THE BIG GAME SEASON SETTING PROCESS

Every two years, all big game seasons are set and approved by the Board of Wildlife Commissioners through input by NDOW and the County Advisory Board to Manage Wildlife (CABMW) in each of the 17 counties in Nevada.

So in preparation for the 2011 February Wildlife Commission meeting, NDOW has developed big game season recommendations for the 2011 and the 2012 big game hunt years. NDOW seeks to develop big game seasons that work well for sportsmen, that allow management objectives to be met for certain herds, and allow NDOW to complete their various field surveys and capture/transplants with minimal impact to sportsmen in the field. Because there are many reasons why certain seasons are set the way they are, an explanation or rationale to big game seasons was written by NDOW to allow sportsmen to better understand why new seasons or changes to past seasons were recommended.

Each CABMW meets in late January or early February before the Wildlife Commission meeting to discuss big game seasons. Sportsmen are to attend their respective County meeting and provide their comments and suggestions. CABMW discusses these suggestions in an open forum and makes recommendations to pass on to the Board of Wildlife Commissioners.

CABMWs will then meet in late April and early May each year to gather sportsmen's input on tag quotas to present to the Wildlife Commission. The big game quotas will then be set at the Wildlife Commission's May meeting.

Please take the time to review the support material on big game seasons and attend your county's next Wildlife Advisory Board meeting.