COMMENTS FROM TOWN HALL MEETINGS ON HARVEST MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES FOR NEVADA HUNTING SEASONS PUBLIC Reno 31 in attendance comments Avoid overlapping seasons with differing weapon types. For example, rifle and muzzleloader seasons should not overlap even if they are for different species. Try to avoid season overlaps. Splitting seasons into multiple, shorter ones is preferable to long, crowded seasons. Antlered and antlerless elk seasons should not overlap. The youth hunting program is a great success. Would it be possible to expand that program to include novice hunters that are just beginning to hunt but may be applying for their first time? The Harvest Management Guidelines should have more discussion in the introduction about the responsibility and sustainability of hunting. Hunters should be asked to report observations of other wildlife observed during their hunt on the hunt questionnaire. It is important for the Department to develop thresholds for each species below which hunting will cease or be modified. Bear Eliminate the bear hunt. Female bears should not be killed. Any bear cub that is orphaned during the hunt should count toward the harvest limit. Any resident that creates a situation in which a bear ultimately must be euthanized should be cited and fined for the loss of the bear. Any bear that is lethally removed as a result of human conflicts should count toward the harvest limit for the bear hunt. Hounds should not be allowed to pursue bears during the hunting season.
Page 2 of 13 Does the bear hunt make economic sense to Department and the relationship that the Department has with the public? The bear hunt needs to be conservative and restrictive. The use of telemetry should not be allowed on hounds used for hunting bears. The bear season in Unit 291 should be no longer than September 15 October 31 because the information on bear populations in that unit is limited. The bear harvest limit should be allocated by unit. Expand the range of units into which bears may be relocated in Nevada. Bighorn sheep Ensure that you do not eliminate the October bighorn sheep seasons as it appears to have been left off of this draft of the guidelines. Eliminate all ewe hunts. Desert bighorn sheep hunts should be as long as the California and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep hunts. Consider road closures during elk hunts. Hunter crowding moves elk and makes it difficult to meet harvest objectives. The five-week-long elk season allowed hunters to avoid crowded periods and gave them more selection on when they went hunting; that option is preferable to shorter seasons. Antlerless elk seasons should extend from July 22 through December 15 each year, but the antlerless seasons should be closed during the antlered elk seasons. Allocate 5 10% of tags for rut hunts for elk and deer. The paired tags (e.g., deer-elk tags, bull elk-cow elk tags) that have been issued lately have increased hunter crowding. The Department should use the most effective hunting seasons (timing, weapon type) when trying to achieve population objectives, such as when elk numbers are above objective.
Page 3 of 13 Mountain lion Mountain lion season lengths should be similar to those of other states. Develop a credible statewide mountain lion population estimate. The take of mountain lions by Wildlife Services should count towards that harvest limit on mountain lions. The buck to doe ratio for mule deer should be managed at 30 bucks: 100 does. Allocate 5 10% of tags for rut hunts for elk and deer. The Department should manage for lower buck to doe ratios so that more people would have the opportunity to go hunting each year. Sage-grouse Sage-grouse hunting should be limited through a tag draw similar to big game. We don't need to hunt sage-grouse. Trapping Eliminate fur trapping on public lands. Waiting period The waiting period for resident bull elk hunters should be reduced. Habitat management Habitat projects to benefit sage-grouse should be funded on public lands before they are funded using public dollars for private land work. Don't limit expenditures of habitat restoration to public land for sage-grouse; much private property is very important brood-rearing habitat.
Page 4 of 13 Las Vegas 12 in attendance The schedule of events posted in the Harvest Management Guidelines is excellent I would like to see a similar schedule incorporated within the Predator Management Plan and the Heritage project requests. The Department also needs to provide more information about the types of diseases that wildlife carry and may transmit to people, along with information on how to avoid exposure. Bear The bear hunt should end by December 1 so that bears may prepare for hibernation. Bighorn sheep Consider establishing seasons and quotas for subunits in designated wilderness areas, such as for desert bighorn sheep within the Muddy Mountains. Often times hunters will harvest the easy to reach animals, and harvestable animals remain in the harder to reach areas. Hunters need to be directed into these areas. The Department needs to provide more educational information about the diseases and their effects on bighorn sheep. All late deer seasons should be moved back by one week to allow a break following standard seasons. Upland game Quail and upland game seasons should start on a specific date, such as October 1, as big game seasons do; it doesn't matter what day of the week it is. Trapping Ensure that there is an online receipt that trappers can view to ensure that they have submitted their questionnaire similar to the hunting questionnaire confirmation. Allow trappers to report their harvest online. Waiting period Consider reducing the waiting period for successful antlered elk hunters.
