This state's classification carries no date range for the species.
NJDEP states plainly: "Ruffed grouse rely on young forest habitat which currently comprise only 5% of state forest lands. This lack of habitat has caused grouse populations to decline below the level necessary to support a hunting season. In an effort to reduce the decline, the grouse hunting season is closed statewide. No exceptions." This is a structural, indefinite closure rather than a year-to-year dates question — expected to remain closed until habitat recovers.
Season closed statewide since July 2019 (population too small to support hunting, per the Fish and Game Council), but NJDFW confirmed to be actively continuing a habitat-management/population-recovery plan alongside modified drumming-count survey protocols (building on a 2009 NJDFW WMA pilot) -- a “monitoring continues despite closure” case matching the CA/CO/IL sage-grouse/prairie-chicken pattern already documented in this registry. No standalone annual report or press release found; feeds an ongoing recovery-plan process rather than a discrete yearly document. Active-but-underdocumented, not_yet_published rather than no_program.