For the first time since 2018, there will be a sharp-tailed grouse hunting season in Wisconsin. (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources photo)

A sharp-tailed grouse hunt will be held this fall in Wisconsin, the first since 2018, with the season running from Oct. 18 to Nov. 9.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said an application period will run until Aug. 1 for entry into a limited-drawing lottery. Preference points from prior years will be honored. The season is limited to Zone 10 in northwestern Wisconsin’s Burnett and Polk counties.

State biologists noticed a steady decline in sharp-tailed grouse numbers beginning in the 1990s, said Bob Hanson, a DNR wildlife biologist who has been working with the population for years. Habitat fragmentation and a decline of the pine barrens the birds prefer were believed to be the reason.

Efforts have been underway since then to restore and reconnect sharp-tailed grouse habitat, and the population has been growing.

“The Sharp-tailed Grouse Advisory Committee used several criteria to evaluate whether the population could support a hunt. We looked at lek survey numbers, winter survivability, nesting and brood rearing success, weather forecasts and habitat metrics,” said Hanson. “Based on the population response we’ve been seeing, the metrics considered were all satisfied and suggested the population was large enough again for a limited hunt.”

The advisory committee consisted of DNR biologists, federal agency staff and interested conservation groups.

The reopening of the season culminates years of intensive habitat work in the Northwest Sands region. Some larger state-owned areas focusing on sharp-tailed grouse management include Crex Meadows Wildlife Area and Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area.

“I hope to see the population numbers continue to climb,” said Hanson. “As we continue creating new barrens habitat and connecting habitat segments within a fragmented landscape, we should continue to see the population increase.”

For information on sharp-tailed grouse management efforts, go to the DNR’s Sharp-tailed Grouse Management webpage at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/WildlifeHabitat/Sharp-tailedGrouseManagement.

For more on the hunt, go to https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/hunt/sharptailgrouse.