>To piggy-back on what KTC said....nice
>to know there is a
>state out there caring for
>its wildlife and not just
>dollars.
Lots of folks will disagree but NDOW has always done a pretty good job of managing its big game.
Here is the article from the RJ
RENO -- Nevada wildlife biologists are recommending fewer hunting tags this year for elk, deer and antelope after wildfires, drought and a harsh winter in some areas led to poor survival rates for fawns and calves.
State recommendations for desert, California, and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep are about the same as last year.
In this year's survey of big game populations, biologists estimate Nevada's mule deer numbers at 108,000, down from 114,000 in 2007 and 23 percent below average, according to the Nevada Department of Wildlife.
The population estimates and biologists' recommendations will be discussed Saturday when the Nevada Wildlife Commission concludes a two-day meeting in Reno by setting tag quotas for this year's hunting season.
Once quotas are set, hunters who applied for big game tags earlier this spring are entered into the annual draw, or lottery, that is conducted in June.
Biologists said the winter of 2006-2007 left many Nevada water basins near or below 50 percent of average, forcing deer to travel greater distances for water and forage and exposing malnourished fawns to predators.
"For many of our central Nevada herds the summer alone did (in) the fawns even before the winter hit," the report said.
"For those herds that fared better through the summer, many were faced with difficult winter conditions that took its toll on fawns in January and February, evidenced by the third lowest spring fawn ratio on record."
Statewide, the Wildlife Department is recommending 9,043 resident rifle tags for mule deer, the most popular. Specific quotas are set for areas around the state.
The recommendation compares with a quota of 10,265 approved by the commission last year.
For antelope, 126 fewer tags were suggested for the main hunt. For bull elk, 728 resident rifle tags were recommended, compared with 778 approved last year. The Department of Wildlife also recommended 1,210 cow elk tags, down 210 from 2007.