Hunters need to register for harvest number

With Nevada's bird hunting seasons on the horizon, now is the time for hunters to register for their Harvest Information Program number. Anyone who hunts migratory birds such as doves, ducks, geese, swans and rails, among others, is required to participate in the program.

Hunters must have their program number written on their hunting license and, according to the Nevada Department of Wildlife, there is a space designated specifically for it. State game wardens will be looking for the number when they check hunting licenses. There is no charge for obtaining the numbers and the process typically takes just a few minutes, but hunters must purchase their hunting license first. In Nevada, hunters may obtain their numbers by calling (866) 703-4605 or online at www.ndowlicensing.com.

The program is a cooperative effort between individual state wildlife agencies and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and is designed to gather accurate information on the level and distribution of harvest of migratory birds, including doves, ducks and woodcock. It provides the opportunity for some hunters to share information with biologists that may help them manage North America's population of migratory game birds.

Each year the U.S. Fish & Wildlife service contacts a random sample from a list of hunters who obtained their number for that year and asks them for information about the kind and number of migratory birds they harvested during the hunting season. Reports collected from the hunters in the sample are used to develop reliable estimates of the total number of all migratory birds harvested throughout the country. In this way, hunters serve as biologist's eyes and ears in the field, helping to improve wildlife conservation efforts and protecting the hunting heritage.

"Hunters are the original conservationists. They became involved long before it became the "trendy" thing to do, by taxing themselves, paying license fees and buying stamps. Not to mention their on-the-ground efforts in behalf of wildlife," said Martin Olson, hunter education coordinator for NDOW. "The program is just another page in their long conservation history."