Ndow Presents The Nevada Wild Podcast

This week's Nevada Wild is shell-e-brating Wild Turtle Week! Hosts Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller talk to NDOW Wildlife Diversity Biologist Matt Flores and clear up some confusion around the difference between turtles and tortoises. He gives us an overview of Nevada species, and explains the threats they face. We're also joined by Christian Daniels, the creator of the Desert Balloon Project, a Facebook page that encourages everyone to do their part to clean up balloons and litter in the desert to protect desert tortoises and other wildlife. He talks about how he started this project and what you can do to help.

In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with NDOW Educators Zac Campbell, Jan Nemec, and Abbey Czarnecki to talk about carp fishing in Nevada! Abbey recaps the recent annual Carp Rodeo at Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, and Jan fills us in on the Kids Carp Derby on Saturday June 4, at Lahontan Reservoir, along with other western Nevada Carp Derbies this summer. Find information on the June 4 Kids Carp Derby here:https://www.register-ed.com/events/view/182658?fbclid=IwAR2F6eYWU6Rcl9y9XmISxq-CFWnNOyxHc58E3qrPngaYs9MUzGLm6aeLqbQ Keep an eye out for other upcoming events on ndow.org here: https://www.ndow.org/calendar/

Nevada's big game tag application period deadline is quickly approaching! In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller are joined by NDOW Conservation Educators Martin Olson and Julie Gabrielson to talk about frequently asked questions they've received about the application period, tools like NDOW's Big Game Application Seminar, and tips to follow when preparing to apply. Watch the Big Game Application Seminar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOVfvcn7CI4 Apply for tags until 11 p.m. May 10 at ndowlicensing.com.

This week's Nevada Wild goes on the road at Walker River State Recreation Area! Ashley Sanchez and Bobby Jones are joined by Nevada Division of Natural Heritage Botanist Janel Johnson as she leads a tour at the state recreation area to show NatureServe CEO and President Sean O'Brien around. This is one stop on Sean's journey across the country to visit with natural heritage agencies in different states to learn how we can all work together to achieve great outcomes for conservation. As discussed in this podcast, NatureServe works with a network of more than 60 organizations and over 1,000 conservation scientists to collect and analyze standardized information on imperiled species and ecosystems. The NatureServe Network includes the Nevada Division of Natural Heritage as the entity tracking rare species and ecosystems in Nevada. Janel and Sean explain the importance of their work, the role it plays in conservation, and much more! Sean also shares his trip highlights and what he found most unique about Nevada

NDOW has released a new hunt planning tool for hunters to use during Nevada's big game application period, which is now open at ndowlicensing.com. The tool, HuntNV, includes an interactive hunt unit map, harvest data, draw data, and bonus point data. The map can be filtered by many different hunt options. In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with HuntNV creator, NDOW's Mitch Gritts and NDOW Big Game Biologist Cody McKee. They walk us through HuntNV, explain its value to hunters, and how to use the data provided not only to apply for tags but to plan out your hunt. Explore the tool to start planning your adventure here: https://www.hunt.wildlifenv.com

For the opening week of Nevada's big game application period, and the conclusion of our Women's Month podcasts, we thought it was the perfect time to introduce two of our eastern Nevada game biologists. In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with NDOW Game Biologists Sarah Hale and Samantha Fino. The two explain how they recently became biologists at NDOW, their backgrounds and goals, and give encouraging advice to women entering this field.

In this week's Nevada Wild, we continue our Women's Month celebration with guest Cynthia Scholl. Cynthia is the Education Coordinator at University of Nevada, Reno's Museum of Natural History, and the Associate Director of Nevada Bugs and Butterflies. Cynthia fills NDOW's Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller in on both of her positions, her passion for bugs (especially butterflies!) and natural history, and explains how the two fields intertwine. She also talks about how she loves inspiring future generations of women to enter these career fields.

In this week’s Nevada Wild, we celebrate women who fish for Women’s Month! Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with NDOW Angler Educator Abbey Czarnecki and avid bass angler Ryan Pendarvis. Ryan explains her love of bass fishing, and how she got started with fishing and tournaments. Abbey fills us in on fishing hotspots in southern Nevada. They explain how to get started with fishing and find communities online who can support you in learning, and they encourage more women to get out there!

In this week's Nevada Wild Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with NDOW Big Game Biologists Kari Huebner and Travis Allen to provide an update on Nevada's growing moose population. Kari and Travis fill us in on the number of moose they have collared to help learn more about the animals, the number of sightings in an ongoing database, and the work they're doing to continue to learn more! They also explain how you can help.

In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller are joined by NDOW Fisheries Biologist Travis Hawks and Granite Construction Environmental Manager Tina Mudd to talk about a new trail that improves access to a portion of state land along the Truckee River in Sparks. NDOW partnered with the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail, Nevada Division of State Lands, Washoe County Regional Parks and Open Space, Granite Construction, and a private landowner to complete the new trail system in an undeveloped, underused area that connects to Washoe County’s Lockwood Park trail system. Granite Construction made a substantial donation in material, equipment, and labor to lay base material for a foot path, construct two bridges and install fencing. Travis and Tina explain how this new access will allow anglers and other recreationalists the ability to more easily enjoy the Truckee River, and why this project was so important to all partners involved.

