Commission approves petitions, release plans and multiple regulation updates; minutes accepted

The Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners handled a slate of administrative and regulatory items Sept. 19, approving a petition to amend archery disability permit rules, adopting biennial game-release and fishing-season regulations, accepting an elk management addendum and approving several commission general regulations. The board also took no action on a proposed master-guide accountability modification.

Key actions at a glance (motions carried or recorded at the meeting):

- Petition to amend Nevada Administrative Code (NAC) 503.1465 regarding archery disability permits: The commission voted to accept a petition filed by Gregory Dicker, Kimberly Decker, Tracy Lee Pinter and James Thomas Pinter to distinguish temporary and permanent disabilities and to recommend establishing expiration dates for temporary permits. The motion to accept the petition carried on voice vote. The petition notes that currently permanent disability permits are treated like temporary permits and may require annual reapplication; the petition seeks to separate permanent versus temporary status and set expiration for temporary permits.

- Master guide and sub-guide accountability (agenda item 7b): Commissioners voted to take no action on the proposed regulatory modifications; a motion to take no action carried on voice vote. Meeting discussion noted the department would present potential modifications but that no supporting language was attached to the agenda item.

- Pronghorn/prong hoe translocation and biennial big game release plans: The commission approved sending 100 pronghorn to a tribal recipient (translocation request referenced in the packet) and approved the fiscal-year 2026–2027 biennial big game release plan, including several translocations described in the staff materials. One referenced request was for a tribe seeking 100 antelope from Nevada; another item described receiving 75 animals as part of the release plan.

- Commission General Regulation 5-28 (motor restrictions and fisheries revisions): Approved. Staff said the Western Region proposal includes a no-motor restriction (including electric motors) for Battle Born Pond in Washoe County because it is in a residential area and there are safety and noise concerns.

- Commission General Regulation 5-24 (bonus points associated with junior hunt applications): Approved. The change removes junior points as a separate bonus-point category and allows unused junior bonus points to transfer when an applicant turns 18.

- Commission Regulation 25-16 (fishing seasons and regulations, Jan. 1, 2026–Dec. 31, 2027): Approved. Discussion included questions about possession limits (staff confirmed possession limits are two times the daily limit for the body of water where fish were caught) and changes to a striped bass minimum-length rationale at Lake Mead and Lake Mohave, which staff said was supported by long-term angler creel surveys.

- Adaptive population objectives addendum No. 2 to the elk species management plan: Approved. The commission created an adaptive-objectives committee and accepted the addendum as described in staff materials.

Also: the commission approved minutes of the June 11 and Aug. 13 meetings.

Notes and follow-ups: Several approvals were voice votes and the transcript does not supply numerical tallies. Where staff or packet materials were referenced, commissioners sometimes noted supporting documents were not attached to the agenda item; staff indicated they would present potential modifications or follow-up research on items that returned.

Formal actions recorded in the meeting minutes will provide the official record of motion text and final vote tallies.