Page 5 of 13 Mobile applications Nevada needs to develop mobile phone applications for licenses and tags similar to what other states, like Utah, are developing. Ely 10 in attendance I really support the change Nevada made to the start date rather than trying to start on a specific day of the week. Bighorn sheep The stated goal is to increase bighorn sheep populations since you are already complaining about disease exposure among populations. We already have too many elk and the population goal should not be to increase them. Limit hunting on deer and elk so that the male to female ratio will increase to natural ratios, which in turn will reduce the recruitment rates through competition, and you won't have to kill them to meet population objectives. Mountain lion Mountain lion harvests that exceed 14% of the total population reduces the population size and growth; this needs to be considered as part of any mountain lion harvest guideline. Limit hunting on deer and elk so that the male to female ratio will increase to natural ratios, which in turn will reduce the recruitment rates through competition, and you won't have to kill them to meet population objectives. Restrict spotlighting at night during deer seasons. To limit overlap in late deer seasons, youth seasons should be reduced in length or the late season should be extended in length. I am seeing more deer in several units, like Units 13 and 22. The Department is doing a good job.
Page 6 of 13 Trapping The bobcat guidelines are a step in the right direction, but recruitment measures should be set at 100 kittens: 100 females not 66 kittens: 100 females. There are similar errors included in your harvest effort thresholds. Beaver harvests should be tailored to take advantage of how beavers can improve watershed health. The Department needs to develop a detailed plan for the management of coyotes, that would include estimates of statewide populations and a method for determining if complaints regarding coyotes are legitimate. I support the existing bobcat harvest guidelines because they have proven to be responsive and effective. The collection of bobcat jaws has been an important part of that. Tags Limit the frequency (number of years in a row) that an individual may turn in a specific type of tag, such as an antlered elk tag. I believe that some people are gaming the system by having a large number of relatives and friends that don't hunt, apply for elk, then turn in their tags. That way, the friend gets to apply with his friends that have a large number of bonus points accrued each year. Limit the number of tags that an individual may draw in a single year to a deer and one other species. Make the applicants choose their weapon during the draw; too many hunters applying for archery with no knowledge or experience. o 24 in attendance You should identify a primary species for which you manage in each unit (i.e., manage for elk in some units, mule deer in others, and so on). Youth hunts are great ideas and tremendous opportunities to recruit young hunters. Consider breaking up large hunt areas into smaller ones to direct hunting pressure into areas where you need them to be greater and limit hunter crowding that develops in some other areas. Although smaller hunt areas might redirect hunters, it might also be challenging for enforcement officers, of which we already have too few.
Page 7 of 13 The word "opportunity" is used frequently and seems to mean different things in different places. Is it the chance to go, the chance to harvest, or something else. You should define the word or avoid using it. Longer seasons provide hunters with the options to hunt during times with fewer hunters. Shorter seasons force people to hunt closer to home. For those hunting seasons that have been split into three hunts, consider combining the first and second seasons. You should establish "senior" hunting seasons just like "junior" hunting seasons. To meet population objectives, you may need to look for ways to establish seasons earlier in the year and later in the year outside of the traditional hunting periods. I support the law enforcement officers and would like to see more presence. The County Advisory Board has some challenges. We often don't receive material in a timely fashion (e.g., Commission agenda doesn't come out too early), and we don't have a lot of time to deliberate about things on which the Commission will be acting. The antlerless tag holders are influencing the hunt success of the antlered tag holders; the hunts should be separated. We need to have more regulated use of ATVs and OHVs because they are being misused so frequently. Their use should not be allowed during hunting seasons. Increase the use of wilderness area hunts. Allow the use of OHVs, but restrict how they may be used (e.g., time of day). The Department should provide better information on where revenues come from and how they are spent. Bear I support the use of hounds to hunt bears. The depredation hunt in Area 10 is working well for managing elk. I would like to see less crowding during deer hunts; could you target better hunters to assist in meeting management objectives?
Page 8 of 13 No quality in the bucks you see in Area 10 any more. Area 10 can support more deer and antlerless harvests are inappropriate. I would like to see a trophy mule deer winter range rut hunt in Area 7. Junior deer hunts should end a week before the late deer hunts. Interagency coordination Need to coordinate closely with land management agencies and private landowners so as to improve habitat management for wildlife. Need to coordinate with county government to ensure that we can eliminate regulations restricting night hunting. Fees Consider increasing tag fees for trophy deer tags; I wouldn't mind paying $200 for a trophy tag if I got to go every 2 3 years. Winnemucca 17 in attendance Set aside wilderness areas as their own hunt areas. In units with multiple seasons for a specific species, often some seasons have far more tags than others. Try to keep tag numbers consistent across those seasons to even out the hunter crowding. The Hunt Guide Book was far improved this year, and the Department's web site is much better as well. Good efforts at making these more user friendly. Increase the spike elk tags because these provide meat hunters with good options and spike elk can contribute to mortality of older age class bulls. If you get creative with archery season structures you may be able to increase hunt success for elk. It is important that you use the right season structure for all elk hunts to keep efficacy high and crowding low.