NDOW’s James Lathrop and Wayne Capurro Memorial Internship program gives selected graduating Nevada high school seniors, college, or university students an opportunity to earn funds to support their college education, while receiving “on-the-job” training as a seasonal NDOW employee. This wonderful program is currently accepting applications! In this week’s Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller caught up with Wildlife Staff Specialist Russell Woolstenhulme and Nevada Bighorn Unlimited’s Chris Cefalu at the Sheep Show in Reno. They talk about the success of the program; explain how funding comes from two organizations, NBU and Nevada Wildlife Record Book; and highlight those organizations two founding members. Current NDOW biologist and former intern Josh Kirk joins the second half of the podcast to talk about his experience with the program and how it led to a career at NDOW. For an application and information on how to apply for the internship use the following link: https://www.ndow.org/blog/james

NDOW funds improvements at shooting ranges across Nevada to make them safer and more accessible to the community. We're now accepting applications for these funds from anyone who would like to see upgrades at their local shooting range. In this week's Nevada Wild, NDOW's Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller explain how this grant program works, how you can apply to have a shooting range near you funded, some examples of how this funding has worked in the past, and the need for safe, accessible shooting ranges throughout the state. View the application here: https://www.ndow.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Shooting-Range-Grant-Application-2022-1.pdf

This week's Nevada Wild was recorded on location at the Wild Sheep Foundation's Sheep Show, which takes place at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center and Peppermill Resort Spa & Casino through Saturday, January 15. In the spirit of Sheep Week, NDOW Bighorn Sheep Staff Specialist Mike Cox joined Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller to talk about the status of Nevada's bighorn sheep, the latest bighorn sheep hunt summaries, and work being done to keep the state's bighorn sheep populations healthy and growing! Learn more about the Sheep Show and register here: https://www.renoevents.com/events/detail/2022-wild-sheep-show

After 21 years of educating the public on NDOW's work, Conservation Educator Joe Doucette is retiring. Joe, a Nevada Wild podcast regular and familiar face to many Nevadans, ran educational programming in eastern Nevada. He spent years creating videos on NDOW's various projects and recording news segments to help share the agency's story. In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with Joe to look back at his time at NDOW, give NDOW's future employees some encouraging words, and talk about the adventures he's planning next!

The youth portion of the Wild Sheep Foundation's Sheep Show, the Youth Wildlife Conservation Experience (YWCE), is back! YWCE will take place during the Sheep Show at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center on January 13-15. School groups will attend a private experience on the first two days, then on January 15, YWCE opens up to the public for FREE! In this week’s Nevada Wild NDOW’s Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with the Wild Sheep Foundation’s Ryan Brock to talk what activities to expect at YWCE, and how there’s something for everyone from the outdoor enthusiast to the artist. Special guests Rilee and Dylan Brock(Ryan’s kids!), and their friend Gus join us to fill us in on their favorite activities at the event, and Dylan and Rilee tell us about some of the stations they’ll be leading for the first time this year! For more details on the event click here: https://www.wildsheepfoundation.org/mission-and-programs/youth-programs/ywce

In this week’s Nevada Wild, we’re covering a perfect way to get outdoors this winter, snowshoeing! NDOW’s Ashley Sanchez, Aaron Keller and Bobby Jones sit down with author of Snowshoeing Around Lake Tahoe, Kathryn Reed. Kathryn fills us in on great snowshoeing advice, the best places to go, and where you can find her book, along with her other books that focus on outdoor adventures around Lake Tahoe!

The cold weather and recent snow in northern Nevada means it's almost time for great ice fishing! In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller talk to Conservation Educator Joe Doucette about when waters will be safe for ice fishing, and which waters to head to when the time is right. They also go over ice fishing equipment and gear that could make great gifts for the angler in your life, and safety information to keep in mind when heading out on the ice. For fishing reports click here: https://www.ndow.org/get-outside/fishing/fishing-stocking-reports/database/?region=eastern&reports=fishing&show_all=false

In the spirit of NDOW’s 25 Days of Fishmas celebration, this week’s Nevada Wild covers Trout in the Classroom (TIC), a popular education program NDOW has put in classrooms for more than 20 years to teach students about the science, art, recreation and other values of fish and aquatic life. Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller talk with NDOW Angler Educators from across the state Abbey Czarnecki, Jan Nemec and Julie Gabrielson to explain what to expect for this year’s program, how your kids can join in on the fun even if they aren’t in a participating classroom, and how to sign up your student's class in the future. Learn more about TIC here: https://sites.google.com/view/troutintheclassroomonline/home

Black Friday weekend is here! That means people are rushing to the stores to find the perfect gifts for their family and friends. NDOW wanted to help you out with some gift ideas! In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Bobby Jones are joined by NDOW’s Amanda Perez and Eric Cachinero to share gift ideas for hunters, anglers, and anyone who enjoys spending time outdoors.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving next week, this Nevada Wild covers all things turkey. Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with Upland Game Staff Specialist Shawn Espinosa to talk about the history of Nevada's wild turkeys. Shawn explains how they got here, and where you can find turkeys in the state. They also cover turkey hunting and some fun turkey facts, like explaining what a snoods and wattles are!