GROUSE PROSPECTS GOOD

COLUMBIA -- Good weather and an upturn in ruffed grouse numbers elsewhere are helping to restore the dapper game bird to the Show-Me State.

The past two years have been difficult ones for Missouri's grouse, due to cool wet spring weather. Such weather makes it difficult for grouse and their close relatives -- quail, pheasants and turkeys -- to rear their young. This year, however, spring conditions were very good.

"With a bird as secretive as the grouse, it's difficult to get a direct measure of nest success," said Eric Kurzejeski, research biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation. "Based on information about quail and turkeys, it looks like this should be a good year for grouse. I'm guardedly optimistic that we will see a modest increase in the number of grouse that hunters see."

Missouri isn't the only place that grouse have had a hard time lately. Kurzejeski said the number of ruffed grouse has been near a 25-year low in the upper Midwest, including Minnesota, where MDC traps birds for its grouse reintroduction program.

That situation is looking up, too.

"Our trappers are seeing many more birds than they have in the last couple of years," said Kurzejeski. "We already have released more than 70 birds in Laclede County. If things continue to go this well, we could release over 100 birds this year, maybe as many as 120. We almost certainly will finish reintroduction work in Laclede County, and we might even have enough to finish a second site in Benton County."

Kurzejeski said the best grouse hunting probably will continue to be found in northern and central Missouri. He said MDC areas with strong grouse populations include Daniel Boone and Little Lost Creek Conservation Areas (CAs) in Warren County, Mineral Hills CA in Putnam County and Union Ridge CA in Adair, Putnam and Sullivan counties.

Grouse season began Oct. 15 and runs through Jan. 15 in Carter, Crawford, Iron, Madison, Oregon, Reynolds, Ripley, Ste. Genevieve, Shannon, Adair, Sullivan, Putnam, Schyuler and Washington counties. Those parts of Boone, Callaway, Montgomery and Warren counties south of I-70 and that part of Macon County north of Highway 36 also are open to grouse hunting during this season. The daily and possession limits are two and four.