Ndow Presents The Nevada Wild Podcast

Conservationist and New Foundland native Shane Mahoney has over 30 years of experience working primarily as a scientist, wildlife manager, policy innovator and strategic adviser. You may also recognize him as a filmmaker, writer, narrator, TV and radio personality, and lecturer. In this week's Nevada Wild, Shane stopped by NDOW's headquarters during a visit to Nevada to talk to Aaron Keller and Ashley Sanchez about his upbringing and background, his company Conservation Visions Inc., and its mission to create a world where everyone does their part in conservation in order to effect positive change for wildlife and humanity.

Each year hundreds of student archers representing schools across the state take part in the Nevada Department of Wildlife's National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) State Tournament. By the time the tournament is over, competing archers will have nearly fired 32,000 arrows! In this week's Nevada Wild, Aaron Keller reflects back on this year's tournament, which took place this week in Las Vegas, with NDOW's Statewide Archery Coordinator Holly Brisendine and Southern Nevada Conservation Education Supervisor Doug Nielsen. They also explain the tournament, why archery is a sport that all kids can excel in, and how you can get your kids involved in the sport as a teacher or a parent. Here's how you can get NASP started at your school: https://www.naspschools.org/opportunities/bring-nasp-to-school

The Nevada Department of Wildlife is partnering up with Nothing To It! Culinary Center to host two cooking events on February 22 that will give participants tips and techniques to get their game successfully from the field to the table in meals they’ll be proud to serve family and friends. The first, starting at 10:30 a.m., is a cooking demonstration that will cover topics including game care, processing and storage; proper use of spices and marinades and the differences in handling and preparing wild game vs. domestic meats. For the second class, which will take place that afternoon at 2:30, we're partnering up with Wild Sheep Foundation to teach kids how to cook wild game. In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with Kristy Crabtree with Nevada Foodies, Nothing To It Chef Lara Ritchie and the Wild Sheep Foundation's Ryan Brock to talk about the classes, why they are important, and how you can take part in them.

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) is one of the fastest growing conservation organizations on the continent. Members are dedicated to keeping public lands in North America healthy and accessible. In this week's Nevada Wild, NDOW's Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with Russell Kuhlman, David Gough and Kyle Davis with Backcountry Hunters and Anglers to talk about the organization's history and mission, some of the Nevada chapter's upcoming events and awareness efforts, how you can get involved and more!

Ice fishing season is here! For those anglers new to ice fishing, you are in for a surprise. It is relaxing, quite easy and much more social than its warm weather cousin.  In this week's Nevada Wild, NDOW's Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller talk to eastern Nevada's Conservation Educator Joe Doucette and southern Nevada Angler Education Coordinator Abbey Czarnecki about the best ice fishing locations around the state, ice fishing tips, upcoming events and more!

It's a new decade and NDOW has a lot going on moving into 2020! In this week's Nevada Wild NDOW's Aaron Keller and Ashley Sanchez sit down with NDOW Director Tony Wasley. They talk about major projects the Department took part in 2019, like wildlife safety crossings, the support for Recovering America's Wildlife Act (a bill that would direct $1.4 billion to state conservation efforts), and more. They also look ahead to the upcoming year and discuss what anglers, hunters and wildlife enthusiasts can look forward to in 2020! If you want to show your support for Recovering America's Wildlife Act as mentioned in this podcast, head to ournatureusa.com.

You may not realize the Nevada Department of Wildlife has engineers who are dedicated to maintaining, improving and creating new infrastructure that improves recreational opportunities in Nevada. In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with NDOW Engineer Bob Ragar and Chief Engineer Rodd Lighthouse. The guests explain their role in the Department, why it is so important, and what projects their working on now that will benefit you.

The season opener for fishing at Topaz Lake is January 1. For many this has become a New Year's Day tradition. In this Nevada Wild Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with fisheries biologists Kris Urquhart and Chris Crookshanks to talk about fishing conditions at Topaz Lake, an underutilized fishery at the lake, and how anglers can give their input on a year-round season being considered for the lake.

Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (H.R. 3742) is a federal bill that would provide states with $1.4 billion each year to more fully implement state wildlife action plans (SWAPs). If passed, Nevada would receive at least $23 million to put toward wildlife management and conservation, funding for law enforcement, conservation education, recreation, habitat restoration in addition to management of priority species, including mule deer, bighorn sheep, sage grouse, waterfowl, songbirds, reptiles, native fish and amphibians, and many mammals. After this podcast episode was recorded the bill gained even more cosponsors. Currently, there are 162 bipartisan cosponsors on the bill, including Representatives Mark Amodei and Stephen Horsford of Nevada. In this week's Nevada Wild Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with NDOW's Wildlife Diversity Division Administrator Jen Newmark to talk about what this bill could mean for wildlife not only in Nevada, but nationwide, and what you can do to support it.

