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Board approves scope statement to revise sharp‑tailed grouse management zones
Summary
The Natural Resources Board approved a scope statement to begin drafting rule language to revise sharp‑tailed grouse management zones in NR 10, aligning regulatory zones with the species management plan and allowing quotas to reference objectives in that plan.
The Natural Resources Board on May 28 approved a scope statement and conditional public notice to begin rule drafting for proposed changes to chapter NR 10 to revise sharp‑tailed grouse management zones.
Scott Carroll, wildlife regulation policy specialist, told the board the scope statement would direct staff to refine management zones so they better reflect where sharp‑tailed grouse currently occur and where habitat management is expected to support expansion under the department’s sharptail grouse management plan. Carroll said the rule would be relatively small in scope and would also adjust how harvest quotas are set, referencing objectives in the management plan much like recent rulemaking approaches for other species.
Board members urged broad outreach to non‑hunting stakeholders, including birding organizations, botanists and other groups with interests in barrens and related habitats. Carroll said the rulemaking notice would be broadly posted and staff would seek targeted outreach to nonconsumptive users.
The board recorded a written communication from the Wisconsin Animal Protection Society asking the department to refrain from promoting hunting, trapping and fishing; staff noted the correspondence and the scope statement motion passed. A motion to approve the scope was made and carried by voice vote; staff will draft rule language and return to the board later this fall.
