| Sept. 17, 2021 – Wyoming's greater sage-grouse hunting season is open Sept. 18-Sept. 30 in Hunt Area 1, which includes nearly all of Carbon County and much of Wyoming, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Many greater sage-grouse around the state have been tagged as part of various research and study programs.
 The GPS tags have a mini solar cell to recharge the batteries, and are painted to reduce visibility by predators. The tags are attached to the back of each grouse with a thin brown strap. |
Power Company of Wyoming LLC is asking hunters to please be aware that lightweight GPS tags have been placed on about 40 female sage-grouse located on and around The Overland Trail Cattle Company ranch, the site of PCW's Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project.
Hunters who shoot a greater sage-grouse and discover that the bird is wearing a GPS tracking device are asked to please return the device, so scientists can continue the integrity of the overall sage-grouse monitoring program and the important scientific data being gathered. Hunters can drop the tags into WGFD wing barrels or at the BLM Rawlins Field Office. Hunters also can arrange for the device to be retrieved by calling 303.487.1183.
Since the GPS tags were first deployed in early 2010, sage-grouse have been continuously monitored by PCW and research partners as part of long-term studies related to sage-grouse conservation and wind energy development. Over the years PCW has tagged over 550 birds and gathered more than 916,000 data points, helping the company understand how sage-grouse move seasonally and diurnally among different types of habitats, where they nest, and how they are impacted by weather and predators, among other topics.
The Overland Trail Ranch is located south of Rawlins and northwest of Saratoga. Sage-grouse hunting has been prohibited for many years as part of a series of sage-grouse conservation measures implemented ranch-wide.
More information about WGFD's hunting rules and regulations is at https://wgfd.wyo.gov/.
Download map (PDF):
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/media/content/Final%20Regs/2021-SGR.pdf
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