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TIME NEAR TO APPLY FOR BIG GAME TAGS

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To many, March means spring, green grass, wildflowers and warmer weather. But for Nevada hunters March also means big game tag application season has arrived and with it, renewed hope of drawing a coveted tag this fall.

To reduce costs and environmental impacts, the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) will not send applications and regulation brochures to those who applied online for tags within the past two years. Instead, those hunters will receive a postcard on or about March 24 reminding them of the upcoming draw. Hunters who want paper applications may obtain them at sporting goods stores, NDOW offices or online at www.ndow.org, and can begin applying online at www.huntnevada.com on March 24 as well.

This year’s application deadline is Monday, April 21. Applications must be received, either via mail or online, by 5 p.m., to be eligible for the drawing. Hunters will be notified of the drawing results by June 20.

Regardless of application method hunters should be aware of some regulations changes in 2008 according to Maureen Hullinger, NDOW licensing program officer. “Hunters should carefully read this year’s regulations brochure because there have been several important changes from last year,” said Hullinger. “Some of the more significant changes involve junior tags and junior bonus points.”

In 2007 the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners (NBWC) amended regulations regarding the junior deer hunt. Beginning in the 2008 season junior hunters will only be able to apply four years for the junior hunt. The NBWC also amended the regulation to automatically transfer any bonus points accrued in the junior hunt to the antlered deer category at the time the junior hunter becomes ineligible for the junior hunt, either by age or after four years of application for the junior hunt.

This year hunters will also find they have the option of purchasing a mountain lion tag and any or all stamps (duck, upland game, trout, second rod) when applying for their tags.

Hunters should be aware that wilderness areas are greatly expanded across White Pine and Lincoln counties. These areas restrict motorized access. The Hunt Unit Map at ndow.org displays the wilderness boundaries. Whether you are concerned about where you can drive your ATV or where to backpack hunt to avoid vehicle traffic, review page 35 of the new application regulations and check NDOW’s internet mapping service at http://gis.ndow.nv.gov

NDOW will once again hold tag application workshops in Las Vegas (Mar. 26) and Reno (Mar.27). The workshops are designed to explain the tag application process from A to Z, covering such topics as game management, hunt unit information, draw odds, bonus points and the mechanics of the draw itself. Workshop details, times and locations can be found on the NDOW website at www.ndow.org.

Ms. Hullinger recommends every hunter attend a workshop at least once to gain a better understanding of the process. “If there is one area where we are constantly trying to correct misinformation it’s the tag draw,” said Hullinger. “There are no secrets, no magic formulas presented, but understanding how the process works is one of the single most important steps a hunter can take towards being successful in the draw.”

The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) protects, restores and manages fish and wildlife, and promotes fishing, hunting, and boating safety. NDOW’s wildlife and habitat conservation efforts are primarily funded by sportsmen’s license and conservation fees and a federal surcharge on hunting and fishing gear. Support wildlife and habitat conservation in Nevada by purchasing a hunting, fishing, or combination license.

For more information, visit www.ndow.org.

The time for applying is just around the corner. Make sure your credit card is in order.

We are launching an e-mail information service so you can receive breaking news and timely information on topics that interest you, such as fishing and stocking reports, hunting openers and opportunities, harvest reports, where to view wildlife and more!

You can choose to receive all communications from us, or just those topics you are interested in: hunting, fishing, boating, wildlife and habitat, or all. Simply click on the link below to subscribe:

http://www.ndow.org/subs/subs.asp

You will have the opportunity to adjust or decline your subscription at any time. We respect your privacy – NDOW does not share e-mail addresses with third parties. We look forward to communicating with you with timely information about how and where to recreate in Nevada ’s great outdoors!

Also, if you hunt, you may be interested to know Nevada ’s big game tag application process closes April 21, 2008. As part of your online application, Operation Game Thief asks you to consider a donation to OGT. This program provides a hotline to report wildlife crime: (800) 992 3030 and works to solve wildlife crimes in Nevada . It is funded wholly by sportsmen and women who care about their wildlife, so please consider a donation when making your tag application.

Thank you!

Nevada Department of Wildlife
100 Valley Road
Reno, NV 89512
(775) 688-1998

April 21, 2008 is the deadline to apply for limited quota mule deer tags
in Nevada. Drawing results will be available June 20, online.

A sign of things to come, the Nevada Department of Wildlife is not mailing out
Proclamations and Applications beginning this year. If you applied for a mule deer hunt last year, you should have already recieved a postcard informing you of the need to go online.

For several years now, it has been required that you purchase a license in order to obtain a preference point. A non-resident can hunt coyotes and jacks in Nevada without a license, so if you don’t draw a tag, having one is of little value other than for a preference point.

Beware. When I applied online last year, I was given the option to have my license
money refunded if I didn’t draw a tag, which option I selected. Somehow, I still ended up with a license ( a 2008 license, at that ), and my credit card was hit for the amount of the license – which was not my intent.

