A rebuttal to Dave Rice’s article which appeared in the Reno Gazette Journal, January 25, 2008

 

I read with interest your article in the Reno Gazette Journal, January 25, 2008, concerning Nevada's declining deer population.

I do not know whom the NDOW expert, Biologist Mike Cox is, but he is a long way from knowing or telling the "real story" of what went on during the big deer years in Nevada. If he thinks that the main reason for the decline of Nevada deer herds is the overall condition of habitat, he either does not know what he is talking about or he is creating "smoke and mirrors” for NDOW.

I ran the operational Predatory Animal Control program throughout the State of Nevada for the U. S Fish & Wildlife Program, during the 1970s and 80s, as the Assistant State Supervisor.  I believe I have on-the-ground and in-the-air understanding of what went on during the big deer years in Nevada.  There were three full-time Government Mountain Lion Hunters employed year-around hunting lions.  Coyote and mountain lion numbers were kept under control.  Deer tags, for Nevada hunters, were unlimited in number and were available for over-the-counter purchase at hunting-license dealers statewide.

In 1972, a big change occurred in the Animal Damage Control business throughout the west.  President Richard Nixon banned the use of toxicants in the government control program by executive order.  (He was soliciting the environmental vote that was just starting to emerge.)   With the loss of toxicants and nothing to replace it with but a few trappers, coyote numbers began to rise dramatically. Throughout the state of Nevada, deer numbers fell to 96,000 by 1976. Predation upon livestock by predators was a serious problem. In the late 70s, political pressure by the livestock industry and their representatives in Washington, D.C. brought about a dramatic increase in the Federal budget for Animal Damage Control.

The federal government began to appropriate large sums of money in order to prove that coyote numbers could be controlled by what they liked to call "non-toxic methods.”  This program increased use of aircraft, both fixed -wing and rotor-wing, to shoot coyotes from the air and additional trappers on the ground to replace the controversial use of toxicants.  (This was meant to look good to the environmentalist.)

At that time, there was a large, domestic range-sheep industry, operating throughout the state of Nevada.  Domestic sheep acted as a "buffer species" to deer for predatory animals.  Predators, largely, lived on domestic sheep, which were much easier to kill than mule deer.  The Ruby Mountains, in Elko County for example, had over 50,000 domestic sheep that summered on this mountain range in the 1970s.

In the early1980s, wild-animal longhair fur prices went sky high and private trappers were out in force. There were large numbers of coyotes and bobcats harvested by private trappers since fur prices were at an all time high.  Gas was around $1.25 a gallon. Coyote varmint callers were out in force.  All of the private trapping and shooting plus the concentrated government effort to control predator numbers began to pay off.  By the year 1988, the mule deer population responded to these concentrated predator-control efforts and mule deer numbers statewide were quoted by NDOW at 240,000.  NDOW was busy patting themselves on the back for what a masterful deer management program they had in place throughout the state of Nevada.  They credited the quota system for deer tags, which was put in place in 1976, and favorable weather conditions, relatively mild winters during that period, for the large increase in deer numbers, but never once did they mention the dramatic decrease in predator population numbers brought about by private hunters and trappers and the federal government program.

Now then we move forward in time, the range sheep industry began to disappear due to labor problems, government regulations, land use changes by public land administrators, imports, etc. Therefore, control efforts in and around range sheep herds decreased.  Cattle numbers began to decline.  Longhair fur prices fell, gas prices went up, vehicle prices went up, predator hunting declined, and soon predator population numbers began to come back.  Today the Nevada landscape is filled up with coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions with some prowling the alleys of towns and cities.  Predators have a "free-roll" statewide.

So what do you think has happened to our deer population?  It has steadily gone down-hill with the decrease in predator control efforts and will continue to do so unless there is a dramatic decrease in predatory animal population numbers. NDOW has blamed the mule deer decline on overgrazing by livestock, poor habitat, too many fires, too cold, too wet, too dry, not enough snow, too much snow, etc. They are in denial when it comes to the overall effect that predators have on our mule deer and upland game bird population numbers in the State of Nevada.

In 2007, NDOW reported, there were 114,000 mule deer in the State of Nevada. Looks to me like we are almost out of deer. I wonder, what are the coyote, bobcat, and mountain lion numbers statewide in 2008???

