Idaho Fish and Game is seeking information regarding two female sage-grouse that were illegally taken in southeast Bingham County. A Fish and Game conservation officer discovered the grouse carcasses on Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. in the area of Brush Creek Road and Paradise Road on public land, east of Blackfoot. The incident likely occurred sometime earlier that morning based upon the condition of the remaining carcasses.
There is no open hunting season for sage-grouse in or anywhere near the vicinity of where the carcasses were found. The breasts were removed from each bird without a wing or head attached as required. It’s possible the grouse were mistaken for another grouse species.
A sage-grouse tag is now required to hunt sage-grouse in Idaho. A hunter may harvest only as many sage-grouse as he or she has legal tags for in that season. Sage-grouse tags were available for purchase on Aug. 1, on a first-come, first-served basis until tag quotas were reached.
Sage-grouse tags are distributed across twelve hunting zones with a tag quota for each zone, and tag purchase is specific to that zone. A hunter may purchase two sage grouse tags in any zone. For more information about the season and rules for sage-grouse as well as how to correctly identify these birds, please visit Fish and Game's Sage-grouse Hunting webpage.
If anyone has any information regarding this incident or any wildlife violation, please contact Senior Conservation Officer Kevin Pennala at 208-972-4696 or the Citizens Against Poaching hotline at 1-800-632-5999. Callers may remain anonymous and those with information leading to an arrest are eligible for rewards.