Reprinted from Daily Sparks Tribune

March 12, 2006

RED TAPE: There is an absolute political backlash against the seemingly unending growth of government rules and regulations. This is manifest in Nevada by the people overwhelmingly approving maintaining bi-annual (every other year) legislative sessions, despite our dramatic population expansion. To even further limit “bureaucratic blight”, the people have allowed only 120 day sessions as well.

For five years, HUNTER’S ALERT has proved to our readers that Clint Bentley should never have been appointed to the Wildlife Commission. We hate to have to keep proving this, but when Clint Bentley keeps giving us more proof, we will just have to keep presenting it.

In the April-June, 2006 NBU (Nevada Bighorns Unlimited) newsletter, Larry Johnson wrote an article entitled "NDOW-An Agency in Crisis".   HUNTER’S ALERT and Nevada Hunters Association have stated this for seventeen years. If it takes a person seventeen years to figure this out, that person is not very smart about wildlife issues. That is why it is time for Larry to go. Below are excerpts from Larry’s article and HUNTER’S ALERT’S response.

Saturday, May 13, 2006
By Bud Sonnentag

Greetings! I come before this commission for two purposes. First, to put the State of Nevada, NDOW, the Board of Commissioners and the Attorney General’s Office on notice. To wit, the wildlife statutes of this state are being grossly violated today as they were 41 years ago. Second, I am here to apprise everyone in this room of this past and present misfeasance and malfeasance by establishing a public record at this meeting.

NDOW sponsored Senate Bill 135 which now makes it a felony instead of a gross misdemeanor for killing a big game animal without a tag.

Senator Ann O'Connell at the request of HUNTER'S ALERT introduced a bill to put into Nevada Revised Statutes a law requiring the Division of Wildlife to contract out for the big game tag drawings. The 1991 legislature enacted Senate Bill 506 which was co-sponsored by HUNTER'S ALERT and Nevada Hunters Association. This bill was for the development of a computer program for the issuance of big game tags. However, this did not exclude NDOW from involvement in the big game tag draw. It was for this reason that Senate Bill 211 was introduced by Senator O'Connell in the 1999 legislature.

In the last two weeks, many Nevada newspapers have run articles about the accomplishments of Governor Bob Miller. In the fairness of good journalism, the other side of the story should be told. Bob Miller demonstrated for ten years that he was no friend of Nevada sportsmen.

In 1989, the legislature removed the big game tag draw from the control of Nevada Division of Wildlife. This was done because of many improprieties while under NDOW's jurisdiction. The sportsmen of our state wanted this and our legislators passed it.

"Evidence of improper practices" has prompted the legislative auditor to send a rare "218" letter to the governor and each state legislator alerting them that "the integrity of the fiscal records" of Nevada Division of Wildlife is "in question."

It all started in February, 1979 when my hunting partner, taxidermist Hagan Thompson and I returned from a very enjoyable African safari. Hagan's taxidermy shop was a one man operation so he had a young man watching his shop while we were on safari. Upon his return, the part-time employee notified Hagan that while he was away, two game wardens, one from the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and one from Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) came to the shop and seized his record book and skins.