Changes in grouse management?

[Wacenturion]

Unless things have changed, there isn't anything research wise that would indicate grouse numbers being impacted by turkeys as suggested above.  Kind of like the coyote/predator suggestions for declining pheasant populations or other upland birds.  The sky may be falling but it comes down to habitat plain and simple.  What used to be excellent habitat irregardless of species, changes for one reason or another for better or worse.....fact.

[4T]

I never even thought they would eat the eggs.  I'm glad the grouse had a good hatch this year.  I don't have any scientific  data to prove turkeys are even a threat to the grouse.  I have just noticed that where I've hunted in the last 10 years that there is more turkey and less grouse.  It just makes sense that turkeys eat the same food and would require more of it.

[wildweeds]

A family freind retired from the state as manager of the WT wooten, he told me turkeys wreak havoc on pheasant and quail chicks, he said they eat the chicks like popcorn shrimp. Saw it happen time and again at the headquarters. The pheasant population has diminished to the point of "releasing pheasants" and the turkey population has soared. I made mention that turkeys prey on young chicks and the biologist at the St John satellite office said that is false and it doesn't happen. My thought is his school book has lied, and the man in the field who had feeders out at the headquarters and saw it first hand over and over in real time is correct. There was a field down there I drove by for years and years that would have 100s and 100s of pheasants in it, I was down that way 4 years ago deer hunting for a week and saw but just half a dozen pheasants in a weeks time. All of those birds were fresh off the truck. The farming hasn't changed, the habitat hasn't changed but it looks like 25 years of predators from the sky and ground have changed the population in that area to almost extinct.

[Pegasus]

We must kill all the turkeys to save the grouse? Grouse have a natural cycle of boom and bust on their populations every ten years. What part of that cycle are we in? The turkey population has exploded over the last twenty years. As to what part they play in damaging the grouse population I am not sure but I do remember many lean years in grouse hunting before the turkey population took off.  When I shot my first turkey in this state after hunting them for several years I was one of only 100 successful hunters that year that killed a turkey in this state. Nowadays they kill about 5000 turkeys. Some day the turkey population will bust again like it did over a century ago. The game department has liberalized the amount of turkey tags you can buy for certain areas and has expanded the seasons for hunting them.

[T-Bone]

A very interesting article on the subject in the September/October issue of Pointing Dog Journal magazine. The Michigan Department Of Natural Resources has a GEMS (Grouse Enhancement Management Sites) program to not only enhance grouse habitat, but hunter enjoyment, as well. By taking state owned forest land and cutting walking pathways for hunters and encouraging growth of known grouse food sources; the DNR of Michigan have come up with a great program. Each site has a nice parking area with a large map and informational signage.

Would it work here?...You bet!...Will it ever happen?...Highly unlikely.

Even with having grouse and public land grouse habitat that any New England grouse hunter would dream about; grouse indeed are a low WDFW priority with the majority of WA upland hunters in a "Ditch Chicken Or Nothing" state of mind. The Pheasant Release Program and its cost/loss of $$$ is a major example. A major re-education of the upland bird hunting public with a program like Michigan's GEMS for obvious opportunity would have to be installed and well...That's unlikely to happen, folks.

[Curly]

Just my two cents. But I believe for the westside, aerial spraying, of 2,4-D has done more damage to grouse populations, than any other factor.  I know private timber companies do it, not sure of DNR or the USFS. And private timber company land is where I draw this conclusion from. Having been raised hunting on Pope & Talbot land, I have personally seen the grouse populations plummet. Which just so happens to coincide with aerial spraying, that started heavily in the 70's. But what do I know... like I stated, it just my

I agree. Too many chemicals are sprayed, ruining much grouse habitat.

[grundy53]

Just my two cents. But I believe for the westside, aerial spraying, of 2,4-D has done more damage to grouse populations, than any other factor.  I know private timber companies do it, not sure of DNR or the USFS. And private timber company land is where I draw this conclusion from. Having been raised hunting on Pope & Talbot land, I have personally seen the grouse populations plummet. Which just so happens to coincide with aerial spraying, that started heavily in the 70's. But what do I know... like I stated, it just my

I agree. Too many chemicals are sprayed, ruining much grouse habitat.

Agreed. The grouse population in my main stomping grounds has been doing poorly for awhile and you can't blame it on turkeys because there aren't any. Although, it has been a good grouse year.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[KFhunter]

We got tons of turkey and grouse 

Seriously, the turkeys have had a stellar year pumping out chicks, there's still little ones running around from a 3rd 4th? hatch.   Grouse are doing very well too, and the quail    they exploded