Habitat

The Ted C. Frantz Employee of the Year Award is acknowledged as the pinnacle award for all Nevada Department of Wildlife employees. The honor is to recognize significant achievements during the previous year toward the mission of the agency or the conservation, management, enhancement of wildlife in Nevada that are clearly above and beyond his or her normal duties.

It didn't look good earlier this year for a 39 pound bear cub after being caught in a 400 square-mile forest fire this summer in Washington State. But thanks to the efforts of wildlife rehabilitation caregivers at Lake Tahoe, the bear has since made a sweeping recovery and will return to the wild this spring.

After winning more than 60 wildlife stamp art contests, including this year’s Nevada Duck Stamp Art Contest, most people would probably start getting a little cocky. But artist Jeffrey Klinefelter isn’t like most people. No matter how many wins Klinefelter gets, he never takes anything for granted.

“I’m very surprised,” he said. “There are a lot of talented artists out there and winning one of these contests is really hard to do.”

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.

Environmental groups and the U.S. Forest Service signed a settlement agreement earlier this month that ends a decade-long legal battle over the 2004 Sierra Nevada Framework Forest Plan Amendment, which affects management of the Sierra Nevada national forests in California.

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.

Last weekend we attended the Giant Bicycles Demo up at Spooner Lake State Park hosted by Bike Habitat. Giant and Liv (Giant’s women’s line) had a wide variety of 2015 model year bikes to try out, both mountain and road machines. Here’s a look at what we saw.

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 Tahoe Regional Planning Agency announced recipients of its 2013 Best in the Basin awards Monday. Award winners in the agency’s 24th annual Best in the Basin include remodel, new construction, Best Management Practices, stream restoration and erosion control projects that stand out as examples of the best environmental planning, design and implementation.

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.

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.

Quagga mussels have been getting all the press lately because of the looming threat to Lake Tahoe but this week it was the river mussel's turn for some attention.

Native to the western U.S., the river mussel is now a protected species due to their population being threatened by dams, habitat modification due to the disappearance of Lahontan Cutthroat Trout from the Upper Truckee and other river habitat changing occurrences.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit plans to restore wetlands and remove the dam at the site of the former Incline Lake, according to a decision by Forest Supervisor Nancy Gibson issued Wednesday.

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.

Climate change is hurting reproduction of the endangered Devils Hole pupfish, threatening the survival of this rare species that has numbered as few as 35 individuals, new research by the University of Nevada, Reno and Desert Research Institute shows.

Scientists report that geothermal water on a small shelf near the surface of an isolated cavern in the Nevada desert where the pupfish live is heating up as a result of climate change and is likely to continue heating to dangerous levels.

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.

Michelle Hale has been named Greater Nevada Credit Union’s new Member Outreach Supervisor. She will oversee both community relations and member outreach.

Her community relations responsibilities will entail acting as liaison between Greater Nevada and the organizations it supports, including the University of Nevada Marching Band and Wolf Pack Athletics, Special Olympics Nevada, and the Truckee Meadows Habitat for Humanity. She will also coordinate Greater Nevada’s financial literacy efforts through local schools and other groups.

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.

July is BEAR Logic Month, a time to teach residents and visitors how to live and recreate in bear county. When a bear in its own habitat is exhibiting normal bear behavior, it’s unlikely to be a cause for concern. NDOW cautions people to never to approach or attempt an interaction with a bear. Of course the best option is to never have a bear encounter in the first place.

July is BEAR Logic Month, a time to teach residents and visitors how to live and recreate in bear county. As many of you already know, securing trash is the best way to prevent human-bear conflicts.

What many people don’t know is that they may be living or recreating in bear habitat. As drought conditions persist, bears continue to move into more urban environments.

Lucas McNamara, 7, was hiking around Griff Creek near Kings Beach Fire Station last week with his family when he saw a black, spiny fish, about 1-foot-long, lying dead in the creek. He ran up the creek bed, yelling, “Dad, you need to look at the big crazy fish!”

Lucas’ parents, Steve and Jen McNamara, decided to make this a teachable moment for their son, who already shows active interest in science and the environment.

“I told Lucas that this fish is not normal for Lake Tahoe and may be harmful to the other fish and animals in the lake,” Steve said.

Revisions made to a draft Environmental Impact Statement designed to protect sage-grouse habit were announced Thursday by the supervisor of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

The Forest Service and BLM management plan amendments will specifically enhance management direction for the Bi-state sage-grouse habitat. This Bi-state sage-grouse population occurs in portions of Lyon, Mineral, Esmeralda, and Douglas counties in Nevada and in portions of Alpine, Inyo, and Mono counties in California.

UPDATE: Carson City Supervisors agreed Thursday to opt in on Nevada's medical marijuana law regarding establishments of dispensaries and facilities. The board voted 4 to 1 in favor of zoning changes that allow for medical marijuana establishments in zoned areas. Go here for the full story.

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The second reading of a proposed zoning ordinance allowing for marijuana dispensaries and facilities for cultivation, production and testing will go before the Carson City Board of Supervisors on Thursday during an evening session.

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.

The July 4th holiday and fireworks celebrations always bring a welcomed influx of boaters to the Lake Tahoe Basin. With sunny skies and warm temperatures predicted for the 4th of July holiday week, boaters are urged to Clean, Drain and Dry their boats before arriving at the roadside inspection stations in Tahoe to avoid delays and decontamination fees. As a reminder, all stations close at 5:30 p.m., so please plan your travel accordingly.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of June 25, 2014.

RENO, Nev. (AP) — The Obama administration is launching an effort to accelerate protection of sage grouse along the California-Nevada line with $31 million in spending through 2024 to help ranchers and others improve habitat in what one top official says may be the best, last chance to keep the bi-state population off the list of threatened species.

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Federal land managers have approved an oil and gas project involving hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in a portion of northeast Nevada identified by state wildlife officials as essential habitat for the imperiled greater sage grouse.