FWP collecting upland game bird wings in southwest Montana

BOZEMAN – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologists will be collecting wings from hunter-harvested sage-grouse, mountain grouse and Hungarian partridge in several areas of southwest Montana.  

Biologists will use these wings to identify birds by species and age class — juvenile or adult. This helps biologists monitor juvenile recruitment among game bird populations.  

Wing collection barrels will be in various locations during the sage-grouse hunting season, from Sept. 1 - 30. Hunters who come upon a wing collection barrel while traveling from a hunt are asked to put only one wing from each harvested bird into the barrel. Wings can also be turned into area wildlife biologists or game wardens.  

Hunters in the Big Hole Valley may also encounter sage-grouse hens wearing GPS devices as part of an ongoing research study. If one of these grouse is harvested, please return the device to FWP’s Butte-area wildlife biologist, Vanna Boccadori.  

For more information, please call 406-577-7900 to contact wildlife biologists Dean Waltee in Sheridan, Jesse Newby in Dillon, or Vanna Boccadori in Butte.