Sportsmen realize that we have too many lions and because of this our deer numbers have remained low for years. So what did NDOW propose for the 1999 seasons? They wanted a whopping increase of 69% (3,780) more does killed. In addition, they requested 22% (70) fewer lion tags to be allotted. Please note, this is not a misprint. The reason for these numbers? Get ready, sit down and hold on to your chair. The reason: In 1992 they overestimated, repeat—overestimated how many deer we have. Let's see, they overestimated one year so seven years later, they increase doe tags by 69%! Would someone with some common sense explain this reasoning process?

As for the reduction in lion tags, NDOW stated the reduction was needed because they were not meeting the harvest objective in central and southern Nevada. So if they cut tags there, why didn't they increase tags in the other areas where lions were more plentiful? Duh!

Fortunately, the county advisory boards' input, based on common sense had an impact on the Wildlife Commission. The Wildlife Commission accepted numbers on the conservative side and did not allow NDOW's recommendations to stand. This proves once again that sportsmen need someone with some common sense to get NDOW headed in the right direction.