Game, Fish and Parks Secretary Jeff Vonk was the first to tell me Thursday afternoon that “to the best of my (his) knowledge” none of the members of the state Game, Fish and Parks Commission took the field Wednesday or Thursday for the sage grouse season. Several commissioners made sure I got the message too. What’s so significant about that? Well, the commisioners held their monthly meeting Thursday and Friday in Lemmon, which happens to be in Perkins County, which happens to be next door to Harding County. The season for hunting the rare sage grouse was two days this year, Wednesday and Thursday, and the season was open only in Harding County and western Butte County. Just all a coincidence, it seems.
However, commissioner Tim Kessler of Aberdeen did take out one sharptail grouse which had extremely bad timing. It collided with his windshield as he was motoring west on U.S. 12 to the meeting.
#1 by BK on October 5, 2009 - 8:23 am
Hawley’s group was there but no Hawley. I didn’t see many of them there this year…low hunter turnout and low grouse populations this year. We only got one.