The 2005 Nevada Big Game Draw information is now on-line and downloadable at: http://www.nevadadivisionofwildlife.org/hunt/applications/#big_game

Be sure to check everything carefully this year! There are some serious changes... Good luck.

The Big Game Tag Draw Deadline for applications is April 18, 2005.

Big Game Main Draw Results Available (on-line as well) June 17, 2005 per the website.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RamDreamer,

On-line applications are scheduled to begin on March 21st, 2005 at 8:00 a.m.

The on-line applications are scheduled to close on April 18th, 2005 at 5:00 p.m.

On-line application process can be found here: http://www.huntnevada.com/webapps/index.asp

Date: 05/17/05
Contact: Geoffrey Schneider
Phone: (702) 486-5127, ext. 3500

50,000 HUNTERS APPLY FOR NEVADA BIG GAME TAGS

More than 50,000 resident and nonresident hunters submitted over 123,000 applications to hunt big game animals in Nevada during the 2005 hunting season, according to preliminary figures released by the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW).

Don Sefton, president of the Wildlife Administrative Services Office in Fallon, a private firm that processes applications and handles the tag drawing, said the number of people who applied for tags and the number of applications they submitted are both higher than last year.

To date, Wildlife Administrative Services has received applications from 36,088 residents and 13,916 nonresidents, both showing slight increases over last year. The hunters combined to submit 123,037 applications for the various big game hunts, which was a 10 percent increase from 2004.

Sefton said that the figures will likely change because applications are still trickling into the Wildlife Administrative Services, even though the application deadline was April 18.

Hunters submitted 46,820 applications to hunt deer, 15,511 for antelope, 25,132 for elk, 12,052 for desert bighorn sheep, 9,265 for California bighorn sheep, 8,080 for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and 6,171 for mountain goat. Six applications were received in which the hunters failed to select the type of hunt they wanted.

“The biggest single jump was in the Rocky Mountain bighorn, which more than doubled. But that can be accounted for by the fact that a nonresident hunt was added for this species for the first time ever, and we attracted nearly 3,800 nonresidents to this new hunt,” Sefton said.

Hunters will be vying for more tags in the upcoming drawing than were available last year. During a meeting in Reno on Saturday, May 14, the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners voted to increase this year’s allocation of tags to hunt deer, elk, antelope and bighorn sheep.

NDOW will notify tag applicants of the drawing results by June 17. If tags remain, a second drawing will be held with the application deadline scheduled for July 5.

Date: 06/08/05
Contact: Geoffrey Schneider
Phone: (702) 486-5127, ext. 3500

Big Game Drawing Results to be Released

The 2005 drawing for Nevada’s big game tags has been conducted and the more than 50,000 resident and nonresident hunters who applied for tags will be notified through the mail of their success by Friday, June 17, according to the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW).

Systems Consultants, the private firm that is contracted by NDOW to handle the drawing, said it received a record 123,040 applications this year, up from 111,490 last year. This year’s applications are nearly double those received in 1994. Approximately 85 percent of this year’s applications were submitted online.

Besides being notified of their outcome in the draw, hunters who applied for big game tags will be notified of any tags that were left over following the drawing and will receive a copy of the 2005 Nevada Hunt Book. The book provides regulations and information about big game, upland game and waterfowl hunting as well as trapping in the state.

Draw results will be posted online by June 17 at http://www.huntnevada.com. Drawing results also will be available beginning that day at NDOW offices. Hunters who contact the Hunt Application Office or NDOW offices will not be given their drawing results over the phone prior to June 17.

A second drawing will be held for any tags that were not issued following the first drawing. If tags remain, the second drawing application deadline will be July 5.

My neighbors credit card has been charged the amount for the deer tag on Friday.

Date: 6/14/05
Contact: Geoff Schneider
Phone: (702) 486-5127, ext. 3500

Big Game Hunting Tag Numbers Continue to Rise

For the second straight year, the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners has approved an increase in the number of tags that will be available to hunters during the upcoming big game hunting seasons.

The 2005 total quotas for all weapon classes and residency for four species are the highest ever set in the history of Nevada. Based on population growth of elk, pronghorn antelope, desert bighorn and mountain goat in Nevada, quotas for those species are record setting.

The Commission examined assessments from Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) biologists, which indicated that most big game populations have responded favorably to improved habitat conditions. Data collected by the biologists demonstrated that adults and young of the year survived the winter in fair condition, a critical measure of a population’s status.