Application fees:

• There is a $10.00 non-refundable application fee for all big game hunts,except Rocky Mountain elk, which is $15.00.
• A non-refundable $3 predator management fee is assessed on each tagapplication.
• There is a $2.00 non-refundable application fee for resident applicationssubmitted online, and a $3.50 non-refundable application fee for non-resident
  applications submitted online.
• Hunters who do not draw tags will receive full refunds, excluding the non-refundable application fees.

As reported by the Reno Gazette:

NDOW notebook: Black mule deer spotted in Winnemucca

PROVIDED BY NDOW

Posted: 11/16/2007

We have our fair share of wildlife legends here in the West. Bigfoot has been spotted all over the Pacific Northwest and Tahoe Tessie is seen from time to time patrolling the waters up at Lake Tahoe.

So when locals in Winnemucca began reporting sightings of a solid black mule deer, some people may have started to get their nicknames ready for the next big legend of Nevada.

Mike Cox, big game biologist at the Nevada Department of Wildlife, has his own name for the phantom deer … he calls it a genetic alteration.

“It looks like it fell into an oil spill, but obviously we don’t have those in the middle of Nevada,” Cox said. “There are genes that map out the characteristics of an animal in its embryonic stage. Sometimes it’s a funky hoof, or a tweaked antler, or in this case the hairs of this mule deer are a different color than the normal mule. Sometimes there are recessive traits that are hidden in those genes that never see the light of day except for maybe one in a million, or one in two million.”

NDOW biologist Ed Partee states that black mule deer have been spotted before in Nevada.

“We have seen these black deer in the past in Humboldt County, mainly in the Jacksons, but we haven’t seen it for quite some time,” said Partee.

Cox reports that there appears to be nothing else out of the ordinary with the black mule deer doe other than its striking color.

“It’s definitely unusual. We may never see it again for a generation, or 50 years, or we may see it next year,” said Cox. “It’s almost like slot machines. You have to pull that slot machine a long, long time until you get the right combination, and that’s what happened with this melanistic mutation.”

A fire-by-fire breakdown is provided by Pahrump Valley Times. Nevada Department of Wildlife’s Game Bureau Chief Russ Mason was quoted as saying “These [2006 wildland] fires are an environmental disaster for the state of Nevada.”

Excerpt:

Areas of critically important mule deer transition and winter range and important sage grouse nesting and brood rearing habitat have been lost. In addition, chukar and pronghorn have been affected.

“Historically, fire intervals are between 100 and 150 years in these areas, and for some sagebrush environments in lower elevations, 200 to 300 years,” said Shawn Espinosa, Wildlife Biologist for the Nevada Department of Wildlife). Biodiversity is affected when these natural cycles are disrupted.

“We are now seeing fire return intervals on the order of 10 to 20 years – so the cheatgrass fire cycle is perpetuating itself,” he said. “More frequent fires preclude sagebrush seedlings that would come back after a fire from ever establishing,” said Espinosa.

One of the factors affecting fire intervals is invasive species.

In particular, non-native cheatgrass seems to have evolved to obliterate Nevada’s native vegetation. Cheatgrass is so named because it matures early and cheats native grasses, which emerge later, out of essential water and nutrients before the heat of summer sets in. It matures early and dries out early, creating fuel for fires. And it carries fire across areas between shrubs that would normally be bare.

“The potential for successful restoration is limited,” said Espinosa. Governmental agencies need to have luck on their side in the form of good precipitation, and the seeding must occur during the first year after a fire in order to out-compete cheat grass. Even then, the odds for sagebrush re-growth are low.” he said.

“We’ve seen sagebrush seed response in certain aspects – such as north facing slopes out of direct, all-day sunlight – and at certain elevations conducive for it to grow,” he said.

“Those are the sites we’re concentrating on. South facing slopes will predominantly convert to a cheatgrass environment,” Espinosa said. He noted that even when sage brush areas are reseeded, the overall germination rate is only about 20%.

With the basic fabric of the habitat changing, this doesn’t bode well for a lot of Nevada’s wildlife species. Sage grouse, a native species whose numbers are threatened, have lost numerous strutting grounds, used for mating.

“Over the past few years their nesting and critical brood-rearing habitat has been lost as well,” said Espinosa. “We’ve effectively lost these habitats for the next 30-50 years – conservatively,” he said.

The loss of critical deer winter range is being assessed, and the outlook is poor there as well. Areas burned were host to a number of species which will all suffer from the loss of habitat, including sage-dependent species like sage thrasher, vesper sparrow, and pygmy rabbit, as well as Lahontan cutthroat trout and a whole host of upland game species.

After last summer’s fires in Elko, the department put satellite tracking collars on 10 mule deer to track their movements. The information will help wildlife biologists learn how burned areas affect the deer’s journeys from summer to winter ranges. The data will also provide information to guide rehabilitation efforts to increase survival rates.

Sorry, the NDOW no longer publishes the records

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