Unit Nine Mile, Anthro-Myton Bench

Nine Mile Canyon Road is the primary navigation spine, running north-south and providing rough vehicle access to the heart of the unit. Major benches—Pariette, South Myton, and Cowboy—offer elevated glassing platforms for spotting game on lower slopes. The Bad Land Cliffs mark the western escarpment overlooking the basin.

Anthro Mountain and Uteland Butte serve as distant orientation peaks. Nine Mile Creek, Sheep Wash, and Big Wash are named drainages worth knowing for navigation and water. Sand Pass provides a high-country crossing point.

Wild Horse Ridge and Cottonwood Ridge define ridge systems useful for following game or establishing vantage points.

Elevation spans from around 4,600 feet in canyon bottoms and valley floors up to near 9,500 feet on upper benches and ridges. Low-elevation country is dominated by sagebrush plains and desert scrub with scattered pinyon-juniper. Middle elevations support more consistent juniper woodland with some ponderosa stands.

Higher benches carry denser forest cover with Douglas-fir and aspen, particularly on north-facing slopes. The Pariette, Leland, and Myton benches create distinct topographic steps—relatively flat to gently rolling country that interrupts the general descent toward the river valleys. This vertical relief creates varied habitat zones supporting different species across seasons.

Approximately 1,475 miles of roads cross the unit, though most are unimproved. Nine Mile Canyon Road is the primary corridor, passable by passenger vehicle but rough and washed out seasonally. US-191 and US-40 provide exterior access.

Myton and Duchesne serve as supply towns. Most hunters concentrate near Nine Mile Canyon Road during rifle seasons, making adjacent benches and side drainages more productive. Limited road density means much hunting requires hiking; this pressure distribution favors those willing to foot travel away from roads.

Winter snow can close high-elevation access; early and late season hunting often focuses on lower benches.

The unit encompasses the rolling country between Duchesne and Vernal in east-central Utah, bounded by US-191 on the west, US-40 on the south, and the Green and Duchesne rivers on the north and east. Nine Mile Canyon, a major drainage, cuts north-south through the middle and serves as the primary navigation corridor. The unit spans from the lower Uintah Basin sagebrush country up to the higher benches and ridges of the Anthro-Myton complex.

Significant Native American trust lands are excluded. The landscape is expansive—roughly 70 miles east-west and 40 miles north-south—making it large enough to absorb hunting pressure.

Water is limited but present strategically. Perennial streams include Nine Mile Creek (the main drainage), Sheep Wash, Big Wash, and several others flowing through canyon systems. The Duchesne and Green rivers form the northern boundary—reliable water but mostly beyond useful hunting country.

Scattered springs exist throughout—Odekirk, White Mule, Nutters, Marshall Springs, and others—providing reliable sources for those who know their locations. Several small reservoirs (Snyder, Pariette, Kilroy, others) exist on the benches and offer both water and glassing opportunities. Spring locations are critical to hunting strategy; dry benches require careful water planning or movement to creek drainages.

The unit supports elk, mule deer, moose, pronghorn, desert bighorn, mountain goat, black bear, and mountain lion. Elk favor the higher benches and timbered ridges in fall; early season finds them above 8,000 feet before migrating to lower sagebrush benches by November. Mule deer use the entire elevation range but concentrate on benches and canyon breaks where juniper provides feed and escape cover.

Pronghorn inhabit the lower desert plains north of Nine Mile Canyon. Bighorn and goat hunting requires specific high-terrain knowledge and long glassing from distance. Moose are rare but possible in riparian areas.

Success depends on elevation timing, persistence in foot travel away from roads, and understanding which drainages and bench systems hold animals seasonally.