Quotas for mule deer, Nevada’s most numerous and popular game animal, are greater than last year’s levels. This year more than 700 additional resident hunters will be issued tags to hunt buck mule deer in the state’s general rifle hunt. This year’s resident rifle quota has been set at 9,205, an increase of more than 700 tags from 2004 and 1,000 more than 2003.

Deer tags for resident junior hunters were set at 3,000, the same quota as last year.

Resident muzzleloader tags have increased by 106 to 833 while resident archery deer tags have increased by 129 to 1,999.

Rifle tags for nonresident buck deer hunters were increased by 500 this year to 1,152. Muzzleloader tags for nonresidents were increased by 10 to 132 while archery tags were raised from 231 last year to 321.

Despite the increase in buck tags, a report issued by NDOW’s big game biologists said there are problems facing deer herds. Key among these is the recent alteration of large acreages of brush land habitat caused by wildfires. This habitat type provides key plant species that provide the animals with food and cover. “Millions of acres are recovering from the fires of 1998-2001. It will be decades before the land resembles what existed prior to these fires. Until that occurs, the habitat won’t have the capacity to support the number of deer we witnessed in the past decade and certainly not the number we estimated at the last peak population in the late 1980’s.” claimed biologist Mike Cox.

Buck antelope tags for resident rifle hunters increased in 2005 to 1,470, an increase of nearly 100 tags from last year. This comes on the heels of a seven percent increase in tags that hunters were allocated in 2004.

Tags for nonresidents to hunt buck antelope were increased from 71 last year to 237. Resident archery buck antelope tags increased from 330 last year to 368 while the same tags for nonresidents increased from 14 in 2004 to 60 this year. Biologists noted that the statewide pronghorn antelope population has increased to slightly over 20,000 animals, which is up from the 2004 estimate of 18,500.

Rocky Mountain elk are faring very well and hunters will be rewarded for the continuing increases in herd sizes by being allocated 729 tags for the resident rifle bull hunt. This is 126 more than last year and 280 more than 2003. Resident muzzleloader hunters are being allocated 121 tags to hunt for bull elk in Nevada this year, an increase of 37 from last year. Nonresidents were awarded 17 tags for 2005 compared to a single tag in 2004. Residents have been allocated 986 rifle cow elk tags while the nonresident allocation for the hunt is 120.

“The quality of bulls in the harvest remains high with 69 percent of bulls harvested being six points or better. Elk populations continue to thrive and increase in units where elk populations are below objectives,” NDOW stated in their annual report to the commission.

Desert bighorn sheep tags for resident hunters were set at 125 for 2005, an increase of five from last year and 10 more than in 2003. Nonresidents have been given 19 ram tags compared with 13 last year. Biologists say desert bighorns are responding to favorable habitat conditions and good lamb production. Those bighorns living in mountain ranges in the southern portion of the state suffered through several recent drought years.

California bighorn sheep tags for resident hunters have been increased from 29 last year to 32 in 2005. The nonresident quota has increased by one tag to five. Biologists report that, overall, bighorns continue to do well in most ranges in northwest Nevada.

Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep also are faring well and the quota for residents has been set at five. Nonresidents, who were not provided with any tags last year, have been allocated one tag in 2005. Biologists say that the sheep, which live in the northeast part of the state, have stable to slightly increasing populations.

Mountain goat tags have been increased by one this year to 23 for resident hunters while nonresidents will see their allocation jump from one last year to four in 2005. Biologists said that there have been tremendous increases in recent years in the opportunity to hunt mountain goats in Nevada because the animals continue to do well in the East Humboldt and Ruby Mountain ranges.

More than 50,000 hunters applied for tags to hunt in Nevada during the upcoming seasons. Hunters will be notified of the tag drawing results by June 17.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife 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. Wildlife offices are located in Las Vegas, Henderson, Ely, Winnemucca, Fallon, Elko, and Reno. For more information, contact the agency web site at http://www.ndow.org.
From:

http://www.ndow.org/about/news/pr/061405quotas.shtm[/URL]

I've been reading about folks getting their credit cards hit for tag charges by Nevada for the past week. Now I understand that e-mail notifications, with draw results, are being received. With no hit on the credit card and no e-mail yet, I've got a feeling something along the lines of "come on California" or "come on Arizona"... Or New Mexico, or Oregon, or Washington or one of the raffles.

I received the dreaded "better luck next year" e-mail from Nevada at 9:45 a.m. this morning.

Draw results have been posted and may be viewed / searched at http://www.huntnevada.com/sci/draw/index.asp