Grouse counts up 15%? BS from the Game and Fish to avoid listing or do you see more birds?

[elks96]

So I have noted a significant decrease in grouse. Nothing official, but when I have driven prime Sage Grouse Habitat, I simply am driving miles and miles each day and only finding a small group here and there. Good news is all groups have had this years babies. But the overall numbers and the distance between seems to indicate fewer grouse than normal.

Today I saw the Game and Fish are saying the population is up 15%. What do you believe? I am not sure that there is not significant political pressure to keep the grouse from being listed.

What I do know is that there are new power lines being built all over prime sage grouse land. The new power line from Sinclair to NW Colorado is eating up a ton of habitat. To further add to the concerns. There are new test tower for wind farms all over the country from Sinclair, to Rawlins, South all the way through Baggs. With tons of projects being proposed and ton of wind mils in this country.

It is sad to think how much they are going to shove into this country and they do it with the grace of the environmentalist who would normally fight for the wildlife and wild areas...

I almsot hope they list the birds to help prevent the massive wind farms from taking over out best sage...

 

[HntHrdr]

You see elks… roads and bases for wind and solar and electric don’t actually hurt the sage grouse like roads and pads from oil and gas… or at least that is what the climate worshippers are pushing. Some serious BS. The green crap conforms to their religion even if it doesn’t make a lick of dam sense….

 

[nfh]

When methane fields hit the sherdian (2006-2007) area the sage grouse came in thick. All the new grasses seemed to bring them in

Also here in Powell a bird farm is gathering eggs and growing sage grouse. kinda a neat project

 

[nfh]

Sage grouse experts from Canada tour Powell bird farm - Powell Tribune

One of the North America’s most exclusive clubs — those actively breeding and rearing greater sage grouse in captivity — met for the first time in Powell last week for a tour of the …

www.powelltribune.com

Exclusive right to raise sage grouse given to Powell game bird farm - Powell Tribune

A Powell game bird farm has been given the sole right to raise greater sage grouse in the state by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission. The commission discussed the issue briefly Tuesday …

www.powelltribune.com

 

[tailchasers]

SG populations swings wildly. One area I now of in NW Colorado has seen a good increase even with the nasty winter and power line going up. Weird bird that frankly I don't believe the fish and game folks really understand well on what makes them tick.

 

[DoubleDropMuley]

Out where I work I’ve seen more this year than last for sure . Been seeing some every morning , but that’s just one area !!

 

[Chesterwyo]

There’s more than I’ve seen in a long time.

 

[treedagain]

There’s more than I’ve seen in a long time.

That is just wierd IMHO. But at least they can fly to better cover. Anything 4 footed was pretty well stuck where they were.

 

[Bookhead]

I've seen more sage grouse and blue grouse this year then usual

 

[ruger1022]

They seem to be doing better in Northern Utah this year compared to last year. It also seems like chick survival was good this year with all the moisture we had.

 

[elks96]

Crazy. It definitely seems like they are way down where we are at. The only place where I have seen numbers at or above I also found where they wintered and destroyed the sage above the snow cover? South of Ferris we found where the snow had to be like 4-5 foot deep and the sage in the area was all close to 6'. the top foot of that sage was destroyed by the birds (there were piles of grouse poop that looked like pile of sheep poop). I wonder if the difference was snow depth vs sage/feed height? All the birds we have found were near areas where the sage would have been tall enough to be exposed above the snow. Areas where the sage was short no birds?

 

[elks96]

They seem to be doing better in Northern Utah this year compared to last year. It also seems like chick survival was good this year with all the moisture we had.

I am seeing lots of chicks when we find a group but not nearly as many groups... I do think this year the number chicks per hen are higher...

 

[Wyo_Roadhunter]

I've been seeing lots around here and tons up north of here

 

[rmanwill]

There’s more than I’ve seen in a long time.

I'd believe this. Chester covers alot of miles on dirt roads in good grouse country.

 

[Chesterwyo]

I'd believe this. Chester covers alot of miles on dirt roads in good grouse country.

To be fair, I've only put 27,000 miles on a new pickup I got in January. All within 150 mile radius of RS. ?

 

[Chesterwyo]

Spent the day today working, and looking around in the tri territory, sand dunes area counted over twenty sage grouse. Anywhere there was water, they could be seen. No big antelope though. Unfortunately.

 

[Bwht4x4]

I spent 4 days driving a lot of miles in one of the Red Desert units and I can only recall seeing one sage grouse.

 

[JB1975]

We saw a ton of grouse in H last week.

 

[AZ71]

My 21 year old son loves bird hunting, been training his own dogs since he was 14. He recently drove 13 hours from AZ and hunted 2 days killing his limit both days. He said he seen at least a 100 sage grouse in those 2 days. Those are some big ole birds.

 

[elks96]

I will recount my original post. There’s re areas in the desert where we can not find them like normal, but up higher especially near and around the stunted aspen there are a lot of birds. Definitely more than normal. We also are seeing more sharpies than normal. I wonder if areas where the sage were taller and ridges where the wind blew off were less affected, but the desert birds when the sage is consistently short we’re not as well?

 

[ruger1022]

I will recount my original post. There’s re areas in the desert where we can not find them like normal, but up higher especially near and around the stunted aspen there are a lot of birds. Definitely more than normal. We also are seeing more sharpies than normal. I wonder if areas where the sage were taller and ridges where the wind blew off were less affected, but the desert birds when the sage is consistently short we’re not as well?

I’m not as familiar with sage-grouse in Wyoming, but in general they can move huge distances (20+ miles). They basically migrate from summer range to winter. If there are plenty of forbs and insects higher currently, that’s where they will be. They’ll drop lower once the insects die off and forbs dry up.

 

[Butts]

We saw a ton of grouse in H last week.

You kill a buck?

 

[Butts]

My son faired allot better on mountain chickens than I did on a big muley!