Outdoor briefs

TWO SESSIONS

Women's introduction to fly-fishing class scheduled

The Nevada Department of Wildlife will have its annual women's-only introduction to fly-fishing class on May 15. The Saturday class will be divided into two sessions.

The first session gets under way at 8 a.m. at the NDOW Las Vegas office, 4747 Vegas Drive. This session will cover such topics as equipment selection, knot tying and terminology.

The second session will give participants a hands-on introduction to fly-casting.

It will be at Floyd Lamb Park and begin at noon. There is no fee for the class and all equipment will be provided.

For more information and to register, contact Ivy Santee at 486-5127, Ext. 3503. Registration begins at 8 a.m. Monday.

RULES CHANGE

New laws for boaters pulling water skiers in effect

As the spring boating season gets under way, the Nevada Department of Wildlife wants water skiers to be aware of changes in the state's boating laws.

These changes, which became effective Jan. 1, increase the legal age requirement for both boat operators and observers.

The law now requires that a boat operator must be at least 16 years old to operate a vessel on Nevada waters while towing a person on water skis, a wakeboard, an inflatable device or any similar device, or at least 14 years old if there is another person on board who is 18 years of age or older. Any time a boat operator is towing a water skier, regardless of the device on which the skier is riding, there also must be a person on the vessel who is tasked with observing those being towed.

This observer is directly responsible for the safety of the skier, so the boat operator can focus on operating the vessel in a safe manner. The observer must now be 14 years old unless there is an adult on board who is 18 years of age or older.

In that case, the observer must be at least 12 years old.

Whenever the skier is in the water, the observer must display an orange flag that measures 12 inches in height by 12 inches in width as a safety warning to other boaters. These changes reflect a two-year increase in age for boat operators and observers while the age requirement for supervising adults was reduced by three years.