Page 9 of 13 Antlerless deer harvests and perhaps antlered deer harvests need to be reduced around Unionville as the deer population is in substantial decline. There is too much overharvest of deer in general. There may be some incidences of foot rot contributing to deer and pronghorn population declines. We should consider providing more, early season archery mule deer hunting seasons. Sage-grouse Stop all sage-grouse hunts for one year to let the populations build up. Tags Hunters should be allowed to turn in their tags closer to the start of the season. All tags should be stratified across all weapon seasons for all hunters, similar to the way in which Montana does it. Drawing for bull, spike, and cow should be staggered and sequential. You should be able to apply for all three, similar to how Montana does it. Consider splitting into multiple draws. For instance, if the elk draw was first, that would influence my decisions on how to apply for other hunts. When tags are reissued after someone turns it back in, there should be a way in which hunters can confirm that they still want it. Sometimes these are reissued too close to a hunt and hunters may have already made other hunting plans in another state. Perhaps an email offer? Hunters should be able to apply for antlered and antlerless elk in the same year. Roads Consider road closures that limit access to areas during specific times of the day, with times in which game retrieval could occur, to keep disturbance to a minimum. Any road closure would have to have specific allowances for those that are physically challenged.
Page 10 of 13 DEPARTMENT Reno 34 in attendance Revisit the guidelines every four years rather than three. Simplify the descriptions. You don't define "CPUE" and you reference "habit" management. Provide an explanation in the introduction why buck to doe ratios influence hunt success. Would it be possible to set seasons and quotas at the same time? Youth and landowner tag holders should not benefit from stratified seasons and should have to choose their weapon. Seasons can overlap, but weapon types should be kept separate. Look for ways to increase and improve access, especially with mines. Increase the number of species for which we provide youth seasons. Provide management prescriptions for higher quality hunts and for hunts that provide greater opportunity. High bull-to-cow ratios result in a greater frequency of broken-antlered bulls. Hunters often complain about them but don't understand the relationship. hunt objectives are influenced by hunter crowding, season length, and split seasons. Antlerless elk hunts should probably be marketed to nonresidents, as they are often committed to the hunt when they come to the state. Increase the allocation of tags to the most successful weapon classes when trying to reach population objectives. Antlerless elk seasons should be longer. The wilderness antlerless seasons have been a tremendous success. Antlerless elk hunters should be allowed to purchase more than one tag. Provide archery elk hunters with over-the-counter tags for antlerless elk.
Page 11 of 13 Separate rifle deer from antlerless elk seasons to reduce interference. Should we provide successful antlerless elk hunters with a bonus point, a second tag if you fill the first, an automatic antlerless tag next year, or a spike tag in the future? Can we increase the number of spike tags; should the definition of "spike" be revisited? Separate rifle deer from antlerless elk seasons to reduce interference. Mountain goats There are no listed goals for mountain goats. Waiting periods Is it time to revisit waiting periods following the draw? Youth and landowner tags need to be part of these guidelines and described explicitly. Compensation and incentive tags The Commission should revisit special elk incentive tag and deer and pronghorn compensation tag programs for goals and consistency. Applications Increase the number of species for which applications may be submitted for parties of hunters. Las Vegas 9 in attendance We provide a great product. We need to include an explanation of why and how we do surveys in the introduction. Youth antlerless elk hunts are a good idea.
Page 12 of 13 Ely 9 in attendance Consider boiling each matrix down to the most important factor (e.g., buck to doe ratios for mule deer) and include a description below on how the other factors interact to affect the ratio. For antlerless harvests, this may be the population objective (i.e., elk) or carrying capacity. We need to develop consistency in the application and use of our models. We should remove the difference in description between standard and alternative seasons because all of our seasons are quality hunts and provide for achieving the objectives described as alternative seasons. Pronghorn antelope The pronghorn horns-longer-than-ears season extends for 17 days, not 16. Antlerless deer and elk hunting should be defined as a method to provide "opportunity" in some situations. Antlerless deer and elk hunting should be defined as a method to provide "opportunity" in some situations. Waiting period Remove the 10-year waiting period for successful antlered elk hunters. o 11 in attendance Bighorn sheep We need to add a matrix in this draft for developing ewe hunt recommendations. Trying to achieve elk population objectives trumps everything else when we are making antlerless elk hunt recommendations.
Page 13 of 13 Winnemucca 6 in attendance Hunting Guide information should be available in published form before the web site begins accepting applications. The Department should initiate a media campaign to embarrass hunters that abuse or are overly reliant on OHVs. Provide all hunting information (big game, small game, waterfowl) in a single publication. All elk seasons need to be at least 15 days in length. Hunters frequently tell me that elk are always just across the administrative boundary of their hunt unit. Hunters should have greater flexibility to pursue elk if we truly wish to reduce their population numbers. Deer numbers are in decline in Units 043, 046, and throughout Humboldt County according to hunters and livestock producers. Telephone applications Wyoming has developed great cell phone applications for reporting. We need something similar. Tags Other states allow you to correct your application without a fee. Here we have to reject our application, which costs $15, and then reapply. We need to have a free correction option. Fees I can buy four nonresident pronghorn doe tags in Wyoming for less money that what a single doe tag costs me in Nevada as a resident.