Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Predation Plan Elk Seasons topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Advisory board approves 2026 predation plan and backs season adjustments for several elk units
Summary
The Elko County advisory board supported the Department of Wildlife's draft fiscal‑year 2026 predation management plan and approved a set of seasonal changes and a companion motion to add a mid‑season cow hunt in Unit 06/02 and to realign several early cow/spike seasons and muzzleloader allocations in adjacent units.
The Elko County Advisory Board on Wildlife voted to support the Nevada Department of Wildlife's draft fiscal‑year 2026 predation management plan and, after extended debate, approved a package of season adjustments intended to improve cow harvest effectiveness in several elk management units.
On the predation plan, Department staff explained that reduced revenues meant fewer defined projects this year and that the department sought more flexible, regionally targeted projects. Scott Roberts, regional biologist, said recent collars and surveys show improving fawn recruitment in many unit groups and that some previously listed projects (for example in Unit 07/04) had not yielded measurable benefits relative to disease impacts.
The board voted to support the proposed FY2026 predation management plan by voice vote.
A longer discussion followed on proposed big‑game season dates and weapon‑group allocations for elk in several unit groups, especially units referenced in the transcript as 06/01, 06/02, 07/01, 07/02, 07/03, 07/04 and 07/05 (department notation). Department staff described concerns about animals moving across administrative unit boundaries during certain season windows, creating a “refuge” where elk would be out of harvest pressure on one side of the line while being hunted on the other.
Scott Roberts and Travis Allen (NDOW) presented collar and harvest data indicating that collared elk spent substantial portions of the historic muzzleloader cow season outside of Unit 06/71 (across the boundary into adjacent units). Staff proposed realigning seasons to synchronize cow‑harvest opportunities across unit boundaries and to allow a more concentrated mid‑season effort where needed.
After debate about hunter opportunity, success rates and biological objectives, the advisory board approved a motion to implement the following changes for the coming regulatory cycle:
• Add a mid‑season antlerless (cow) hunt in Unit 06/02 from October 5 through October 21 to provide a more effective window for antlerless harvest in that area.
• Eliminate the short muzzleloader cow hunt previously scheduled in portions of Units 07/02, 07/04 and 07/05 and fold those early dates into a single "early" any‑legal‑weapon cow and spike hunt running September 17 through October 4, increasing the effective hunter pressure during that window.
Department staff said quota and specific tag numbers for each weapon group will be set using the department's harvest reporting and objectives, and will be adjusted annually as data come in.
Board members who opposed the change said recent seasons had, in their view, produced acceptable elk conditions in some areas and warned that shifting days and weapon groups could reduce the perceived value of short specialty hunts; proponents said synchronized seasons would better address animals crossing unit boundaries and improve population management.
The motion adopting the mid‑season addition and season realignment passed by voice vote; the board recorded its support for the predation management plan in a separate voice vote earlier in the meeting.
