Ndow Presents The Nevada Wild Podcast

There is no better excuse to explore Nevada than by celebrating Nevada Public Lands Day next Saturday, September 25. Nevada Public Lands Day, which also falls on National Public Lands Day (NPLD), encourages Nevadans to discover the many exciting and affordable recreation opportunities right in their own backyards. In this week's Nevada Wild, NDOW's Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller talk to Jenny Ramella, Kim Zuch, and Carson Fehner with Nevada State Parks to highlight parks you can explore near you, fun ways to celebrate your National Public Lands Day, and how to respect the outdoors while exploring. As Park Interpreters Kim highlights Washoe Lake and Carson highlights Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort and all the NPLD activities happening at and in the surrounding areas of both parks. To celebrate Nevada Public Lands Day, Nevada State Parks is waiving park fees, including entrance costs, camping, and for the day. Find a state park near you here: parks.nv.gov/ You can also look for virtual and in-person volunteer

In this weeks’ Nevada Wild, Aaron Keller and Ashley Sanchez are joined by NDOW Outdoor Connection Coordinator Bobby Jones and Outings Leader for Latino Outdoors Dagmar Galvan to discuss Hispanic Heritage Month. Dagmar tells us about her background and how she came to Las Vegas to pursue her career. The group has a great discussion on the importance of outdoor experiences for young and old. As a Latino Outdoors Outings Leader, Dagmar explains how she plans to engage with Latinx communities and share her passion for teaching the rich cultural history and archaeology that the Southwest and its environment has to offer.

NDOW's Conservation Education Division has a wide variety of education programming free for classrooms, homeschoolers, and after-school programs! In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with NDOW Wildlife Educator Jess Brooks and Urban Wildlife Coordinator Lauren MacLeod to talk about two programs classrooms will take part in this fall: Know Your Nevada, which teaches fourth-grade students all about Nevada's living state symbols and Nevada Knockout, NDOW’s award-winning animal battle program that gets students doing a deep dive on some of Nevada’s wildlife and what makes them so special. They also discuss other programs that are in the works, explain the importance wildlife and urban wildlife education and more! If you interested in putting these programs in your student's classrooms, fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScIZxUki28V-JSC1h4NvzTdPDlZFzkUbekntvq2DEp7xD-asQ/viewform?fbclid=IwAR1g3XvCco4IAHSWQvIex4SbC6KgeyUZUCKMvJ0GYkQMRZF9Q8dt-Ue1ODc

Upland Game hunters... it's that time of year! September 1 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, the best places for hunters to have success, and more!

NDOW is working on duck banding projects across Nevada through the end of September. NDOW uses these projects to capture waterfowl and place bands on them to help track the species and collect data. In this week’s Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with Migratory Game Bird Staff Specialist Russell Woolstenhulme to explain the duck banding process, why data from these bands is critical in making management decisions, how you can help us track our waterfowl populations, and more!

Bighorn sheep exist in the desert where no other native ungulates (hooved mammals) inhabit because of the limited water resources and plant life, and the rugged, precipitous terrain. But even desert bighorn sheep must drink water during the hottest months of the summer, which is why NDOW works with other land management agencies and conservation organizations to build “guzzlers” or water developments to provide water to bighorn sheep and other wildlife. In this week’s Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with Southern Nevada Game Supervisor Joe Bennett and Water Development Biologist Sam Hughes to talk about the importance of guzzlers, especially in the extreme drought conditions the state is experiencing, recent emergency water hauls to fill these water developments, the biology of bighorn sheep and more!

The Nevada Department of Wildlife is so lucky to be able to host Americorps members. Americorps is a nationwide community service program that gives young people a chance to gain professional experience while giving back to their communities. NDOW has been fortunate enough to attract really amazing members that have done invaluable work for the agency. In this week's Nevada Wild, Aaron Keller and Ashley Sanchez speak with NDOW Wildlife Education Coordinator Julie Bless, and Americorps Claire Clarke and Amanda Mulholland to talk about the importance of Americoprs within the agency, the work they're doing, and their future plans! If you're interested in becoming an Americorps, check out the links below. Southern Nevada: https://naaee.org/eepro/jobs/wildlife-educator-americorps-member-5 Western Nevada: https://naaee.org/eepro/jobs/wildlife-educator-americorps-member-6 Eastern Nevada: https://naaee.org/eepro/jobs/wildlife-educator-americorps-member-4

In this week's Nevada Wild, we're looking at the importance of preparing for your hunt as seasons begin to open across the state. Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller are joined by NDOW Big Game Staff Specialists Cody Schroeder and Mike Cox to talk about the best strategies for scouting, other critical ways to prepare for your hunt and more!

This week is Latino Conservation Week: Disfrutando y Conservando Nuestra Tierra, an initiative of Hispanic Access Foundation (HAF), to support the Latino community getting into the outdoors and participating in activities to protect our natural resources. In this week’s Nevada Wild, NDOW’s Ashley Sanchez and Bobby Jones sit down with Jessica Godinez from HAF’s Conservation Team to talk about Latino Conservation Week, the importance of this initiative and how to get involved. We also explain how HAF works toward providing Latino families and youth with outdoor recreation opportunities and removes barriers for them to get involved in conservation. Learn more here: http://latinoconservationweek.com/

In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller are joined by Wildlife Diversity Biologist Jason Jones to talk about the impact of drought conditions on reptiles, including snakes and Gila monsters. Jones clears up some common misconceptions, explains how important these critters are to Nevada's ecosystem, and walks you through what to do if you come across one.

The Summer Nevada Nature Blitz is underway, and anyone who wants to get outside this summer is invited to take part! This project is simple! The challenge is to record as much biodiversity as possible in northern Nevada during your outdoor adventures by downloading the iNaturalist app, join our project ‘Summer Nevada Nature Blitz’ and start snapping photos! In this week's Nevada Wild Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller are joined by NDOW's Julie Bless and Cynthia Scholl with the Museum Of Natural History UNR to talk about how easy it is to participate in the blitz, how observations can be used by real-life scientists to learn more about Nevada’s flora and fauna, prizes you have a chance at winning and more!

With summer in full swing, now is the perfect time to get out on the water and cast a line. In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with NDOW Angler Education Coordinators Jan Nemec, Joe Doucette, and Abbey Czarnecki. They cover fishing conditions on waters across Nevada, places to go to beat the heat, and provide new anglers with tips.

American Eagle Day (June 20th) is a special day to commemorate the anniversary of the bald eagle’s selection as our National Symbol and to celebrate its return to America’s skies. In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller are joined by Wildlife Diversity Staff Specialist Joe Barnes to talk about Nevada's eagles, the bald eagle and golden eagle. He talks about the work being done to manage these species, population sizes and a lot more! Learn more about American Eagle Day, and how to do your part to protect bald eagles and other species here: https://www.eagles.org/take-action/american-eagle-day/

After four decades with NDOW's Fisheries Division, Division Chief Jon Sjoberg is hanging up his waders! In this week's Nevada Wild, Jon joins Aaron Keller and Ashley Sanchez to reflect on his more than 40 years with the agency! He talks about the many positions he held around Nevada before landing in NDOW's Headquarters as the Fisheries Division Administrator, his favorite memories, success stories, even his favorite fish, and much more!

In this week's Nevada Wild, Aaron Keller and Ashley Sanchez are joined by NDOW's Wildlife Staff Specialist Mike Zahradka and Nevada Division of State Lands Administrator Charlie Donohue to talk about the recent announcement that more than 23,000 acres of wetlands and pasture in Churchill County has been transferred to the state. The area, referred to as Carson Lake and Pasture, will also soon be designated as NDOW's 12th Wildlife Management Area! The guests explain why and how this transfer happened, what it means for outdoor recreation and wildlife, what people who visit the wetlands can expect to see, and more!

The Nevada Outdoor Experience is back! The goal of the FREE event, co-sponsored by the Wild Sheep Foundation and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, is to excite and inspire the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts. In this week's Nevada Wild, Aaron Keller and Ashley Sanchez sit down with the Wild Sheep Foundation's Ryan Brock to go over event details, explain what activities to expect and why this is such a great event for families.

National Safe Boating Week begins Saturday, May 22 and runs through Friday, May 28. The national campaign partners state and federal agencies to promote safe boating during the week leading up to Memorial Day weekend. In this week's Nevada Wild, Aaron Keller and Ashley Sanchez are joined by Boating Education Coordinator Aaron Meier and Game Warden Captain Brian Bowles. The guests share tips that are critical to ensuring you and your family have a safe and enjoyable day out on the water.

In this week's Nevada Wild, NDOW's Ashley Sanchez, Aaron Keller and Bobby Jones sit down with Trout Unlimited (TU) biologist Jason Barnes to talk about the conservation work TU does, his role as a biologist, his passion for Nevada's native Lahontan Cutthroat Trout, and how he's dedicated his life to protecting the species. We also recommend checking out NDOW's Instagram page, nevadawildlife, to view Jason's Instagram takeover, where he shares the story of how he became a biologist, and a lot of other great adventures!

The Maison T Ortiz Youth Outdoor Skills Camp is back! Founded in 2011, the camp, near Pyramid Lake, is designed to immerse kids in outdoor skills training. The camp is named in honor and memory of Maison T Ortiz, a 15-year-old Galena High School student who tragically died in a snowboarding accident in January 2011. In this week's Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller sit down with Maison's father Tom Ortiz, and Conservation Educator Zac Campbell to talk about the history of the camp, what it means to Tom and other camp organizers to see the event grow year after year, NDOW's involvement, what changes campers can expect this year and more! Applications will be accepted until May 15. Apply to be a youth camper, junior mentor or volunteer here: https://www.mtoyouthoutdoorskills.com/camper-applications/ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the camp will be split into three three individual camp days on July 16. 17 and 18th. Learn more about the camp here: https://www.mtoyouthoutdoorskills.com/

In this Nevada Wild, Ashley Sanchez and Aaron Keller are joined by Chris Vasey and Martin Olson to talk all about the big game application period, why they wait so long to apply, and answer a bunch of FAQ’s they’ve been answering on the customer support phone line. They also discuss the big game application webinars and all of the new hunts for this year. You have until 11 p.m. PT on May 10 to apply for big game tags at ndowlicensing.com. You can view the Top 10 Big Game Tag Application Resources they refer to here: www.ndow.org/Hunt/Resources/ Also, if you have any questions about submitting a big game application or accessing your online profile you can call us 7am - 7pm, 7 days a week throughout the application period at 1-855-542-6369.