National Audubon's Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is the nation's longest-running citizen science bird project. Over a century's worth of data has been collected since the project began, and now it's as much of a tradition for many friends and families as it is a massive scientific project. In this week's Nevada Wild, NDOW's Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with Lahontan Audubon Society's Jim Woods and Rob Lowry to talk about local bird counts, how you can get involved and the significance of the Christmas Bird Count to scientific research. Find a CBC near you here: https://www.nevadaaudubon.org/

NDOW funds improvements at shooting ranges across Nevada to make them safer and more accessible to the community. This funding also allows for more facilities to host Hunter Education classes. Soon NDOW will be accepting applications from communities for grants that would go toward needed improvements at their local shooting range. In this week's Nevada Wild, NDOW's Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with Conservation Education Division Administrator Chris Vasey to talk about the importance of having safe, accessible shooting ranges in Nevada, NDOW's involvement in the funding process, and how communities can apply for a grant for a shooting range near them.

Nevada's state-owned Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) are home to many resident and migratory birds and mammals. Found throughout the state and generally less than two hours from populated areas in Nevada, WMAs offer a variety of recreational opportunities including waterfowl and upland game hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing. This week's Nevada Wild focuses on northern Nevada's Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area. Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with Western Complex Wildlife Area Supervisor Isaac Metcalf and Wildlife Staff Specialist Mike Zahradka to talk about the recreational opportunities at Mason Valley, how NDOW manages these 18,000 acres of public land, and provide some tips to hunters headed out to Mason Valley this waterfowl and upland game season.

Black Friday weekend is almost here! That means soon people will rush to the stores to find the best deals on 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 Aaron Keller sit down with Conservation Education Division Administrator Chris Vasey, and Nevada Wild regular Julie Watson to share gift ideas for hunters, anglers, and anyone who just enjoys spending time outside.

With many hunters bringing home their harvested game, and the holidays approaching, we thought it was the perfect time of year to share our favorite wild game recipes. In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with NDOW Engineer and 2019 Chili Cook-off Winner Bob Ragar. We share some creative recipes for both small game and big game. Bob also explains some easy recipes for those who are new to cooking, and we discuss ways to utilize all of the meat from your harvested animal.

The bighorn sheep herd in Nevada's Stillwater Range is so healthy, NDOW has relocated 51 wild sheep to establish a new herd in unoccupied habitat in the Mineral Mountains of Utah. Last week we captured the sheep in Nevada, and then transported them to Utah. In this week's Nevada Wild Aaron Keller and Ashley Sanchez sit down with NDOW Staff Specialist Mike Cox to talk about the project, more capture and transplant projects coming up within Nevada, and shares how you can get involved.

We're celebrating Bat Week and Halloween in this week's spooky edition of Nevada Wild. Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with NDOW Diversity Biologist Jason Williams to talk about his extensive work with bats roosting in caves and mines. Jason also explains some of the other findings he's made in his cave explorations over the years!

Fall is one of the best times of year for fishing across the state, and Nevada fisheries are thriving! Whether it's a stream or a lake, NDOW biologists are able to determine the health of fish populations in different bodies of water with a process called electroshocking. In this week's Nevada Wild, Aaron Keller and Ashley Sanchez sit down with NDOW Fisheries Biologists Chris Crookshanks and Travis Hawks to talk about electroshocking. They explain how it works, where we do these projects and why, and how you can get involved.

Fall is well underway, which means bears have entered hyperphagia. This means they're trying to fatten up for the upcoming winter, ultimately needing up to 25,000 calories a day! Ensuring that the community is living responsibly in Bear Country is a team effort, and requires NDOW to work with different agencies to educate the public and locate problems spots, where attractants are bringing bears into urban areas. One partner that has greatly helped NDOW in its mission is Douglas Disposal, Douglas County's refuse collection service. In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with NDOW Bear Biologist Carl Lackey and Douglas Disposal's Boomer Schultz to talk about how they work together to help residents understand the importance of securing their trash, and what you can do to help us keep Nevada bears wild.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife is rolling out the second year of its Nevada Knockout program. Thirty-two animals who call Nevada home have been chosen to compete in a single elimination tournament. Kind of like March Madness, but with animals! The program encourages not only students to learn about wildlife, but the entire public. This year more than 3,000 students across the state will complete the program. The general public can also take part in Nevada Knockout by filling out a bracket, which has been posted on NDOW's Facebook page. The first battles will be posted on September 30th, with more battles to follow every Monday. In this week's Nevada Wild, Aaron Keller and Ashley Sanchez sit down with NDOW Wildlife Educator Julie Watson to explain the program, its purpose and its success and growth since it started last year!

Nevada's waterfowl season is kicking off this weekend in part of the state, and quickly approaching in others. In this week's Nevada Wild NDOW's Aaron Keller and Ashley Sanchez sit down with NDOW Waterfowl Biologist Russell Woolstenhulme and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 8 Waterfowl Biologist Chris Nicolai to talk about the work the agencies do to understand and manage waterfowl populations in the state. They also talk about what hunters can expect for the season, and go over tips and great spots for waterfowl hunting. Buy your hunting license today at ndowlicensing.com. Find season dates and information here: http://www.eregulations.com/nevada/small-game/