Last winter was tough on most of Wyoming’s wildlife. Yet, sage grouse had “relatively high winter survival,” according to a state official and early observations from field managers suggest sage grouse production may have improved from last year.

“They’re tough birds,” said Nyssa Whitford, Game and Fish’s sage grouse/sagebrush biologist. “We just did not anticipate, nor did we see the effects statewide that we saw in some of our other animal populations.”

While ungulates were forced to trudge through the deep snow and suffered significant losses in many hunt areas, sage grouse are able to fly to better habitat or  “burrow down into the snow and hang out around a sagebrush bush for cover, warmth and food,” Whitford said.

Sagebrush makes up the primary food source for the species in the winter. Over winter months, sage grouse actually manage to gain weight and strength in preparation for the breeding season by feeding on the leaves of sagebrush. And they get water from feeding on snow, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

In 2022, lek attendance was up just over 6% from last year.

“More birds appearing at leks is thought to be due to the natural population cycles of sage grouse combined with good moisture that benefits habitat,” the department reported.

The spring and summer moisture was a welcome boost for sage grouse drought conditions that has affected chick survival in previous dry years and helping populations stabilize, the department reported. Data on sage grouse lek
attendance goes back nearly six decades, charting the cyclical nature of the birds’ population.

Studies indicate Wyoming's population cycles every six to eight years, according to the department. Waning sage grouse populations hit an all time low back in the early 1990s.

Lek count data for 2023 is set to be released on Sept. 5, according to a department spokesperson.

“I've heard sections of the state are up, some are stable and some are down. I think, overall, we're going to end up in a stable to slightly increasing,” Whitford said.

Going into the state’s sage grouse hunting season from Sept. 16-30, only Hunt Area 1 will be open to hunting, with areas 2, 3 and 4 closed. Area 1 is a broad swath through the state, including all of the Big Horn Basin and extending from the Montana border to the Colorado border.

Hunters can take a daily bag limit of up to two sage grouse and have a total of four birds in their possession.

Out of an abundance of caution, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is asking hunters, hikers and landowners to report dead sage grouse so the birds can be tested for West Nile virus.

“While there are no signs of an outbreak, Game and Fish asks the public annually for reports to help in the management of the state’s sage-grouse populations,” the department requested last week.

West Nile virus is spread by mosquitoes, and research shows sage grouse have a low resistance to the virus, which is usually fatal to the birds. Evidence of the disease has been reported in past years in northeast Wyoming and in surrounding states.

The wet spring and summer experienced in much of Wyoming has contributed to an increase in standing water and mosquito populations. Northeast Wyoming was identified as an area of concern

“We haven’t had an outbreak of West Nile in sage grouse since 2003 in northeast Wyoming. But monitoring for the disease is still important,” Whitford said, adding “We are particularly interested in sage grouse found in remote areas that have no obvious injuries that might have resulted in their death. These may occur near water holes or hay fields on private lands.”

Testing dead birds helps Game and Fish monitor the scope and impact of the disease across the state. For individuals willing to collect carcasses they find, the chance of getting the virus from handling a dead bird is rare, the department reports. But, picking up the birds with an inverted plastic sack while wearing gloves is recommended. The bagged carcass should then be placed into another plastic bag, preferably a trash bag, tied and taken to a regional office.

If it can’t be delivered quickly to Game and Fish, the bird should be frozen.

The public can help reduce mosquitoes and the virus by eliminating standing water in small receptacles like flower pots, discarded tires, small plastic swimming pools and wheelbarrows where mosquitoes tend to breed. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water and only take five to seven days to complete their life cycle.