Ndow Presents The Nevada Wild Podcast

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/

National Public Lands Day (NPLD) is the nation's largest single-day volunteer effort. It celebrates the connection between people and green space in their community, inspires environmental stewardship, and encourages use of open space for education, recreation, and general health. While the event is officially recognized this year on September 28, a number of events and volunteer opportunities will be hosted by different agencies on that date and in the week leading up to it. In this week's Nevada Wild, NDOW's Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller talk to Gabby Lukins with the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM)Winnemucca District and Walker River State Recreation Area Park Supervisor Randy Denter about events and volunteer opportunities happening around the state. These include the Walker River State Recreation Area's One-Year Anniversary Celebration and multiple community clean-ups organized by BLM.

Very few people are willing to sacrifice so much of their personal time for wildlife as Brett K. Jefferson, who has made a second career for himself by volunteering his time for conserving wildlife. He has a long and productive history of working with numerous bighorn sheep non-governmental organizations including the Wild Sheep Foundation, Fraternity of the Desert Bighorn, Nevada Bighorns Unlimited (NBU) – Reno, Fallon – NBU, NBU – Midas, and Elko Bighorns Unlimited. His work coordinating partnerships and fundraising has made him a powerhouse in getting conservation projects done. Jefferson's notable work and commitment to wildlife will be recognized during the September Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners meeting in Las Vegas, where he will receive the Commission’s 2018 Wayne E. Kirch Conservation Award. In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with Jefferson and NDOW's Wildlife Education Coordinator Julie Watson to talk about the award and the work Jefferson has done to

Upland Game hunters... it's that time of year! September 1 (this Sunday!)is the opener for dove, ruffed grouse, blue grouse, Himalayan snowcock and crow. On top of that, many more upland game seasons are approaching! In this week's Nevada's Wild Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with NDOW Upland Game Staff Specialist Shawn Espinosa and Migratory Game Bird Staff Specialist Russell Woolstenhulme to talk about the upcoming upland game seasons, population numbers for a variety of the major species and some tips that may help lead to a successful bird hunting trip for you, your family and friends.

A joint Nevada Department of Wildlife(NDOW) and Nevada Department of Transportation(NDOT) initiative to install wildlife safety crossings in northeastern Nevada has received the Federal Highway Administration 2019 Environmental Excellence Award. The award recognizes nine crossings on I-80 between Wells and Wendover and US-93 between Wells and Jackpot. In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with NDOT wildlife biologist Nova Simpson and NDOW Wildlife Staff Sepcialist Mike Cox to talk about the award, how the crossings are benefiting drivers and wildlife, and how they hope to see more projects like this in the future.

NDOW's Wildlife Educators are rolling out a brand new program in classrooms across the state. The program, Know Your Nevada, is aimed at educating 4th grade students on state symbols and the importance of conservation in the state. In this week's Nevada Wild Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with Wildlife Educators Julie Watson and Jess Heitt to talk about the program, how it benefits students and how classes can get involved. The hosts are also quizzed on how well they know their Nevada!

This summer we've seen videos of swarms of grasshoppers all over the news and social media. This is also the time of year people are spending more time outside and more likely to get a bug bite! In this week's Nevada Wild, Aaron Keller and Ashley Sanchez sit down with Southern Nevada Wildlife Diversity Biologist Christy Klinger to talk about how these pesty insects impact wildlife, including bats and the yellow-billed cuckoo. The also address how these species keep insect populations in check!

The state of Nevada has passed a new law in its ongoing efforts to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD), a nervous system disease that affects deer, moose, elk and reindeer. Senate Bill 85 restricts hunters who have harvested specific game species in other states from bringing certain parts of the carcass into Nevada. CWD has not been detected in Nevada, but biologists continue to monitor our mule deer and elk populations. In this week’s Nevada Wild Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with NDOW Game Division Administrator Brian Wakeling and NDOW Veterinarian Peregrine Wolff to talk about the disease, prevention efforts including Senate Bill 85, how hunters can do their part to prevent the spread of CWD, and why their help is so important.

Chief Game Warden Tyler Turnipseed has been at service with NDOW since 1992. Last week was bittersweet for NDOW staff after Tyler announced he will retire from the agency in early August. In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with Tyler to take a look back at his nearly 30 years with NDOW, the legacy he's leaving behind, and what's in store for his future. He also gives some great advice to those looking to follow in his footsteps as a game warden.

Every summer, NDOW staff and volunteers head to western Nevada's beautiful Marlette Lake for the annual Marlette Lake Broodstock Spawning Project. The eggs we get from this project provide our fish hatcheries with most of the trout we stock in waters across the state. In this week's Nevada Wild NDOW's Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with Native Aquatic Staff Specialist Chris Crookshanks and Western Region Fisheries Supervisor Kim Tisdale to explain the project, its history, its importance to recreational fishing in Nevada, and how you can get involved.