Outdoor briefs

LEARN THE BASICS

Free family fishing clinic scheduled for Oct. 16

The Nevada Department of Wildlife will have a free family fishing clinic Oct. 16 at the Sunset Park pond.

Anglers of all ages are welcome. NDOW volunteers will teach participants such fishing basics as bait and lure selection, casting techniques and knot tying.

Clinic activities will begin at 9 a.m. on the south side of the pond. Space is limited, so registration is required. Participants who are 12 years of age and older must have a valid Nevada fishing license. For more information, contact Ivy Santee at 486-5127, Ext. 3503. Registration starts at 8 a.m. Monday.

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE

NDOW to collect samples
for deer, elk testing

In the years that have followed the initial discovery of chronic wasting disease in free-ranging deer and elk in the mid-1980s, the disease has been found in many of the lower 48 states and in two Canadian provinces. Luckily, Nevada has remained CWD-free even though Utah has found 48 mule deer and one elk that have tested positive for the disease.

Despite this run of luck, the Nevada Department of Wildlife is committed to monitoring the state's elk and deer herds for CWD. To that end, the department is seeking help from hunters who have big game tags in specific hunt areas that have been targeted for surveillance. Those hunt areas are 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 22, 23, 24 and 27. These areas have been selected for surveillance because they are on the eastern side of Nevada, where migrating animals from Utah may enter the state.

This process involves the removal of specific lymph nodes and the brain stem so the head is needed. Animals bound for the taxidermist can be sampled after the cape has been removed. There is no charge for testing, and hunters will be notified of if their sample tests positive for CWD.

Those hunters who wish to participate in the CWD project can bring their harvested animals to one of nine sampling locations statewide. Those locations include the NDOW offices in Elko, Ely, Winnemucca, Panaca, Fallon and Reno. Other locations include the Nevada Department of Agriculture offices in Elko and Reno along with John Mull's Meats in Las Vegas.