Grouse

Re-introductions are increasingly being used as a wildlife management tool to restore extinct or depleted wild populations into suitable habitats. These guidelines have been developed to provide guiding principles for the restoration of viable Galliformes populations in the wild for conservation purposes.

The grouse comprise a group of high profile species that are among the most well-known species in the countries where they occur; they are often considered the embodiment of the landscapes in which they live. Today, many of these species are under threat. The 2006–2010 Grouse Action Plan provides an overview to the distribution, status and threats to all 18 grouse species worldwide and identifies the most immediate conservation needs.

Grouse have long attracted and fascinated people. Their display behaviour, and their traditional communal mating grounds or "leks", have inspired poetry and folklore as well as scientific theories on sexual selection and mating systems. Im many parts of their range, hunting plays a major role in the culture, economy, and subsistence of local communities. Although from a global perspective their status is not critical, grouse are far from being safe, and on a local scale, many local populations of grouse are declining and threatened with extinction.