Background:
     Sharp-tailed grouse and Prairie chickens are often referred to as prairie grouse.  Both species were present, and provided a ready food source for early settlers of Western Iowa. 
     By 1892, the changing western Iowa landscape and market hunting nearly eliminated sharptails and prairie chickens from the region.  As settlement and agricultural development continued, their numbers continued to decline until both species were gone from western Iowa. 
     In the late 1970’s interest developed in re-introducing prairie grouse to western Iowa.  In 1980, 53 greater prairie chickens were obtained from Kansas for release in the Loess Hills, followed by the release of 30 additional birds in 1982.  Both attempts failed to establish prairie chickens in their original range.  While restoration of prairie chickens in southern Iowa has been successful, further attempts were not made in the Loess hills. 
     By 1986, a proposal was written to re-introduce sharp-tailed grouse to the Loess Hills.  Habitat preferences and behavioral characteristics suggested that sharp-tailed grouse were a better candidate for successful restoration in the Loess Hills.  The plan identified areas in Monona, Woodbury and Plymouth counties that contained suitable habitat for the year-round needs of sharp-tailed grouse. 
     The plan was to obtain winter-trapped birds from South Dakota, hold them in pens until spring, where they would be released on an artificial lek.  The proposal called for two consecutive annual releases of 100 birds.  A “soft release” was planned, where birds are placed on the site the evening before, and the cages are opened prior to sunrise.   The technique includes use of a tape player to provide recorded sounds of birds displaying on a lek.  This technique had been used successfully in keeping birds close to the lek in releases in Kansas. 
    Negotiations began with South Dakota to obtain sharptails in trade for Iowa wild-trapped turkeys.  On April 5, 1990, 11 males and 8 female sharptails were received, held in pens, and “soft released” on the artificial lek.  This attempt proved unsuccessful with few sightings the first year, and no birds sightings in subsequent years. 
     Between 1990 and 1993, wild  turkeys were again provided to South Dakota in trade for 150 sharptails to release in the spring of 1995 and 1996.  Details of the most recent releases are as follows:
1995 Release:
     Iowa DNR received 73 sharp-tailed grouse from South Dakota on January 13, 1995 and held them in three 10 foot by 100 foot pens at Badger Lake WMA until their release on the 22nd and 23rd of March.  4 birds died between the time the birds were received and the time they were released.  Two mortalities resulted from injuries suffered during handling, and two more birds died while in the pens one of undetermined causes.
     The evening before release, the birds were dip netted after dark in the holding pens, transported in burlap sacks and banded. Banded birds were placed in release boxes and transported to the release site.  The boxes were staked in placed and left for release the following morning.   The same procedure was followed for releases on two consecutive days. 
1996 Release:
     Seventy seven sharp-tailed grouse were received and held by Iowa DNR for release in the Loess Hills in Monona County Iowa.  The birds were the second installment of 150 sharptails, to be provided by South Dakota GFP in trade for wild turkeys received between 1990 and 1993. 
     The tape player and speakers were set up on the release site in preparation for release of birds.  The site was monitored in early morning to determine whether birds released in 1995 were returning to the site.  No previously released birds were observed at the site. 
     A review of activity from the 1995 release indicated that birds scattered widely within a few days of release.  It is generally understood that females range widely early in the breeding season, while later in the season, they remain in the vicinity of the lek.  Males become more active later in the breeding season, with increased activity evident on the lek site.  In an attempt to maximize pairing, and increase the probability of reproduction, the birds were released two weeks later than in 1995.
Update
     Since the 1995 and 1996 release, sharptails have been observed in the general area of the release site as well as in an area about 15 miles away.  A dancing ground has been located, and reproduction has been confirmed with a brood first reported in the summer of 1996.  Occasional reports of  individual birds are received each year in the vicinity of the original release site. 
     One landowner reported seeing birds in an area approximately 15 miles northwest of the release site during the fall and winter of 1996, 97 and 98.  In the spring of 1999, an active lek of 6 birds was discovered in rolling terrain in the vicinity of the fall and winter sightings.  A sharptail brood was reported in the lek area in the summer of 1999. 
     Turkeys have been provided to South Dakota in trade for additional sharptails.  We expect to receive 186 sharptails for releases in the spring of 2000 and 2001.  Releases will bolster the small existing population and provide for additional population growth and increased genetic diversity.
     While it is not likely that Iowa will provide a huntable population of sharp-tailed grouse, we can take pride in knowing that we have returned a native species to an area where it once flourished.  Hopes are that the cackling and cooing sounds of the sharp-tailed grouse will once again become a more common part of the western Iowa landscape. 

Wildlife Diversity Program
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
1436 255th St.
Boone, IA 50036-7557
phone: 515 432-2823
fax: 515 432-2835