I would solicit your printing this in your column

Thank you,

James "Mike" Laughlin

Supervisory Wildlife Biologist (Retired)

Bachelor of Science Degree- Wildlife Biology- Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona

 

Ed. Note: Of course, the Reno Gazette-Journal did not print the rebuttal.

In our past writings, we have given you many examples of why Clint Bentley should not have been appointed to the Wildlife Commission.  Here are more reasons for his dismal failure. Mr. Bentley is a member of the Wildlife Damage Management Subcommittee. This is nothing more than a fancy name for a predator control committee which in itself has become a joke. Mr. Bentley should never have even been on this subcommittee as on numerous occasions in the past he has failed to react about the abundance of mountain lions in our state. At a meeting on May 13, 2004 in Reno, Gerald Lent, President of Nevada Hunters Association told the committee it was not doing what the predator money was intended for and that NDOW had never supported this predator program.

Action Item #3 would prohibit hunting for a 96 hour period after using aircraft to locate wildlife.

This request by NDOW has to be the most overkill idea they have come up with in a long time. The hierarchy of NDOW must have a lot of time on their hands. In Alaska you cannot hunt on the same day that you fly. It is probably safe to say that 95% of the hunters in Alaska must utilize aircraft. What percentage of Nevada hunters utilize aircraft'1 Probably a tenth of one percent. Alaska, which has a hell of a lot more game to protect says no same-day hunting. So Nevada wants no hunting for four days. This is a pure and simple law enforcement mentality. NDOW does not know how or refuses to bring back our big game numbers. All they know is more law enforcement. We already have 140 ways to cite sportsmen and apparently it is not enough law 1enforcement for NDOW. This is like gun Control. We have thousands of gun laws and they want more.

In our last newsletter, HUNTER'S ALERT and Nevada Hunters Association requested new administrator Terry Crawforth to answer a few questions and respond to them in writing. Terry Crawforth failed to respond to any and all of the questions. One of the questions asked by Nevada Hunters Association was: The former director was criticized for his extensive travel. Do you plan to run the agency or run all over the country? The new administrator has had the job for a year. Here are a few memos from him.

The new administrator of Nevada Division of Wildlife (NDOW) Terry Crawforth, is off to a dismal start in his new position The majority of his first month on the job he spent hunting. So much for making sacrifices for a new promotion. In addition, he has appointed Dave Rice as his assistant deputy director. (You remember Dave. He is the fellow who called trophy hunters red-necked animal killers who hunt for ego gratification".) Worse than that is Terry Crawforth's blatant disregard for sportsmen's organizations' concerns.

(You could tell by the smell that it wasn't hay!)

No one really praises the Nevada Division of Wildlife other than those people who receive favors from the Division. It is for this reason that NDOW created their own intradepartmental publication called "Wild Side". In the January-February 1998 issue, one of the feature stories was "Administrator to Retire" by Dave Rice. We all know the administrator. Willie Molini, the person responsible for the destruction of our game. Dave Rice is the conservation/education chief. He wrote the following interview asking Administrator Willie Molini the questions. He stated that Willie Molini's answers to the questions were in an unedited form Now really, do you believe that? Willie is his boss. At any rate, HUNTER'S ALERT wants to comment on some of the responses by Administrator Molini

Sept. 1 is coming up quickly. This date has always been greatly anticipated by area hunters. It's the opening day of dove season, the start of fall hunting. Times change; my hunter instinct has mellowed with age, but my son's are just budding. My oldest boy will experience his first Nevada deer hunt this season. He will be the fifth generation of his family to hunt here; his great-great grandfather lived and hunted in Lincoln County in the 1870's.

A few years ago when HUNTER'S ALERT was founded, we were labelled as radicals and malcontents by some of the Wildlife Commissioners. This was because we felt there was a strong smell of antihunting in the Nevada Department of Wildlife. We had our reasons. Quite obviously, when you see the director of NDOW sitting with and being supported by antihunting groups, you must suspect something. In addition, we felt that when our Governor's appointed Wildlife Commissioners are setting hunting regu­lations and seasons for all Nevada hunters, they should have some experi­ence. When they have never hunted in their lives, it makes one wonder where their experience has developed to prop­erly do this important task.