HUNTING -- Reacting to concerns about sage grouse being headed toward endangered species status, Idaho has approved a restrictive 2014 hunting season for the once prolific prairie birds.

The season will run from Sept. 20-26, with a daily bag limit of one bird, and a possession limit of two birds. That's similar to seasons sent in recent years.  But the area where the grouse had be hunted in southern Idaho has been reduced.

• Montana also has scaled back sage grouse hunting areas this year.

Sage-grouse are proposed for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act; primarily due to habitat loss from wildfire, human infrastructure and invasive plants like cheat grass. Sage-grouse experts have determined that carefully regulated hunting is not a primary threat to populations. Idaho Fish and Game officials say they monitor sage-grouse annually to ensure hunting will not compromise the population.

The 2014 season will take place in most of the same areas as last year’s hunt with the exception of a new closure in the Greater Curlew Valley, which covers most of Power and Oneida Counties, and a portion of Cassia County.  Males at sage-grouse leks in this area have declined 53 percent since 2011.

The Sage-grouse Seasons and Rules brochures, including a map of areas open to sage-grouse hunting, will be available soon at all license vendors, Fish and Game offices, and on Fish and Game’s website.