Sage grouse hunting season

Sage grouse hunting season opened September 15 and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is urging all sage grouse hunters to drop one wing from any birds they harvest in one of the sage grouse wing barrels that have been placed at convenient locations in the field. Game and Fish biologists have placed the marked barrels at major access roads to popular hunting areas. Hunters are encouraged to deposit one wing from each grouse harvested in the barrel when leaving the field. Biologists can tell the age and sex of the harvested birds from their wings, which is a valuable piece of information in determining reproduction rates and ultimately the population trend. Each year, in addition to the wing data, biologists count the number of male birds on spring strutting grounds, or leks, and then try to get a sample of brood counts after the chicks
have hatched. Together, these data provide wildlife managers a pretty good picture of the population trend.