(IDAHO) – Fish and Game staff is proposing an increase in sage-grouse tags offered for the 2024 hunting season. Sage-grouse lek counts increased 22% in 2024 from 2023, and increases were observed in all zones.
Proposed dates include:
- Sage-grouse Firearm Season all zones: September 21–October 31, 2024
- Sage-grouse Falconry Season all zones: August 15, 2024–March 15, 2025
Hunters and other interested parties can comment on the public comment webpage.
The sage-grouse tag allocation is designed to limit harvest to no more than 10% of the estimated fall population in each of the 12 reporting zones. In each zone, a fall population index was calculated based on spring 2024 lek counts and recruitment estimates derived from juvenile: adult ratios observed during the previous 3-year harvest.
Sage-grouse populations exhibit periodic increases and decreases in abundance in approximately 6 to 10-year cycles and Idaho sage-grouse are currently in the upward portion of that cycle.
To generate proposed 2024 tag numbers for each zone, department staff used a targeted harvest of 8% of the fall population index in most zones (5% in two zones, description below) and assumed a 60% harvest success rate. The assumed harvest success rate used for 2024 tag calculation (60%) is closer to actual statewide harvest success rates observed over the last three harvest seasons (31-46%) than the assumed harvest success rate that was used to calculate tag numbers in 2022 and 2023 (75%).
Therefore, the change in tag numbers between 2023 and 2024 reflects both the increase in sage-grouse counted on leks in spring 2024 and a change in the assumed harvest success rate used to estimate 2024 tag numbers.