Sage Grouse Hunting Season

Not sure. I would kind of tend to agree with you I guess, at least relative to ID. Last year in Wyoming I took the opportunity to scratch one off the bucket list and hunt Sage Grouse for one day (both my son and I filling our limit of 2 each). Always wanted to do that, ever since I watched an American Sportsman episode where Curt Gowdy and Bing Crosby hunted them.... when I was a boy. There were a lot of birds, but WY has a much bigger and healthier population. Still, the feds putting them on the ESL would change everything. I asked the rancher about it. He said that all the ranchers he knew were worried about Sage Grouse as the next Wolf or Grizzly, only worse. Biologists are already asking to come on ranches and radio track birds to find their different home ranges, nesting and mating grounds, etc. He indicated that so far the ranches around him had refused to allow that... but eventually they will just come do it anyway... their fear being that all the BLM that they have leased long term for grazing (and even privately held property) could see massive land use restrictions that would cripple them. Honestly, I am torn. I don't really agree with the "just use it up, and the heck with any animal that can't adapt" mindset (pretty redneck, even for a redneck Missouri boy like me)... I believe we are supposed to be stewards of this world... and I try to do that in everyway that I can. On the other hand, it is clear that some things just naturally change over time. Species come and go, and always have, climates change, ecosystems are altered. Sage Grouse are magnificent birds though (and pretty yummy as well). If there is a way for them to adapt and thrive, it would be wonderful. But it seems that they have some VERY specific habitat requirements that don't appear to be that easy to provide any more. Not like a few shelter belts or seasonal ponds is going to help them. From what I gather, a big issue is their vulnerability to avian predators. They need vast mature sage flats to use as escape habitat (and food/nesting etc.) Those just don't exist in the size needed in very many places any more. It is unclear if a limited hunting season would actually hurt the localized populations where hunting would be allowed, and since they are non migratory it doesn't really seem that it would have much impact on the "global" population.... it could actually be helpful in managing for carying capacity, etc.... but once the enviro crowd gets involved, they will make that hunting season look like the worst thing that could possibly happen. Just imagine when they label you favorite high desert hunting ground a "protected Sage Grouse sanctuary"... no more access to that "delicate environment".... I guess that is the trouble with our country today, each side looking for a hammer to use to advance their agenda. Sage Grouse may be the next one coming our way. I know I have heard a couple of enviros talking about them being a more effective tool than the wolf ever was.