Wildlife Commission meets in Winnemucca

According to a press release posted on their Internet website www.ndow.org, by the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners will meet on Aug. 4-5 in Winnemucca.

The commission will convene at 1:30 p.m. on Friday at the Winnemucca Convention Center.

Their first action item is the development of a process to recruit a new Department Director/Commission Secretary for NDOW. Terry Crawforth retired as Director on July 15.

Another action item is the approval of the expenditure of $213,140 from upland game stamp revenues to fund wildlife water developments.

Water developments capture and store water for wildlife to use during dry seasons.

"We plan to fund 10 new projects in southern Nevada, plus do maintenance on an estimated 15 existing water developments," said Dave Pulliam, Habitat Bureau Chief for NDOW. "We also plan to construct 16 new wildlife water developments in the Bilk Creek Range in northern Nevada."

Also on Friday, commissioners will act on amendments to Nevada Administrative Code to allow a number of changes regarding swan tags. If adopted, the revisions would convert swan tags to permits; reduce the price of the documents; and eliminate the predator fee on the swan application.

In addition the commission will hear a report on Predation Management.

When the meeting continues at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, commissioners will review Commission Regulation 06-16, to establish hunting season dates and bag limits for waterfowl, snipe, falconry seasons for migratory game birds and special youth waterfowl hunt days for the 2006-2007 hunting seasons.

One change that is recommended is to increase the dark goose limit in Lincoln and Clark counties.

The bag limit is currently two geese daily in the area, inconsistent with the limit of three in the remainder of the state.

NDOW biologists have studied the impact on the resource of the proposal, and the increase has been endorsed by the Pacific Flyway Council.

Other agenda items include consideration of procedures to more evenly distribute tags for the Youth Deer Hunt, the election of a Board chairman and vice chairman, a budget review, consideration of proposals to the 2007 session of the Nevada State Legislature, review of the status of elk damage arbitration panel memberships for various counties, review of a draft form for game trap and transport requests and a discussion of applicants drawing more than one tag in a hunt year.

The meeting agenda may be viewed at all NDOW offices and online at www.ndow.org.