| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Window 1 | 30 AUG 2026 – 31 JAN 2027 | 155d |
| Window 2 | 30 AUG – 31 DEC 2026 | 124d |
As publishedArea 1: Aug 30, 2026 - Jan 31, 2027; Area 2: Aug 30, 2026 - Dec 31, 2026
Bag/possession limit is shared in aggregate across all 3 forest grouse species.Most common forest grouse in southern Idaho mountains, favoring high-elevation sagebrush/mountain shrub and Douglas fir. Formerly called 'blue grouse' - per the 2006 taxonomic split, Idaho's entire population is dusky grouse; sooty grouse (the coastal counterpart) does not occur in Idaho. Same Area 1 / Area 2 split and dates as ruffed grouse.
Dusky grouse is the most widely distributed of Idaho's three forest grouse species, occurring throughout the state's mountainous terrain and notably the most common of the three in southern Idaho, where ruffed and spruce grouse are largely absent. IDFG's own reporting distinguishes its habitat pattern from the other two forest grouse: it favors forest edges and openings, high-elevation sagebrush and mountain-shrub habitat for nesting, springs and stream banks for brood-rearing, and undergoes a seasonal "reverse migration" uphill into dense conifer stands for winter, where its diet shifts almost entirely to fir needles. IDFG's own regulatory structure reflects this broader distribution: forest grouse Area 2 ("remainder of the state" outside the north-Idaho Area 1 counties, with a shorter season) is effectively dusky-grouse-dominant territory, since ruffed and spruce grouse are far more restricted to Area 1's moister northern forests.
Preliminary: Idaho's statewide forest-grouse forecast hasn't published as of August 29 (last year's edition came out September 5), so there's no real dusky grouse count or survey to rate against yet. What we do know: statewide temperature and precipitation were close to normal this year, precipitation even slightly above normal since January, and winter 2025-26 was mild with very little snow, unremarkable conditions, not a red flag. Dusky grouse's high-elevation shrub and Douglas fir habitat sits in the same general part of the state as Idaho's confirmed 2026 drought, but that drought is specific to the sagebrush-steppe country sage grouse and sharp-tailed grouse use, different habitat, so it's not treated as a mark against dusky grouse, just worth keeping an eye on given the overlap. Treat this rating as a placeholder rather than a real read on the season; check back once the statewide forecast publishes, expected in early September.
No forest-grouse survey has published yet for Idaho; rated flat in the absence of any confirmed good or bad news, not from an actual count. Worth watching given some geographic overlap with this year's confirmed sagebrush-country drought.
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