ODFW John Day District Wildlife Biologist discusses local deer units, population
By Logan Bagett on Friday, September 25th, 2026 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News Eastern/Southeast Oregon Top Stories
JOHN DAY – Fall is here, and deer hunters are populating the woods. This Sunday, September 27th, is the final day for archers to fill their tags before general season for Eastern Oregon deer opens October 3rd.
ODFW John Day District Wildlife Biologist Ryan Torland was on KJDY’s Coffee Time to remind hunters of the deer hunt unit changes this year:
“With deer seasons, we did change units around. With archery, and then, obviously, with the rifle seasons coming up. If folks don’t remember, that’s trying to manage deer on a herd range. Instead of out artificial lines that were drawn in 1953 to make management units, we are carving deer into units where they actually go. So, now we’re counting and harvesting the same deer.”
Torland also discussed deer population numbers for this fall, as well as other Grant County big game species. Listen to the full podcast below:
