Carson City Advisory Board to Manage Wildlife Meeting – May 4, 2026
Carson City Advisory Board to Manage Wildlife Meeting – May 4, 2026
The Carson City Advisory Board to Manage Wildlife met on May 4, 2026, from 5:31 PM to 6:12 PM. The board discussed a proposal from the Churchill County Advisory Board regarding the use of trained blood trailing dogs and unmanned aerial systems (drones), received updates from the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners meetings, and voted on several consent agenda items including appeals of subguide license denials, big game quotas, and black bear quotas.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes Approval (March 11, 2026): Approved unanimously.
- Consent Agenda Items 9A through 9H and 9K through 9L: Approved unanimously without discussion.
Public Comments & Testimony
- A board member raised questions about enforcement of the proposed drone and dog regulations. Board members expressed support for the use of certified blood trailing dogs but opposed the use of unmanned aerial systems, citing concerns about abuse and enforcement challenges. No formal public comment was received from the audience.
Discussion Items
- Proposal from Churchill County Advisory Board: The board discussed a written proposal to adopt regulations authorizing trained blood trailing dogs and unmanned aerial systems (including thermal imaging) for tracking wounded game. Board members were generally supportive of certified blood trailing dogs but opposed drones, citing potential for abuse and enforcement difficulties. The board decided to wait for the May 8–9, 2026 Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners meeting to voice their position: support for certified blood trailing dogs, opposition to unmanned aerial systems.
- Update from March 13–14, 2026 Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners Meeting (Boulder City): A board member reported:
- Daniel King’s appeal of a subguide license denial was denied; the commission upheld the penalty despite King’s argument that the infraction occurred before he became a guide.
- Tyler Hubbard’s case was dismissed, preventing further action.
- The commission supported denial of ranging scopes and thermals.
- Significant cow elk tag increases in units 060, 061, 071, 076–091, 072–074, and 11–115 due to fire impacts and population trends.
- Predator fee of $1.1 million, 63% for lethal removal ($723,000) and $60,000 for upland bird contributions.
- A Utah State University study on mountain lion diet showed 95% preference for a single prey type with little crossover.
- Update on Carson City Urban Wildlife Committee: No formal report, but a board member noted increased rattlesnake presence and bites in the area, attributed to colder weather.
- Reports and Informational Items (8A–8E): No discussion; items were straightforward.
- Attendance at Upcoming Commission Meetings: The board discussed sending representatives to the May 8–9, 2026 meeting in Reno (covered) and the June 26–27, 2026 meeting in Winnemucca (to be determined at the next meeting).
Key Outcomes
- Item 9I – Appeal of Braxton Billabo (subguide license denial): Approved unanimously to support the denial.
- Item 9J – Appeal of Paul Padilla (subguide license denial): Approved unanimously to support the denial.
- Item 9M – Big Game Quotas for 2026–2027: The board heard detailed input from NDOW biologist Carl, who explained:
- Mule deer quotas in units 192 and 194 are reduced slightly due to poor herd recovery from a hard winter and ongoing development; unit 192 sees a decrease while 194 remains unchanged.
- Unit 195 has severe impacts from feral horses (estimated 4,000 horses) and few deer.
- Unit 291 (Pine Nuts) has a recovering deer herd; quota reduced by 10 any-legal-weapon tags to avoid overharvest.
- Sheep in unit 195: population estimated at 218, with good ram ratios, but horses are encroaching on habitat.
- Turkeys in the Pine Nuts: successful release of 26 hens in 2026, with reproduction observed; previous release of 36 birds (including toms) appears to be integrating. The board voted unanimously to support the quotas as proposed.
- Item 9N – Black Bear Quotas for 2026: No change from previous year. NDOW biologist noted the population is stable; 12 bears harvested in 2025, 28 killed by vehicles. Board voted unanimously to support the quotas as written.
- Meeting Adjourned at 6:12 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Before twenty twenty six meeting starting at five thirty one PM. Just to notice to the public, members of the public you wish to view the meeting may watch the live stream with the Carson City Advisory Board Managed Wildlife Meeting at Carson City.gov front dashes and by clicking on in progress next to the meeting date and or by tuning in to cable channel one ninety one. Chair Fleming. From the roll call, I would like to jump to Pledge of Allegiance. And to the Republic, to which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. All right. Let's go ahead and move on to public comment. I'll take any in person. Any online. Okay. Since we did receive this from the Churchill County Advisory Board to manage wildlife, it is in a writing to respectfully propose the board consider adopting regulations authorizing the controlled use of trained blood trailing dogs and unmanned aerial systems. I guess we can just keep this open right now. For this is the place to talk about it as public comment on how the board sits feels. Ideas, thoughts. I just have questions to how this is going to be enforced. I don't really know how much it could be enforced, is the issue, right? And then I think the biggest concern I see with this is just the opening up of the door, right? With the drones. Yeah, what is it between catching someone with the drone that's out there saying, hey, shot would have got this instead of discussing. Yeah. That's kind of more. Or I see the trained blood dog. I don't know. Yeah, we've talked about this in the past. And I if there's some sort of certifying there actually are certified certifying bodies out there for this type of training. And if that was something to be adopted, I wouldn't be against it. But as we discussed, it's uh there's too much room for abuse in regards to drones. Especially how you they want thermal. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I don't I don't have a problem with the dogs. That the drones are what's kind of setting me back on this, also. So are there groups that certify dogs to do this? There are groups that do that, yeah. And it's and it's uh like in Africa, they use like two dogs most of the time they're Jack Russell's or other type of small dogs to trail. Um I don't know what all they're using in America, they're probably using hounds and stuff more than anything. So do we have any appetite then where we want to because we can't really take any action here, but we can respond back as a board to them, correct? That's correct. Is there something that we want to put our name on it in regards to yeah, the trained blood trailing dogs, but not the unmanned aerial systems, or is this just something that we want to let stay that we're not for the drones, but we're really not gonna throw our hat in the ring? Yeah, I mean, if if it could be if this is being discussed at the commission meeting, or if they wanted like a response from us, I think I mean pretty much we're with the right certification. I think we're all good with the blood training dogs for the most part. Yeah, go ahead. Why turn your bike on Dorsey? If they can't track it a large animal through the rocks and stuff, how are they gonna trade it track a small dog? So the dog actually tracks the scent of the blood. I know so they've they the dog will follow the scent and alert somehow, either barking or waiting for the handler to show up. Oh, that's that's all they do. They just track the blood smell. I think she's saying along the lines of if they can't track that, how are they gonna train a dog and get that and they're gonna find it and do that?
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