The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is asking sage grouse hunters for help in tracking the activities and population numbers of the chicken-sized, ground-dwelling birds. The department wants hunters to drop one wing from any sage grouse they harvest in marked barrels placed at major access roads to popular hunting areas. Biologists can tell the age and sex of the harvested birds by examining their wings, which is key to 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.
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