Unit E16-1 (Elk Hunt Area 16-1)
Idaho Hunting Guide — Elk
Elk hunt area 16-1 is the part of unit 16 west of the Nez Perce National Forest perimeter boundary, in Idaho County: the ground outside the national forest. Idaho Fish and Game runs one hunt here, an antlerless elk hunt, number 2055, with 40 tags from December 10 to 31, and its own note on the hunt says access is very limited and most elk are on private property.
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Elk Hunting in Unit E16-1
Elk hunt area 16-1 is the part of unit 16 west of the Nez Perce National Forest perimeter boundary, in Idaho County: the ground outside the national forest. Idaho Fish and Game runs one hunt here, an antlerless elk hunt, number 2055, with 40 tags from December 10 to 31, and its own note on the hunt says access is very limited and most elk are on private property.
Where to Find Elk in Hunt Area 16-1: the ground west of the forest line
Idaho Fish and Game describes elk hunt area 16-1 as that portion of unit 16 west of the Nez Perce National Forest perimeter boundary. In other words it's the part of unit 16 outside the national forest, in Idaho County. IDFG's note on the one hunt it runs here says most elk are on private property and that access is very limited, and that single sentence decides more about this hunt than anything on the map.
The ground inside the line
Named high points inside the area include Potato Hill at 4,074 feet, The Horn at 3,330, Tahoe Ridge at 3,017, Battle Ridge at 2,687 and Mount Stewart at 1,921, with Dizzy Head at 1,506 and Maggie Bend down at 1,267. Of those, only Potato Hill carries a public-land flag in our data. The rest read as unverified, so check ownership on a current layer before you plan to stand on any of them. The heights are the ones GNIS gives for named points, and they bound the ground from inside rather than measure it.
What the forest line means for finding elk
The national forest boundary that closes the area on the east is the line between this hunt and the national forest ground beyond it. Everything inside 16-1 is the lower ground below that line, and IDFG's own warning tells you who owns most of it. So finding elk here starts with finding permission, not a drainage. Ask landowners well before the season, and treat any piece of public ground inside the line as something to verify on a current map rather than a plan to build on.
What our data doesn't cover
We hold no logistics record for 16-1, so there's no road inventory, campground list or weather record behind this page, and no named water source falls inside the area in our water layer. That's a gap in our data, not a statement about the ground, and it's one more reason the conversation with a landowner comes first.
Unit E16-1 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Potato Hill (4,074 ft), The Horn (3,330 ft), Battle Ridge (2,687 ft), Mount Stewart (1,921 ft)
Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.
How to Hunt Elk in Hunt Area 16-1: a December antlerless hunt on private ground
Elk Success Rates
Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics describe general seasons on game management units, and hunt area 16-1 is a controlled-hunt area, not a unit, so there is no figure here we can tie to it. A unit's general-season number would describe different hunters on different ground. Idaho Fish and Game's hunt planner reports controlled-hunt results hunt by hunt, which is the figure to check before you apply.
Elk Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts (n/p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (resident) | 40 | 42 | 95.0% | — |
| Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (nonresident) | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | — |
| Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (resident) | 4 | 18 | 22.0% | — |
| Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (nonresident) | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | — |
Data from 2025 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number. This agency publishes no point thresholds, so the Pts column stays blank and these are pool odds, not what a point total draws.
Open in Draw Odds EngineIdaho Fish and Game's 2025 first drawing for elk in hunt area 16-1, with residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different tag pools:
- Hunt 2055 — residents 42 applicants for 40 tags, 95% drawn
Idaho draws at random with no point system, so these are what that year happened to look like, not a requirement to build toward. Idaho Fish and Game reuses hunt numbers for different areas between years, so the figures are matched on the area each hunt had in 2025. Checked against Idaho Fish and Game's hunt planner draw results on 2026-06-09.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Idaho hunt area 16-1?
What is the elk success rate in hunt area 16-1?
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Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-24.
- Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons & Rules — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Controlled hunt area description for elk hunt area 16-1, The game management units the area is drawn from, Controlled hunt numbers, tags and season dates · accessed 2026-10-24
- IDFG Hunt Planner — controlled hunt drawing odds — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Applicants, tags and percent drawn by hunt, year and residency · accessed 2026-06-09
- IDFG GameManagementUnits and ControlledHunts_All feature services — game management units and every species' controlled-hunt areas — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Mapped extent of the unit or hunt area, Which named ground falls inside its line · accessed 2026-10-24