Department of Animal and Rangeland Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, United States of America.
Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2021 Oct 5;16(10):e0253635. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0253635. eCollection 2021.
Hunter harvest is a potential factor contributing to population declines of sage-grouse (Centrocercus spp.). As a result, wildlife agencies throughout western North America have set increasingly more conservative harvest regulations over the past 25 years to reduce or eliminate hunter success and concomitant numbers of harvested greater (C. urophasianus) and Gunnison (C. minimus) sage-grouse. Sage-grouse hunting has varied widely over time and space, which has made a comprehensive summary of hunting management challenging. We compiled data on harvest regulations among 11 western U.S. states and 2 Canadian provinces from 1870-2019 to create a timeline representative of hunting regulations. We compared annual harvest boundaries and area-weighted average hunting regulations, 1995-2018, relative to administrative boundaries and areas of high probability of sage-grouse occupation. We also summarized estimated numbers of birds harvested and hunters afield, 1995-2018, across both species' ranges. From 1995-2018, there was a 30% reduction in administrative harvest boundaries across the greater sage-grouse range compared to a 16.6% reduction in area open to harvest within 8 km from active leks. Temporary closures occurred in response to wildfires, disease outbreaks, low population numbers, and two research projects; whereas, permanent closures primarily occurred in small populations and areas on the periphery of the species distribution. Similarly, area-weighted possession limits and season length for greater sage-grouse decreased 52.6% and 61.0%, respectively, while season start date stayed relatively stable (mean start date ~259 [mid-September]). In contrast, hunting of the now federally-threatened Gunnison sage-grouse ended after 1999. While restrictions in harvest regulations were large in area, closures near areas of high greater sage-grouse occupancy were relatively smaller with the same trend for Gunnison sage-grouse until hunting ceased. For greater sage-grouse, most states reduced bag and possession limits and appeared to adhere to recommendations for later and shorter hunting seasons, reducing potential for additive mortality.
狩猎是导致山鹑（Centrocercus spp.）数量减少的潜在因素之一。因此，在过去的 25 年中，北美西部的野生动物机构为减少或消除猎人的成功以及随之而来的山鹑数量，不断制定更为保守的狩猎法规，包括大角山鹑（C. urophasianus）和甘尼森山鹑（C. minimus）。山鹑狩猎在时间和空间上存在很大差异，这使得全面总结狩猎管理具有挑战性。我们整理了 1870 年至 2019 年美国 11 个州和 2 个加拿大省份的狩猎法规数据，以创建一个具有代表性的狩猎法规时间表。我们比较了 1995 年至 2018 年的年度狩猎边界和加权平均狩猎法规与行政边界和高概率山鹑栖息地的面积。我们还总结了 1995 年至 2018 年两种物种的鸟类猎捕量和野外猎人数量。1995 年至 2018 年，大角山鹑的行政狩猎边界减少了 30%，而距离活跃地的距离在 8 公里以内的可狩猎面积减少了 16.6%。临时关闭是为了应对野火、疾病爆发、低人口数量和两个研究项目；而永久关闭主要发生在小种群和物种分布边缘地区。同样，大角山鹑的加权拥有限制和季节长度分别减少了 52.6%和 61.0%，而季节开始日期相对稳定（平均开始日期约为 259 天（九月中旬））。相比之下，现在受到联邦威胁的甘尼森山鹑的狩猎已于 1999 年结束。尽管在狩猎法规方面的限制面积很大，但在大角山鹑高栖息地附近的关闭面积相对较小，甘尼森山鹑也出现了同样的趋势，直到狩猎停止。对于大角山鹑，大多数州减少了袋和拥有限制，并似乎遵守了关于较晚和较短狩猎季节的建议，从而减少了潜在的附加死亡率。
