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The truth has now been exposed. For years, Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) has used many excuses for their mismanagement of our deer herds. In 1988, there were 250,000 deer in Nevada. Today, NDOW’s estimates are 107,000 and that number is in actuality probably a lot lower. The excuses that NDOW has used for the past thirteen years are drought, wildfire, bad winter, juniper pinion pine and cheat grass. Of course, NDOW never mentioned predators or other mismanagement for the decline.
Three years ago during a quota setting meeting, Director Crawforth said something to the effect that the employees should do what you have to do, crunch the numbers, make it work. Translated, this meant overestimate the size of our deer population, we need the money because of years of NDOW’s mismanagement. HUNTER’S ALERT wants to make it perfectly clear that we don’t want to blame the hard working biologists of NDOW for the decline of our deer. When your boss tells you to do something, you may not agree, but you are compelled to do it. The overestimation of our deer herds can now be proven as NDOW has admitted that for years they have been overestimating the size of the deer herd. The Nevada Division of Wildlife 1999-2000 Big Game Status Book states clearly on Page SS-1 that "Over the past six years, the Division has been likely overestimating the size of Nevada’s mule deer population." Anyone can make a mistake but no one believes that all of the biologists who were involved with deer quotas could make the same mistake for six years in a row. The only way that they would do this is if they were told to do what you have to do, crunch the numbers, make it work. Director Terry Crawforth has been managing the deer herds for money, not for the sportsmen or what is best for the natural resource. In the Las Vegas Review Journal on February 17, 2002, Director Crawforth states, "We have one of the best big game programs in the country and we need the resources to continue that." In the Review Journal on May 26, 2002, an article appeared entitled "Mule deer numbers on the decline throughout Nevada". Director Crawforth called the population decline "disheartening". Now what happened in that ninety day period, Director Crawforth? Was it drought, bad winters, wildfires, cheat grass or juniper pinion pine that wiped out our deer in three months? The title of this article says it all. Director Crawforth has sold out the deer herds and then made his employees take a fall for his mismanagement. Congratulations, Director Crawforth. Under your guidance, last season was the lowest deer harvest in our state in the last fifty years. The Wildlife Commission is good at handing out awards. Maybe the Wildlife Commission could give you an award for this distinction!
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