Bear hunt goes to wildlife commission

A proposal to hunt black bears will be presented to Nevada Wildlife commissioners at their meeting in Reno on Friday and Saturday.

The meeting will be held in the conference room of the Nevada Department of Wildlife Headquarters located at 1100 Valley Road, and will start at 10 a.m. on Friday and at 8 a.m. on Saturday.

Other items before the commission include a report from the feral horse committee. The Commission is being asked to approve, modify, create or deny a letter to the Nevada State Water Engineer regarding the issue of giving water rights to wild horses that was originally meant for other wildlife. They will also discuss the Pickens Horse Monument in eastern Nevada.

The commission will consider proposed changes to regulations concerning Heritage Projects and discuss adoption of a temporary regulation revising the status of gray wolves from a game mammal to unprotected mammal. They may also adopt a temporary regulation relating to revising provisions governing eligibility for the main draw if the applicant applied for the Restricted Nonresident Deer tag draw.

Patricia Swain for Trailsafe Nevada will petition the Commission to address trapping issues related to domestic pets and feral animals within congested areas of Washoe County.

Reports scheduled to be heard by the Commission include the findings of the Mule Deer Restoration Committee, a wild horse update, a progress and funding report on a Phase 1 independent scientific data analysis of Nevada's mule deer population, and a discussion on the 2006 NDOW Mule Deer Management Plan.

Other items on the agenda include reports on mule deer efforts in each county, the big game season setting process, waterfowl management changes for 2011, a bighorn sheep disease update, and a report on mule deer body condition in Area 10.

Members of the public who would like to address the commission on a topic not on the agenda may do so during the public comment period near the beginning of each meeting.

People wishing to address the commission should complete a speaker's card and present it to the recording secretary.

For a complete agenda and support materials visit www.ndow.org, under "Commissions & Boards," or at www.ndow.org/learn/com/mtg .