Sage Grouse Hunt Shows Some Encouraging Signs

Reports from sage grouse hunt check stations show some promising signs for a bird that has suffered serious declines. Hunters in most popular sage grouse hunting spots reported seeing more birds than they did last year and more juvenile birds showed up in hunters' bags, indicating improved success in nesting and rearing last spring. At a southeast Idaho check station that had not been run since 1995, the number of hunters had declined from 122 in 1995 to 37 this year, but birds taken per hunterÑ0.3Ñwas the same and hours hunted per bird in the bag was actually down from 15.5 to 13.5. Hunters who went to areas of old burns in the desert found virtually no birds while those who hunted remaining sagebrush areas along the Minidoka-Arco Road and around Big Butte did well. The last time a check station was run in the area, the limit was three birds; this fall the limit was one. In the Magic Valley, hunter success stayed the same as in 2001 and 2000 at an average of 0.51 birds per day hunted and hours hunted also stayed about the same. Hunters reported seeing more birds than they did in 1997 and 1998. The number of hunters was up in the Magic Valley from 874 last year to 1,034. Harvest went from 479 to 544. Juvenile birds per 100 females was up from 160 to 194, nearer the long-term average of 201. Hunting effort in areas where the limit was one sage grouse was extremely low. Hunters appeared happiest in the southwest where many said they had seen far more birds this fall than they had in a long time. Both hunter numbers and birds taken were up, but the birds per hunter was about the same as last year at one per hunter. Hours hunted per bird were down from last year 5 to 5.5. Biologists will have a clearer picture of this year's sage grouse production after they sort through the piles of wings hunters leave in wing barrels in hunting areas. The main question resolved after this "wing bee" will be the proportion of young birds in the overall population. Game bird managers hope for a high percentage of first-year birds as an indication that the population is on an upward trend. Sage grouse have declined throughout the West, causing some national organizations to petition federal wildlife authorities for listing the species under the Endangered Species Act. Fish and Game has been working with groups and individuals in Idaho to improve the status of sage grouse before such federal action can happen.