National prominence
Sooty grouse
Sooty grouse is classified as huntable/regulated upland game in 5 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
- AlaskaOpen5 windowsAwaiting survey — Alaska 2026
Governed by ADF&G Small Game Program's annual "Alaska Small Game Summary" (covers all 7 native grouse/ptarmigan species — ruffed, sharp-tailed, sooty, spruce grouse; rock, white-tailed, willow ptarmigan — in one hybrid document combining spring breeding-survey and summer brood-survey results with harvest expectations). Confirmed not yet published for 2026 as of a 2026-08-19 fresh check (the year-specific URL pattern small_game_status_2026_summary_report.pdf still returns 404, matching the Tier A registry's 2026-08-18 capture). No fixed calendar publish date exists, but both the 2024 and 2025 editions went live only after the early-August brood-survey fieldwork window closed, so publication is expected sometime in the coming weeks.
- CaliforniaOpen3 windowsAwaiting survey — California 2026
CDFW runs no survey or forecast program for sooty grouse (tracked in a combined season/bag with ruffed grouse in restricted counties) — confirmed absence, any year. Only static life-history accounts and season-date-reminder press releases exist, no population data.
- NevadaOpens in 11 daysAwaiting survey — Nevada 2026
Shares NDOW's dusky/sooty grouse post-season wing-collection program (age/sex/genetic sampling, since 2007) -- retrospective harvest composition only, not a pre-season population index or forecast. No recurring NDOW-published annual public forecast confirmed for this species.
- OregonOpens in 11 daysAwaiting survey — Oregon 2026
Shares ODFW's Forest Grouse and Mountain Quail Parts Collection Summary ('wingbee' report) with dusky grouse, ruffed grouse, and mountain quail. A fresh search this pass confirmed the same finding as the Tier A pass -- no edition newer than 2021 (published 2022) is publicly located, though the underlying wing-collection program continues annually. Active program, no dated fresher report.
- WashingtonOpens in 25 daysAwaiting survey — Washington 2026
WDFW's forest grouse (dusky/ruffed/sooty/spruce, combined season) coverage folds entirely into the retrospective, all-species Game Status and Trend Report (2025 edition published Feb 25, 2026); no standalone forest-grouse-specific pre-season forecast was found, per WDFW's own forest-grouse hunting page, which links only to that general report.