High Reproductive Success Found In Prairie Grouse Populations In Fort Pierre National Grasslands

PIERRE, (KCCR) — Pheasants aren’t the only birds taking up space in the Fort Pierre National Grasslands. The U-S-D-A Forest Service says the population of Sharp-tailed Grouse and Greater Prairie Chicken saw increases based on wings collected during the first three weeks of the 2024 prairie grouse hunting season. The bird populations have indicated high reproductive successes with a juvenile to adult ratio of two-point-eleven-to-one, which is the same ratio discovered last year. Over the last three decades, the juvenile-to-adult ratio has averaged one-point-98-to-one. The ratio provides an important index for biologists in judging the success of the recently completed nesting season. Officials had a record-high one-thousand 542 wings collected for the survey. Greater-prairie chickens made up 76-percent of prairie grouse harvested this year, compared to 78-percent last year. That’s a long-term average of 69-point-33-percent. Wildlife biologist Jaci Baker says the high reproductive success is due in part to great nesting cover and fair weather during the incubation and early brooding periods.