With prairie grouse season beginning Saturday, biologists with the state Game, Fish & Parks Department are asking hunters provide biological data that helps estimate prairie grouse production.

Sharp-tailed grouse and greater prairie chicken populations in South Dakota are monitored using data collected from spring lek surveys, hunter harvest surveys and wing collections from hunters.

Spring lek surveys provide an indication of the breeding population, hunter harvest surveys give an estimation of the number of hunters and birds harvested while the wing collections allow biologists to determine the age ratio of harvested birds.

"Unlike pheasants, that are easily counted during roadside surveys, determining the reproduction of grouse and providing a fall forecast to hunters is not as easy," GF&P senior upland game biologist Chad Switzer of Huron said in a news release.

GF&P is working with other agencies and nonprofit organizations that have land available to the public that supports viable grouse populations and have a history of traditional grouse hunters.

Grouse wing collection boxes will be placed at locations along roadsides, parking areas or local businesses that are conveniently located for hunters. Grouse hunters are asked to voluntarily submit at these collection boxes a wing from each grouse they shoot.

"The objective is to develop a grouse model for South Dakota to more accurately monitor trends in the prairie grouse population and to improve upon our fall population forecast," said Switzer. The model will initially include long-term wing collection data from the Fort Pierre National Grasslands along with different weather variables obtained from local weather stations.

Data collected from the Grand River and Buffalo Gap National Grasslands and on public land in McPherson County will be incorporated in the future to provide regional grouse forecasts. Grouse hunters are reminded to only submit wings from grouse harvested in these respective areas.

To view the locations of the wing box collection sites and to learn more about prairie grouse season information and management, go to www.sdgfp.info/Wildlife/hunting/PRGrouse/GrouseWingBoxes.htm. Hunters can also view the collection sites by using the interactive mapping tool at http://www.sdgfp.info/Wildlife/PublicLands/PubLand.htm.