The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced that the sharp-tailed grouse hunting season remains closed for 2024, despite a slight increase in the spring population survey results. Permits and applications will not be available or accepted this year.
Each year, the sharp-tailed grouse advisory committee evaluates the population’s size using spring dancing ground surveys and recommends a hunting season. Based on the review of spring population data, lek distribution, and scientific studies from around the country, researchers remain concerned about the long-term viability of the sharp-tailed grouse population.
In 2024, the season will close for the sixth year. Although fall permits will not be issued, sharp-tailed grouse will continue to be classified as a game species.
Due to the significant habitat restoration practices occurring in the core habitat areas of northwest Wisconsin, grouse populations have grown in recent years. They are recovering from an all-time low in 2021. The DNR continues to focus on habitat management efforts that will increase population levels across their primary range.
If you’re passionate about Wisconsin’s tradition of sharp-tailed grouse hunting, you’ll find encouragement in the significant partnerships forming in the northwestern part of the state. These collaborations positively impact the barrens habitat, which is crucial for sharp-tailed grouse populations. Grouse enthusiasts can learn more by reading the Sharp-tailed Grouse Management Plan approved in April by the Natural Resources Board.
DNR staff and partners hope the population will continue to respond positively to ongoing, focused habitat management efforts. These efforts help restore the pine barrens and young forest habitats that sharp-tailed grouse depend upon for survival.
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