hunting

Four men have been arrested and face dozen of felony charges after a two-year investigation by Nevada wildlife officials uncovered evidence of illegal killing of dozens of animals, the Nevada Department of Wildlife announced Monday.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife will hold its annual volunteer sagebrush seed collection on Saturday, Nov. 22 starting at 9 a.m. Even though 2014 was not a big fire year, Northern Nevada has lost millions of acres of wildlife habitat to wildfires in the last few years and seed is still needed for ongoing range rehabilitation efforts.

“When demand is high for seed, the price for a pound of pure live sagebrush seed can be over $50,” said Steve Foree, NDOW habitat biologist. According to Foree, NDOW either has to buy seed or pick it themselves.

I remember deer hunting was a trip that my father would go on once a year. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t go, at the time I was only 5 years old. I remember all I wanted was to head out with all the big boys and go become a man. When I turned 12 I was able to go. This trip was the most amazing trip I had been on and will be in my memory for the rest of my life.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada and California. The last day of fishing season for most waterways in California is Nov. 15, 2014.

Last week, Rob Buonamici of Carson City and I spent a fun-filled day, "supposedly" scouting for buck mule deer.
I say supposedly, because we actually spent the day, having a ton of fun, enjoying the scenery and my taking a whole bunch of photos (over 60!) We were in Nevada's Big Game Management Area 192.

That Management Area is bounded by U.S. 50 on the north side, the California state line on the south side, U.S. 395 on the east side and Lake Tahoe on the west side.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada and Northern California. This report is for the week of Oct. 22, 2014.

State wildlife officials want to find out who is responsible for illegally shooting six elk and leaving their carcasses to rot in two separate incidents in Lincoln County. Game wardens with the Nevada Department of Wildlife are seeking the public’s help to solve the illegal killing of four adult and two elk calves.

National Earth Science Week highlights the dynamics of geosciences while encouraging communities to explore the beauty of their surrounding environments. In celebration of the event, the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology will host the 17th Annual Earth Science Week Field Trip, Oct. 11 and 12, 2014. The same field trip will be run on each day, so you have two chances to attend.

Editor's Note: The following satire piece was written by Jerry Vance, longtime Carson City fitness and exercise instructor.

It’s Hunting Season! Yesterday there were 13 deer in my yard. Do you know what that means? It’s hunting season. Here in Northern Nevada we have five seasons, the normal four plus a special one; when an outdoor workout means climbing hills in search of four footed animals with “racks.”

Are you ready to hunt for treasure? 13th Annual Nevada Day Treasure Hunt Oct. 6-24, 2014. Find the treasure and win $1000.

Help celebrate Nevada's Sesquicentennial birthday: the first in a series of 15 clues will lead one clever hunter to the medallion hidden somewhere in Carson, Churchill, Douglas, Lyon, Mineral, Storey or Washoe Counties. It will not be buried and no structure needs to be disturbed/climbed to find it. Please confine hunting to daylight hours, obey signs, be respectful, but most of all, have fun. Clues will highlight Northern Nevada's colorful past (and present).

The Nevada Department of Wildlife is sponsoring an introduction to fly fishing clinic Friday, Oct. 10, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. This clinic is designed for entry level fly anglers and is free to all participants. The class will cover basic gear, knot tying, and casting. We will not be on the water. The class is limited to the first 20 persons who sign up.

WHAT: Class is geared for entry level fly anglers. We will cover equipment, knot tying, and demonstrate techniques for fly fishing moving water and still water.

WHEN: Friday, Oct. 10, 5:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife on Monday named Brian Wakeling as Game Division Administrator. The position oversees the division responsible for management, protection, research and monitoring of wildlife classified as game mammals, upland and migratory game birds and furbearing mammals.

Wakeling has over 25 years of experience in increasingly responsible roles with the Arizona Game and Fish Department. In his most recent position there, Brian served as a Wildlife Management Branch Supervisor for Arizona, similar to the function he is now fulfilling for Nevada.

Fall is that time of the year when there are a multitude of all kinds of interesting outdoor activities in this general area of the Far West. Here is a listing of some of the fall activities that might be of interest:

Apple Hill, California.
Basque Festival in Carson City.
Candy Dance in Genoa.
Celtic Celebration in Reno.
Closing of the 2014 fishing seasons at Fort Churchill Cooling Ponds, Hinkson Slough, Hobart Reservoir, Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area, North Pond and Topaz Lake in Nevada.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife has seven openings for entry level game wardens, most of which are in rural Nevada duty stations. This is the largest recruitment of game wardens in NDOW’s history.

“The agency has experienced several retirements and some turnover in the last few years,” said Tyler Turnipseed, Chief Game Warden at NDOW.

Forget all of the fluff, let’s just cut to the good news: This year’s Nevada Chukar Hunting Forecast, an annual report put out by the Nevada Department of Wildlife that takes habitat conditions and statewide survey results to estimate chukar populations, was recently released and predicts good chukar hunting for much of Nevada.

