The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) is the state agency responsible for the restoration and management of fish and wildlife resources, and the promotion of boating safety on Nevada’s waters.

NDOW has responsibility for the wildlife resources and enforcement of the wildlife and boating safety laws on 109,894 square miles of land, 667 square miles of water and 529 streams that flow 2,750 miles.

Organizational Structure

The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) is the state agency responsible for the restoration and management of fish and wildlife resources, and the promotion of boating safety on Nevada's waters.

NDOW is organized into seven divisions (law enforcement, game, fisheries, conservation and education, habitat, wildlife diversity, and operations division) that develop programs and projects, and three regions (eastern, southern and western) that implement these programs.

The Department is led by a governor-appointed Director, who also serves as the Secretary of the Wildlife Commission. Two Deputy Directors are directly responsible to the Director. Resource division chiefs report to the Deputy Director of Programs while the Operations Division and the Fiscal Services Section report to the Deputy Director of Administrative Services. In addition, NDOW coordinates agency planning activities, legislation, and support operations by assigning senior management level personnel in the Director's office to coordinate these efforts.

Wildlife Management Areas

NDOW's eleven state-owned wildlife management areas provide approximately 117,000 acres of wildlife habitat.

Fisheries

Four fish hatcheries raise and stock more than 2 million trout a year in Nevada's reservoirs, 65 lakes and 50 streams. More than one million warm water species like wipers, bass, walleye and catfish are also stocked. More than 14 waters in the state are managed as urban fisheries in Clark, Washoe, and Churchill Counties.

Nevada Wildlife

There are or were 892 species of mammals, reptiles, fish, birds and amphibians in Nevada. Of that number, 790 species are native, 64 are only found in Nevada, 102 have been brought into the state and 32 are extinct

• 161 Mammals
• 173 Fish
• 24 Amphibians
• 78 Reptiles
• 456 Birds

  Game Birds
  Nevada's game bird resources include chukar and hungarian partridge, sage, blue and ruffed grouse, California, Gambel, and mountain quail, ring -necked pheasants, mourning dove and wild turkey. Waterfowl associated with the state's aquatic areas include northern pintail, mallard, America wigeon, redhead and wood, ducks as well as Canada and snow geese.

  Big Game
  Latest available numbers indicate that Nevada had estimated adult populations of 105,000 mule deer, 18,500 pronghorn antelope, 5,100 desert bighorn sheep, 210 Rocky Mountain bighorns, 1,500 California bighorn sheep, 7,400 Rocky Mountain elk, 370 Rocky mountain goats and about 2,700 young and adult mountain lions.

  Fish Facts
  Nevada has four native game fish: cutthroat trout, redband trout, bull trout and mountain whitefish. Introduced game fish include bass, catfish, crappie, walleye and rainbow, brown and brook trout. There are 77 species and subspecies of native nongame fish that reside in Nevada's waters ranging from the speckled dace to the razorback sucker.

Nevada Climate / Habitat

Nevada is a desert state, the driest in America. The state receives an average of less than seven inches of rain per year.

Nevada's topography ranges in elevation from 500 to 13,000 feet, and includes landscapes that range from the Mojave Desert to the high alpine zones. Because of the wide range of vegetation in these geographic zones, Nevada has a rich diversity of non-game wildlife as detailed in the wildlife section of this page.

Personnel

NDOW is the state agency directly responsible for managing all the fish and wildlife in the state of Nevada. There are just 226 people working towards or supporting this responsibility in one manner or another. Biologists monitor the health of wildlife populations. Game wardens enforce the wildlife laws passed by the state legislature and regulations set by the Nevada Wildlife Commission. Conservation Educators inform and educate people about Nevada’s wildlife. And, there are many, many other professionals, doing all kinds of jobs to help with the huge task of looking after the wildlife of our state.

A Short History
Oct. 31, 1864	Nevada Became a State
July 1, 1877	State Office of Fish Commissioner established by Legislature
July1, 1917	Three-member commission name changed to State Fish and Game Commission. Office of State Game Warden established.
July 1, 1927	Three-member State Fish and Game Commission increased to five members
July 1, 1947	Five-member State Fish and Game Commission increased to 17 elected members
July 1, 1969	Seventeen- member State Fish and Game Commission reduced to nine members, all appointed. Wildlife agency name changed from Fish and Game Commission to Nevada Department of Fish and Game
July 1, 1979	Nine-member Commission reduced to seven member Board of Wildlife Commissioners, all appointed by the Governor. Name changed to State Board of Wildlife Commissioners and agency name changed to Nevada Department of Wildlife
1993	Nevada Department of Wildlife changed and moved to a Division under the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
July 2003	Nevada Division of Wildlife changed to Nevada Department of Wildlife and moved to a cabinet level agency.
Agency Directors Kenneth Mayer 2007 - Terry Crawforth 1998 - 2006 William A. Molini 1982 - 1998 Joseph C. Greenley 1980 - 1982 Glen K. Griffith 1973 - 1979 Frank W Groves 1949 - 1973 Sessions S. Wheeler 1945-1949