Sage-grouse and sandhill crane tags go on sale Aug. 1

Sage-grouse

Sage-grouse tags will be available on Aug. 1. A total of 5,030 tags will be offered in 12 hunting zones across parts of southern Idaho. The sage-grouse general season runs Sept. 20 through Oct. 31, 2025 and the falconry season runs Aug. 15, 2025 through Mar. 15, 2026. Hunters can buy up to two tags and may buy a tag for more than one zone.

During its July 17 meeting in Coeur d’Alene, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission approved the 2025 sage-grouse hunting seasons and tags. The number of sage-grouse tags for 2025 remained about the same as 2024. A video recap of the full commission meeting and the sage-grouse presentation is available on Fish and Game’s YouTube channel.

An updated sage-grouse seasons and rules brochure, including number of tags available for each hunting zone, is available online at the sage-grouse seasons and rules webpage.

Statewide, sage-grouse lek counts remained about the same as 2024, with increases in some zones and decreases in others. Most sage-grouse populations show periodic increases and decreases in abundance in roughly 10-year cycles, and Idaho sage-grouse are currently in the upward portion of that cycle. The sage-grouse tag allocation is designed to limit harvest to no more than 10% of the fall population in each reporting zone.

To set tag numbers for each zone, Fish and Game staff first determine allowable harvest of 5% of the fall population index in each hunting zone, then apply a zone specific 3-year average harvest success rate (tags filled divided by tags sold) to calculate total tags offered. The fall population index is calculated based on spring counts of males on leks, estimates of lek attendance and male survival to fall, and average male-to-female and juvenile-to-adult female ratios derived from hunter harvested wings from prior seasons. Fish and Game officials expect to adjust tag numbers annually to maintain sustainable sage-grouse hunting opportunities in Idaho.

Sandhill cranes

Sandhill crane tags will be available on Aug. 1. There will be 715 sandhill crane tags available for six hunting areas in eastern Idaho. Seasons run Sept. 1–15, Sept. 16–30, or Sept. 1–30, 2025 depending on tag type, which is determined by hunt area and season dates. Sandhill crane hunters are also required to purchase a Migratory Bird (HIP) Permit. The daily bag limit is 2 cranes for all hunts and the season bag limit is 2 cranes.

The Pacific and Central Flyway Management Plan for the Rocky Mountain Population (RMP) of sandhill cranes allows for the regulated harvest of cranes when the population exceeds 15,000, as estimated by the average of the three most recent reliable pre-migration staging surveys. 

Idaho’s 2025 crane harvest allocation, as provided by the Flyway Management Plan, increased from 2024. Fish and Game staff reference harvest rates observed in previous years to determine the number of tags available for each hunt area.

For seasons and rules for sandhill cranes see the Migratory Game Bird Seasons and Rules webpage.

How to purchase

Hunters can purchase tags online at GoOutdoorsIdaho.com, Fish and Game regional offices, or from license vendors beginning at 10 a.m. MDT on August 1. Tags are sold first-come, first-served for both sage-grouse and sandhill cranes.