2009 Sage- and Sharp-tailed Grouse Hunt Summary

Fewer hunters were afield in 2009; they harvested more sharp-tailed grouse than last year but fewer sage-grouse. In 2009, upland bird hunters bought 12,810 sage- and sharp-tailed grouse permits. That number was down from 14,424 in 2008. In addition, only an estimated 5,740 hunters actually hunted sage- or sharp-tailed grouse in 2009. The number of hunters was down from 6,344 in 2008. Survey questionnaires were sent to 5,000 randomly selected hunters who bought a permit. Harvest was estimated from the hunters that responded to the survey, and adjusted by the fraction that responded. Of 3,729 hunters contacted, 67 percent reported by mail, 33 percent were reached by phone, and 44.8 percent reported hunting sage- or sharp-tailed grouse. In 2009, an estimated 4,390 hunters spent about 9,732 days hunting and harvested an estimated 7,197 sage-grouse. The number of hunters, number of days hunting and harvest were all down from 2008, when an estimated 5,040 hunters spent 12,153 days hunting to harvest 7,723 sage-grouse. In 2009, an estimated 2,195 hunters spent about 6,280 days hunting and harvested an estimated 5,551 sharp-tailed grouse. The number of hunters and days hunting were down slightly from 2008, but harvest was up. An estimated 2,267 hunters spent 6,872 days hunting to harvest 4,970 sharp-tailed grouse.