Wildlife Heritage Trust Account

The Wildlife Heritage Trust Account is authorized by NRS 501.3575 and is administered by the Board of Wildlife Commissioners. The money in the account is used for the ‘protection, propagation, restoration, transplanting, introduction, and management of any game fish, game mammal, game bird, or fur-bearing mammal and the management and control of predatory wildlife in this state."

The funds are obtained from bid, auction or partnership in wildlife drawings conducted pursuant to NRS 502.250 and from a gift of money made by any person to the Wildlife Heritage Trust Account. The amount of funds available from year to year for projects meeting the above criteria will vary due to the amount of funds deposited each year and the interest earned on the account annually. NRS 501.3575 states that ‘the Department may annually expend from the Wildlife Heritage Trust Account an amount of money not greater than 75 percent of the money deposited in the Account during the previous year and the total amount of interest earned on the money in the Account during the previous year.’ In the event that the annual authorized funding allowed per fiscal year is not utilized for projects and associated administrative costs, the unused portion will revert to the principal of the trust account.

The Heritage Trust account started in 1998 and due to the generosity of its participants over the years, the account has now grown to over $5 million. The table below displays the organizations that were awarded Wildlife Heritage tags to auction at their fundraising events. The auctioned tags benefit the Wildlife Heritage Trust Account.

Deadlines: All proposals must be submitted to the Nevada Department of Wildlife, Headquarters Office, 1100 Valley Road, Reno, Nevada 89512 between January 1 and March 1 of each calendar year. The project year is on a fiscal year basis of July 1 through June 30. The funds must be utilized in the appropriate fiscal year. However, due to unusual circumstances, which may be documented by the applicant, the Commission may consider a carry over upon a request from organization/person that initiated the project proposal prior to the end of the project’s fiscal year.

You may also be interested in learning about our Partnership in Wildlife (PIW) program. PIW is a voluntary and optional participation program that offers unique hunting opportunities to hunters for a few statewide big game tags.

Apply

Wildlife Heritage Account Project Instructions

Submit a Wildlife Heritage Account Project Proposal (Word Document)

Wildlife Heritage Trust Account Project Proposal Form

Annual Wildlife Heritage Timeline

November: The Heritage project proposal applications used to apply for Wildlife Heritage Trust Account funding are mailed out.

January 1 - March 1: Completed Heritage applications are accepted and reviewed by the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

April - Entire Heritage packets are mailed out to each Wildlife Heritage Committee Member, as well as the chairman of each County Advisory Board member by April 15.

May - A Wildlife Heritage Committee meeting is held each year to review and recommend projects for funding. Final public comment and project approval is made at the May Board of Wildlife Commissioner's meeting.