During the early portion of the 2004 season, cooperators returned 112 surveys that included 444.3 hours of hunting in 37 counties. Only one county (Lake) was reported to have a flush rate of over 2.0 grouse per hour during the Sept. 15-18 period. Counties with more than 20 hours of hunting effort during the period and their flush rates included Allegan (20.0 hours, 0.5 grouse per hour), Gladwin (59.1, 1.0), Grand Traverse (22.8, 1.9), Kalkaska (29.7, 1.7), Lake (24.8, 2.0), Mackinac (33.4, 0.8), Montmorency (29.3, 1.4) and Oscoda (24.1, 1.2). Overall during the period, hunters averaged 1.2 grouse flushes per hour compared to the 1.7 grouse per hour flushed during the same time period in 2003. Cooperators logged 503.5 hours during the early season in 2003. The low flush rates average was reflected in the fact that 66 percent of the cooperators thought that grouse populations were down or slightly down from 2003 in the areas they hunted.

The balance of the season proved that the early-season impressions of cooperators were correct. Flush rates by region remained low throughout the 2003 season. Two hundred thirty cooperators logged 5,805 hunting hours during the period. The number of grouse flushed per hour by cooperators in 2003 increased by 13.2 percent statewide compared to flush rates from 2002. In Zone 1, cooperators average 1.80 flushes per hour. In the northern Lower Peninsula (Zone 2) flush rates averaged 1.68, and in Zone 3, flush rates averaged paltry 0.88 grouse per hour. The consensus is that flush rates during 2004 probably weren't any better. Hopes are that given a good nesting season, hunters will see improved flush rates and more birds in 2005.

Spring drumming counts are another way biologists estimate grouse abundance. Spring breeding surveys are conducted during April and May. Researchers gathered data from 107 survey routes in 2004 and 121 routes in 2003. Statewide, the number of drums heard per route was 9.61 in 2003 and 8.05 in 2004, indicating a decline of 16 percent. The trend was observed in both Zone 1 and 2. The number of drums in Zone 3 didn't change. Both Wisconsin and Minnesota experienced declines in the grouse drumming indices between 2003 and 2004.

With such low numbers of grouse, winter survival is critical.

"Winter conditions this year didn't seem to be severe," said Dessecker. "I would say we had a normal winter in terms of snow depths. We didn't have any wicked ice events that prevented the birds from feeding or roosting, so it was basically just a normal winter. The birds should have come through well."

Given enough brood stock to begin the much-anticipated rebound and a good spring for nesting, the next concern is habitat. "Habitat conditions continue to be on a downward spiral," lamented Dessecker. He said that in places like the Upper Peninsula where the timber industry maintains an active aspen-cutting regiment, there is an abundance of ideal grouse habitat. The Lower Peninsula is a different story.

"Places like the Huron-Manistee National Forest are way below their aspen management goals," said Dessecker. "There's a very active voice out there that doesn't like to see trees cut, and it's a constant battle."

Fortunately, the DNR has taken a more active role in aspen management and doesn't have to cut through as much red tape as its federal counterparts do to actively manage wildlife habitat. Still, the maturation of Michigan's forests does not bode well for the future of grouse hunting.