"We were hoping the spring and summer rains we had would provide good conditions for chick survival and they did," said Chris Healy, public information officer for NDOW.

The state’s Board of Wildlife Commissioners is currently seeking nominations for the 2014 Wayne E. Kirch Nevada Wildlife Conservation Award.

The award is given annually to recipients who have demonstrated significant results towards conservation, management or enhancement of wildlife. An individual, non-profit organization, outdoor sports club, or business can be nominated for the award.

About 5 miles away on the distant horizon, we could see black dots on the amazingly pure white, snow-covered, barren ground, 130 miles east of Tuktoyaktuk (Tuk), Northwest Territories, Canada.
Our guide Chuck Gruben of Tuk said there they are, let's get going.
This hunt was to be my first-ever musk ox hunt, my second-ever guided hunt.
It was something that I wanted to do for a long time.
I was sitting home one night and thought what the heck, I should go.
My wife agreed, so the necessary arrangements went into high gear.

For nearly five years Jiggs Reservoir, approximately 30 miles south of Elko, has been a reservoir in name only with no water to speak of. However, the Nevada Department of Wildlife in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, Elko County, Barrick, Newmont and private landowners is now in the process of improving this once popular reservoir and dam so that it will once again hold water.

Tyler Turnipseed was named chief game warden for the Nevada Department of Wildlife Monday. He is only the fifth Chief Game Warden in NDOW’s history, a position that oversees all game wardens in Nevada.

Game wardens enforce wildlife and boating safety laws across the state, in rural areas and on Nevada’s waterways. Turnipseed is relocating to Reno from Winnemucca where he spent 10 years as the sole game warden for that growing community.

A 32-year-old Tuolumne County man, Keith Matthew Emerald, has been indicted on four counts of allegedly starting last year's 250,000-acre Rim Fire, the largest fire in the Sierra Nevada in recorded history. United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner and U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Regional Forester Randy Moore announced the indictment Thursday.

The Rim Fire, which burned for nine weeks and sent heavy smoke that choked Carson City, Carson Valley and Lake Tahoe air for weeks, included large areas in the Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite National Park.

Five lucky hunters, two of whom are from Douglas County, are preparing for their Nevada hunt of a lifetime after winning one of the five premier tags in the Nevada Dream Tag raffle on July 1.

This year the Dream Tag program saw winners from Nevada, California, New Mexico and North Dakota. The winners from Carson Valley include David Cochran of Genoa who won the Desert Bighorn Sheep tag and John Koster of Gardnerville who won the antelope tag.

Three hunting TV personalities with local ties will help a Northern Nevada outdoorsman store raise money for the nonprofit group Nevada Outdoorsmen in Wheelchairs with an adventure trek covering about 54 miles in a friendly competition.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval has declared July BEAR Logic Month. BEAR stands for Bear Education, Aversion and Research, and BEAR Logic Month is an opportunity to help educate the public about living in bear country.

It’s official: Systems Consultants, the private computer firm in Fallon that conducts the annual computerized drawings for Nevada’s big game hunting tags, has posted the results of the 2014 drawings at its website for the entire world to see.

Thursday, May 8 was my birthday, and Elaine had arranged two unforgettable, secret surprises for me as a present.

She had previously asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I told her, "Heck, I have everything I want, let's go to the cabin with Jim and Kathi (our son and daughter-in-law) and have a quiet steak and lobster dinner up there."

The Quilici Cabin is located on a steep hillside between Portola and Davis Lake in Plumas County, California, and we like to go there as often as we can to enjoy the accommodations, scenery, wildlife and peace and quiet.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife along with local U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and several private businesses in Nevada are joining boating safety advocates across the U.S. and Canada to promote safe and responsible boating during National Safe Boating Week, May 17-23 and through the entire summer.

So the big game tag application deadline came and went and you somehow forgot to get your application in. Or you applied for your hunts but you’re always looking for other opportunities. If either of these scenarios hits home for you, we would like to direct your attention to the Nevada Dream Tag.

The Nevada Dream Tags Program is a raffle that allows resident and nonresident sportsmen a chance at the hunt of a lifetime while also contributing to Nevada’s wildlife habitat. The tags are similar to other western states’ raffle tags and “hunt of a lifetime” tags.

This past weekend we celebrated Easter, a holiday filled with family, renewal and hope for the future. The hallmark of the holiday, for kids, is the Easter egg hunt, where they run as fast as they can and look for eggs with hidden treasures inside.

Get an early start on Easter egg hunting Friday when Skyline Estates Senior Living hosts its Easter egg hunt for all ages at 2 p.m. Organizers invite children, parents, and grandchildren to attend. Skyline Estates Senior Living is located at 2861 Mountain St., in Carson City.

This is a final reminder that if you're one of many tens of thousands of big game hunters interested in drawing a 2014 hunting tag for Pronghorn Antelope, Black Bear, Mule Deer, California Bighorn Sheep, Desert (Nelson) Bighorn Sheep, Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, Rocky Mountain Elk and Rocky Mountain Goat in the State of Nevada, now is the time to submit your application(s) to hunt one or more of the species listed above.