Is Nevada’s Wildlife Commission on the brink of extinction?
Board sides with ranchers, hunters on wild horse roundups and coyote killing contests!
The Nevada Wildlife Commission’s endorsement Friday of a plan to remove 75% of wild horses and burros from the state’s public lands, along with its refusal to consider a ban on controversial coyote killing contests, are both out of step with the desires of residents and tourists and could hasten efforts to revamp the board, say critics.
The Commission is dominated by hunting and ranching interests under a statutory scheme that requires it to have five “sportsmen,” i.e. hunters, fishermen or trappers who have purchased a license in three of the past four years, one rancher, one farmer, one conservationist, and one member of the public.
The lopsided membership, critics say, renders the board ineffective and preoccupied with looking out for ranchers and hunters at the peril of the wildlife it is charged with protecting. Read More…