Wildlife Commission to meet Aug. 10-11 in Ely

A youth upland game season, hunting season dates for waterfowl and regulation changes on junior big game hunts are some of the topics the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners may take action on when they meet August 10 and 11 in Ely. The meeting begins Friday at 1:00 p.m. at the Bristlecone Convention Center, 150 6th Street, and reconvenes at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Friday:

The commission will review and be asked to approve a youth upland game season for the 2007 through 2012 hunting seasons.

The commission will review and may also approve a biennial big game release plan for 2008 and 2009.

Populations of bighorn sheep re-established through NDOW's translocation efforts make up about 69% of the herds in the state.

NDOW, with substantial assistance from such groups as Nevada Bighorns Unlimited and Fraternity of the Desert Bighorn, has re-established herds in areas where they historically thrived. Most transplanted populations have grown to harvestable size.

The commission will also consider a change to the 2007 big game tag questionnaire. It is currently 15 weekdays from the close of the season; the proposed move is to the fourth Monday in January.

"It was apparent that the shortened deadline was a real problem," said Cox. "As a courtesy to hunters and to raise our return rate it made sense to return to one simple deadline," he said.

Saturday:

On the agenda is the establishment of hunting season dates and bag limits for waterfowl and snipe.

Limits and seasons are contingent upon federal regulatory guidelines, some of which have yet to be set.

Craig Mortimore, NDOW migratory bird biologist, stated the Pacific Flyway season will be 107 days long.

At press time, scientists were engaged in discussions about the appropriate limits for canvasback and scaup.

The Tag Allocation and Application Hunt Committee (TAAHC) will recommend regulation changes affecting junior hunt eligibility and transfer of bonus points.

The commission will be asked to take action on this item, and will also hear the committee's recommendation for the bonus point program.

The TAAHC was established in August of 2006 to review tag allocation issues based on sound biological principals, and evaluate potential changes to the application hunt and draw process. The committee has met with and gathered input from every County Advisory Board to Manage Wildlife in Nevada.

The Ely meeting is open to the public, and a public comment period is on the agenda for each day.