Sage Grouse Wings

Each year, sage grouse hunters provide an important service to Wyoming Game and Fish Department biologists when they drop off a wing from their harvested sage grouse.  Game and Fish has asked hunters to deposit one wing from each harvested sage-grouse in roadside collection barrels to help the Department get a more complete picture of harvest within the state.  Wing barrels are usually found at specific locations within the sagebrush steppe regions, primarily in central and southwest Wyoming, often along primary exit roads near popular hunting areas and wildlife management areas, or in cooperation with local landowners and conservation organizations. Hunters also can drop-off wings at roadside hunter check stations or a Game and Fish regional office if they are unable to locate a barrel.  

The collection of sage-grouse wings provides crucial data for monitoring sage grouse population health and making informed management decisions.  Wildlife biologists gather data from wings that would otherwise be difficult to obtain and offer important information about reproductive success.”

After the hunting season, Game and Fish biologists analyze the wings to determine an estimate of reproductive success. Using length and wear of the primary feathers, each wing is aged as a chick, yearling or adult, and sex is determined by the size or measurement of the wing.  The data helps Game and Fish determine the average number of chicks per hen that were produced for the year and, used in conjunction with spring lek counts, gives the department insight into the overall health of sage-grouse populations and trends.  Those trends help to guide long-term conservation efforts and on-the-ground habitat improvement projects.  

A change implemented back in 2024 requires all licensed sage-grouse hunters — daily, annual, Pioneer and lifetime license holders — to carry a free, annual sage-grouse hunting permit to help Game and Fish expand efforts to survey sage-grouse hunters on their hunt experience. The permit is available at Game and Fish offices and online on the Game and Fish website.