OUTDOOR BRIEFS

LEND A HAND

Guzzler hot line now up and running

Artificial water developments, or guzzlers as they're commonly called, literally blanket Nevada. And with almost 1,600 guzzlers statewide to keep track of, the Nevada Department of Wildlife needs all the help it can get to properly maintain these devices that are critical to the survival of the state's wildlife. Now with the creation of the NDOW guzzler maintenance hot line at (775) 688-1537, Nevada sportsmen can lend a hand by reporting any guzzler problems they see while afield.

So what exactly is a guzzler? Guzzlers are metal structures built in suitable wildlife habitats to provide an additional source of water for all types of wildlife. The structure collects snowmelt and rainwater and stores it in tanks, which then feed the water to a drinker that can be accessed by wildlife. Nevada's 332 large guzzlers, designed for big game like deer, bighorn sheep and antelope have a 3,600 gallon capacity, while 1,232 small guzzlers, favored by upland game like chukar, sage grouse and rabbits have a 325 gallon capacity.

The idea for the guzzler hot line is the result of suggestions by concerned citizens who wanted an easier way to report guzzler issues to NDOW, according to John Gebhardt, wildlife staff biologist in charge of the guzzler program. "Before the hot line, anyone wanting to report issues with a guzzler could fill out a guzzler maintenance form found on the agency Web site at www.ndow.org," said Gebhardt. "But we heard comments that the form was hard to find or that some didn't understand the form's purpose. So we created the hot line as a simple, more convenient method to report problems."

RECORD NUMBERS

Big game applications on the rise

A record number of hunters applied for Nevada's big game tags this year. Wildlife Administrative Services, the contracted vendor responsible for producing the big game draw for the Nevada Department of Wildlife, reported 146,911 applications for the 2008 main draw, a 4.2 percent increase over 2007 numbers. A total of 53,757 hunters applied in 2008, compared to 52,878 in 2007. More than 93 percent of the applications were submitted online.

Hunters will be informed about whether they drew a tag by June 20, the information will also be posted on line at www.ndow.org and in all NDOW regional offices.

BE SAFE

NDOW calls for life jackets, sober boaters

The Nevada Department of Wildlife launched its annual summer boating safety program in conjunction with National Boating Safety Week, which ran May 17-23/ Through the campaign, NDOW is hoping to raise the awareness of boating safety with special emphasis on life jacket wear and sober boating.

Also getting its start this past week is the 2008 North American Safe Boating Campaign with its life jacket-based theme -- "Wear It!" Nevada has already had two fatal boating accidents in 2008. The people who died in each of these accidents were not wearing life jackets. In one case, the boater who drowned wasn't carrying a life jacket aboard the boat, which is required by Nevada state law.

Operating a boat while under the influence is the other major safety issue for recreational boaters in Nevada. In 2007, half the state's boating fatalities were alcohol related, said Fred Messmann, Nevada's boating law administrator and a game warden.

As part of its safe boating campaign NDOW will have boating safety checks throughout the summer. Personnel will check boaters for life jackets, fire extinguishers and other required equipment at boat ramps at Lake Mead, Mohave and others around the state. NDOW is also partnering with Miller Beer and Carter Power Sports in Las Vegas to give away a Kawasaki Jet Ski to promote safe boating, life jacket wear and sober boating.

Boaters can register to win the personal watercraft in one of three ways: Online with codes displayed at Speedee Marts across the valley, on Lotus radio stations and at specified events that will be promoted throughout the summer. Complete details can be found on NDOWs Web site www.ndow.org.

WILDLIFE TRUST ACCOUNT

Commission OKs expenditures

During its May 9 meeting in Reno, the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners approved $658,640 in expenditures from the Wildlife Heritage Trust Account for 26 projects that will benefit wildlife and wildlife habitat.

This represents the largest single Wildlife Heritage allocation since the program's inception in 1981. All funds are donated by sportsmen, either through the auction of game tags, the second chance drawing in the general draw process, or from private gifts to the Wildlife Heritage Trust Account.

"The committee had a tough job with so many projects to consider. I am pleased with the number and quality of project proposals, and the manner in which this committee distributed funds," said Nevada Department of Wildlife Director Ken Mayer.

Heritage funds traditionally support big game capture, transplant, and monitoring projects, and this year was no different, with $124,178 allotted for this critically important activity. Big game transplant efforts in the state have allowed reintroduction of bighorn sheep into historic ranges, augmentation of antelope herds, and removal of animals from problem areas like northern Elko County where wild fires have destroyed thousands of acres.