As publishedSept 19-27, 2026 (9-day zone); Sept 19-20, 2026 (2-day zone); Sept 26-27, 2026 (Sheldon NWR draw hunt)
Three distinct hunt structures for 2026: (1) 9-day season Sept 19-27, 2026 in specific Elko/Humboldt/Lander/Eureka/Nye Co. hunt units, closed to nonresidents; (2) 2-day season Sept 19-20, 2026 in specific Washoe/Humboldt/Churchill/Lander/Elko/White Pine Co. hunt units, closed to nonresidents; (3) special draw-only 2-day hunt Sept 26-27, 2026 on Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge (hunt unit 033), open to nonresidents, limited to 40 reservations via random online draw. One additional hunt unit (111) opened vs. prior season. All three carry a 2/4 daily/possession limit. Source: CR 26-13.
NDOW (with BLM/USGS partners) runs genuine, active spring ground-lek counts plus fixed-wing aerial telemetry surveys feeding the state's own limited 2-day, 2-bird-per-day September season, but no standalone public report or press release analogous to Montana's or Idaho's dedicated sage-grouse documents was found across two search passes -- active, confirmed monitoring with no discrete dated publication to cite, not a program lapse.