OUR EFFORTS
The Coalition for Nevada’s Wildlife (Coalition) was formed in 1991 to represent Nevada sportsmen in policy and management issues that affect our wildlife resources and our sporting tradition. Our directors represent the major sportsmen organizations as well as interested sportsmen throughout northern Nevada. These directors represent big game, fishing, waterfowl, upland game, sporting dog, and trapping interests. Our mission is to protect and enhance Nevada’s wildlife resources and to perpetuate our hunting, fishing, and trapping traditions.
The Coalition is primarily an issue-focused organization that disseminates information to sportsmen across the state and presents sportsmen’s views to County Game Advisory Boards, State Wildlife Commission and various state and federal agencies. We are heavily involved in the Nevada State legislature. On the local state level we are members of committees on county land bills, wilderness management, elk plans, and a myriad of other wildlife issues. We provide hearing testimony on all bills in the legislature impacting wildlife. We hire a full-time lobbyist during the legislative session and coordinate the needs of sportsmen and wildlife through the governor’s office. We successfully brought a major mining company to the negotiating table, and protected the migration route of the state’s largest mule deer herd. That mining company is now one of our best conservation partners. We support multiple use of our public lands and strongly believe that all special interests can share the resource. It is all of our duties to identify potential impacts and mitigate to the best of our ability. All of us that live on, and love the land, have a lot more in common than we do differences.
On the national level we lobby for responsible management of our public lands to protect and enhance our wildlife resources. Of particular emphasis is our strong support to keep our public lands public, responsible wild horse management, and healthy rangelands for sage grouse and all sage brush ecosystem dependent species. Our president served for a decade as the wildlife representative to the BLM National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. We are strong proponents of keeping our public lands in public ownership and management. Sportsmen love wild places, but insist on proper management of wilderness areas for the benefit of wildlife. We lobbied for the recent permanent re-authorization of the Land and Water Conservation Act.
In summary, if an issue impacts sportsmen or wildlife, WE’RE ON IT!
OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Hunting for Nevada residents was in serious jeopardy in the early 2000’s. An out-of-state outfitter filed suit in federal court over non-resident tag allocations. This outfitter had already won in court in Arizona and was demanding an “open-draw” across the west, giving non-residents the same drawing opportunity as residents. They argued that most of Nevada was public land and restricting non-resident tag quotas was a violation of the commerce clause of the constitution. The courts agreed. The average Nevadan draws a deer tag every three (3) years; it often takes decades to draw a bull elk or bighorn sheep tag. Just think of the drawing odds if all non-residents were included. Luckily, we enjoyed an excellent relationship with our senior U.S. Senator Harry Reid who offered to sponsor a legislative solution. The “Reid Amendment” was authored and passed through Congress the next year delegating the federal authority to regulate tag allocation back to the states.
We simply “Saved Hunting in Nevada” as we know it.
In the state legislature, The Coalition for Nevada’s Wildlife is the most recognized and influential wildlife organization in the state. We try to defeat adverse bills and pass beneficial bills by a combination of educating legislators, insisting on scientific management of wildlife, and always dealing in facts, not emotion. Throughout decades of legislative sessions we have been able to defeat proposals to end bear hunting, end trapping on public land, end the use of hounds in pursuit of mountain lions and bears. Conversely, we have been able to pass a state resolution in support of hunting, fishing, and trapping, and bills creating the Wildlife Heritage Account, Silver State Tag, Dream Tag, and a myriad of other beneficial legislation.
Also on the state level, our participation in county land bills, elk plans, wild horse management, and a multitude of other issues has been invaluable to wildlife and sportsman’s issues.
As always, there is so much that needs to be done, and so few willing to give of themselves.