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Churchill County advisory board opposes petition seeking tighter trapping rules for mountain lions
Summary
The Churchill County Wildlife Advisory Board voted to oppose a petition to the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners that sought changes to trapping rules intended to reduce incidental mountain lion captures, require trapper education and improve reporting of non-target captures.
The Churchill County Wildlife Advisory Board voted by voice to oppose a citizen petition asking the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners to adopt multiple changes to trapping regulations, including shorter trap-check intervals for some sets, mandatory trapper education for new licensees and expanded collection of non-target capture data.
The petition was described in the meeting as having been filed with the state by petitioners who sought action on incidental mountain-lion captures and other trapping rules. A board member summarized the board’s position before making the motion: “I don’t see any sense in going all the way through that petition. It’s a lot of pages of nothing but falsehoods, undocumented, unsubstantiated claims,” the board member said, and moved that the board oppose the petition. The motion passed on a voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the minutes.
Local trappers and residents who addressed the board said the proposed changes would harm working trappers and predator-control arrangements. Trapper Jim Saleen said a switch to a 24-hour trap-check requirement would be impractical for trappers who long-line trap for a living and rely on 96-hour checks to manage mechanical breakdowns and illness: “If it goes to a 24 hour check, that’s the only place we’re gonna be able to trap. If we get sick, or our truck breaks down on a 24 hour check, we’re in trouble,” Saleen said. He also described long-standing use of trapping to support livestock protection under contract work and urged parity between private trappers and government-contracted removals.
Board discussion referenced the regulatory path needed for some proposed changes. A board member noted that changing the statutory trap-check interval from 96 hours to 24 hours would require legislative action: “The Fish and Game Commission cannot change from 96 to 24. That’s a state statute. It’d have to go through the legislature,” the speaker said.
The board’s formal action — a motion to oppose the petition — was submitted and seconded and approved by voice vote. The board did not record individual yea/nay votes in the meeting transcript.
The board moved on to other agenda items after the vote.
