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National prominence
Greater prairie-chicken
Greater prairie-chicken is classified as huntable/regulated upland game in 13 of the 50 states surveyed for the 2026-27 season (research pass captured 2026-08-18). This is a factual presence/season-classification summary, not a population outlook — no 2026 outlook/forecast research was performed for this species; see each state's own state-species record for season dates and any opportunistic 2026 notes captured incidentally.
Cattail slough against picked corn. Where the roosters sit out a hard wind, and the reason the bird follows small-grain country across the northern plains.
Where it is open, and what the survey says
- ColoradoOpens in 41 daysAwaiting survey — Colorado 2026
CPW conducts active spring lek monitoring for greater prairie-chicken in northeast Colorado (Yuma/Washington/Phillips counties), but no discrete standalone 2026 report, press release, or numeric count was found this pass (re-checked 2026-08-19 via fresh web search) — unlike lesser prairie-chicken, whose 2026 count reached outdoor press. No confirmed fixed publish window exists for this species; monitor CPW's species page and regional ag/outdoor press.
- KansasOpens in 25 daysAwaiting survey — Kansas 2026
KDWP runs a real, active spring lek-count program (Prairie Chicken Lek Survey, 50 routes statewide — 33 within greater prairie-chicken range, 3 in the overlap zone with lesser prairie-chicken). Matches the "active monitoring, no dated report" pattern already established for four Colorado species and Illinois's prairie-chicken in prior Tier B passes: fresh WebSearch/WebFetch passes today (2026-08-19) found no report edition newer than 2014, and whether even a 2025 edition exists at all remains unresolved. Not closed as no_program since the program itself is real and ongoing, not absent.
- MinnesotaOpens in 36 daysAwaiting survey — Minnesota 2026
MN DNR (Charlotte Roy) runs a dedicated annual spring lek-count survey (fieldwork mid-March-early May), with editions confirmed 2023-2025; the 2025 edition (files.dnr.state.mn.us/recreation/hunting/prairiechicken/2025-survey.pdf) recorded 102 booming grounds and 955 male prairie-chickens. A fresh search this pass found no 2026 edition yet. A limited-permit hunting season continues (an actively hunted population, not a closure-driven conservation-only case).
- NebraskaOpens in 11 daysAwaiting survey — Nebraska 2026
Tracked via NGPC's combined Upland Game Bird Hunting Outlook PDF (six-region breakdown, folding in spring lek/RMCS prairie-grouse data), typically published late August. A fresh check this pass caught a stale-attribution trap: a WebSearch summary and a syndicated Outdoor Wire mirror of NGPC's press release both initially read as describing the current 2026 season, but a direct fetch of the Outdoor Wire release confirmed its actual publish date is August 26, 2025, describing the 2025-26 season (comparing spring/summer 2025 survey results to 2024) — not a 2026 finding. outdoornebraska.gov itself returns HTTP 403 to every direct fetch attempt. No genuine 2026 edition found; expected late August 2026 (within about a week) per the 2025 precedent (Aug 26, 2025 publish date).
- South DakotaOpens in 29 daysAwaiting survey — South Dakota 2026
Governed by SD GFP's spring prairie grouse lek counts, which fold into the same late-August Upland Outlook PDF as pheasant rather than a standalone report. The 2026 edition (gfp.sd.gov/userdocs/docs/uplandoutlook_2026.pdf) returned a 404 on direct fetch 2026-08-19; expected within the next 1-2 weeks per the typical late-August window.