OUTDOOR BRIEFS

Beginners fishing clinic scheduled for July 28

The Nevada Department of Wildlife will be having a free fishing clinic for people of all ages at Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs on July 28. The clinic will begin at 9 a.m.

The clinic will cover basics such as casting skills, fish identification, bait and lure selection and basic knots. Students will also have the opportunity to put their new skills to the test. Participants 12 years old and older are required to have a Nevada fishing license. For more information and registration, contact Ivy Santee at 486-5127 ext. 3503, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

Take a day trip and see some wildlife

Day tripping in the outdoors is a popular recreational pursuit and can be a great way to view wildlife. By driving for just an hour or two, Nevadans can reach some beautiful outdoor sites well away from the city lights. Once there, you can participate in activities such as hiking or biking. Both are great ways to get up close to nature.

It may not seem like it at first glance, but wildlife does abound in the desert environment; seeing it is just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Having the right tools along can be a big a help.

“Remember to bring binoculars, a camera, and some good field guides to help you get more out of the experience,” said Brad Hardenbrook, supervising habitat biologist. “It’s just like getting a program for the show. Today’s field guides provide quality photographs to go along with written descriptions of the plants and wildlife that are found here in the desert and other places as well.”

The best viewing times are early in the morning and at dusk, said Hardenbrook. This is when the majority of animals are most active, especially during the summer when they search for cover in the hottest part of the day. Nocturnal animals are active at night, and can sometimes be seen with special lighting techniques.

The important thing to remember when viewing wildlife is to have patience. Wildlife moves on its own schedule. If you are in the outdoors, take a few minutes here and there to sit and wait.

Here are some general guidelines for wildlife viewing:

• While driving, stay on designated roads and avoid making new ones. Also, traveling single file when in a group of vehicles will prevent widening of the road. When returning from the site, follow the same route out.

• When hiking in to a site, follow designated trails and avoid impacting natural areas. The desert is fragile and takes a long time to recover from disturbances. It is best to walk single file and if there are no trails, keep to hard surfaces such as desert pavement or gravel, or walk in desert washes.

• When picnicking or camping, do it with as little impact to the natural habitat as possible. Digging beneath the soil can disturb animals that live in holes, and it can also disturb the soil ecology. Wildlife can also be affected by the movement of vegetation and rocks. It’s also best to avoid wetlands, caves, and steep slopes. And don’t leave food out for obvious reasons.

• Finally, consider the effect of dogs on the native wildlife. Dogs are best kept restrained and restricted to trails. Always pick up after your dog.

NEW TECHNOLOGY

NDOW goes high-tech to track mule deer

Nevada’s mule deer herds may start developing paranoia, believing that someone is watching and tracking their every move. In this case, they would be right.

Over the winter the Nevada Department of Wildlife began monitoring a new radio collar that contains a small GPS unit that generates coordinates of the animal every four hours and a transmitter to transmit the data via satellites to NDOW computers each day.

“Concern for the western Elko County deer herd’s critical wintering areas, especially after the 2006 catastrophic wildfires, prompted an effort to intensively monitor mule deer movements and their survival using satellite telemetry in real time,” said NDOW Wildlife Staff Specialist Mike Cox.

NDOW big game biologists captured 10 mule deer in December 2006 from specific subherds in the Bull Run, Independence, and Tuscaroa mountain ranges where the deer spend the summer. Cox reports that each subherd has a history of complex migration routes that they take from summer habitats to critical winter ranges, including suspected movements to Idaho.

The devastating fires in Area Six, a hunt unit in Elko County, also provided an opportunity to evaluate how deer maneuvered through the area and wintered in response to these massive burns.

Cox reports the objective of the project is to better understand specific staging areas and routes the deer use to migrate across the landscape. The collars proved valuable after last year’s devastating fires that destroyed large chunks of their historic winter range.

If you would like to see past deer movements tracked during the study, visit www.ndow.org.