each state’s published regulations. Dates change; the regulations win.
- Last updated: Oct 12, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.