When NDOW needs an excuse to grab at, make it habitat!

For twenty years, HUNTER’S ALERT has listened to the twenty excuses from NDOW about the loss of our deer. The excuse that NDOW used most often was drought. For many years, the favorite motto for NDOW was “When in doubt, use drought” for the loss of our deer. Either NDOW wore out the drought excuse or the drought has subsided as NDOW has now changed their main excuse to the “loss of habitat”.  NDOW’s new motto is “If you need an excuse to grab at, make It habitat”.

NDOW and the wildlife commissioners would like everyone to think that there are only one or two sportsmen who do not approve of the way our game is being managed. Nothing could be further from the truth. Former Wildlife Commission chairman Mahlon Brown used to refer to HUNTER'S ALHRT as the "small but vocal group". NDOW in their publication, Nevada Wildlife Almanac, referred to a "vocal sliver" of Nevada's hunters who opposed giving our sheep to Texas. HUNTER'S ALERT gets literally hundreds of letters, calls, or comments about NDOW's mismanagement. Listed below are but a few

“I sure appreciate your good work. We need to do full battle against these morons.” J.G., Las Vegas

“Thanks for your efforts!” A.S., Henderson

“Keep up the good work!” H.P., Moapa, J.H., Carson City, R.F., Las Vegas, V.E., Las Vegas, G.K., Las Vegas, D. & D. C., Reno

“Wildlife Commission sucks.” D.C., Reno

“Just read your Fall 2003 publication. I can’t believe my eyes!! I’m a 50 year Nevada resident; what can I do to help our cause?” K.I., Reno

“Keep up the good work” “NDOW director makes too much money. I also have been applying for Nevada elk 26 years and mountain goat 26 years. Something wrong with bonus point system.”  R.G., Hawthorne

“I am very angry with NDOW over the rancher in Mina named Bob Eddy. They (NDOW) should be cited for their illegal activities! NDOW has way too much authority and should be more regulated and better managed. Keep up the good work and please keep us informed on all their activities.” J.M., Fallon

An ongoing research project on the 3-Bar Wildlife Area near Roosevelt Lake is helping biologists to better understand--and to an extent redefine--the predator-prey relationship.

The study’s findings so far indicate that predators may have a more significant impact on deer populations than biologists previously thought. The prevailing biological belief is that habitat conditions are the primary controlling factor for deer populations, not predation. The long-term deer study at the 3-Bar is punching holes in parts of biological theory, and others.

Kayne Robinson replaced Charlton Heston as president of the NRA (National Rifle Association) on April 28, 2003. He is a straight forward, tell-it-like-it-is sort of guy. In the Shot Business magazine (Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade) of January, 2004 he gave an interview and one of the questions asked of him was “What do you see as the barriers to the continuation of the shooting sports?”  Following is his response in its entirety to this question.  We will then compare his concerns to what Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) is doing.

The Nevada Division of Wildlife publishes a newsletter called the "Nevada Wildlife Almanac". In the Fall 1996 publication, here's what NDOW had to say about our game. Deer, Elk, Antelope—Big Winners in a Great Wildlife Year

Apparently using the mathematical system invented by Louis Farrakhan(you know, 1 +1 =19, or 400,000 = 200,000), the Nevada Division of Wildlife announced a sharp increase in deer tags this year, an additional 7,000 tags, up 34 percent from last year.

Good morning. My name is Cecil Fredi. I am president of HUNTER'S ALERT. What has caused all the furor over the mountain lion? To answer this question, we must start with the very basic question, what is hunting? Hunting exists for one reason: It is the humane way to harvest surplus game birds and animals. If there were no surplus, do we need hunters and hunting? The answer is absolutely not. If you were an anti-hunter, how would you insure that there is no surplus? You would protect predators and let them remove the surplus. That's exactly what the antis are doing to eliminate hunting. Mountain lion protection is a pure and simple anti-hunting measure.

It started years ago with the direction of Nevada Division of Wildlife. The people of NDOW didn't know where their revenue was being generated. In the Game Division, deer hunters furnished the largest portion of NDOW revenue. Because of mismanagement, they lost 70% of the deer herd by falling to control predators.

For years we have stated that it doesn't do any good to attend a Wildlife Commission meeting. Never was that more evident than at the October meeting. Even at the outset, Chairman Brown determined that he did not want to waste time with facts. The Wildlife Commission voted to give our sheep to Texas against the wishes of the majority of Nevadans. They forgot about government by the people, for the people. Instead, they displayed government for the private interest.