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Committee approves predation funding shift and big-game plans, opposes proposed coyote contest regulation
Summary
The committee approved a predation funding amendment that shifts money toward lethal control, accepted the FY26 predation plan draft, approved the biannual big-game release plan and multiple quota proposals, and voted to oppose proposed regulations on coyote hunting contests.
At the meeting the committee approved several management and budget actions and formally opposed a proposed regulation change for coyote hunting contests.
On predation management the committee approved Amendment No. 1 to the fiscal-year 2025 Predation Management Plan, which shifts funding between existing projects; members noted the amendment includes a substantial increase for project 37 (big-game protection/mountain lion work), which one member described as “an increase of a hundred thousand dollars.” The committee then accepted the final draft of the fiscal-year 2026 Predation Management Plan.
The committee discussed proposed rules for coyote hunting contests and ultimately approved a motion to formally oppose the proposed regulation options. Two alternatives had been circulated: (1) require individual participants in coyote contests to hold a valid hunting or trapping license; (2) require organizers to obtain a department permit and set a contest season (the draft cited September 1–March 31). One committee member called the draft a “slippery slope” and moved to oppose additional regulation; that motion passed by voice vote.
The committee also approved the biannual Big Game Release Plan (FY2024–25/2025–26) and a slate of quota recommendations and Commission Regulations: Commission Regulation 205-12 (2025 black bear quotas and harvest limits) and Commission Regulation 205-13 (big-game quotas for the 2025–26 season). Committee discussion included staff presentations on unit-level population indices, lamb/ram ratios for sheep units (some units remain low), and a detailed exchange about mule deer quotas: a staff speaker noted a recommended increase in some deer quotas to about 7,909 tags in response to recent population and hunter-success data; committee members discussed modeling and the effect of prior winter losses on quota comparisons.
Other business: the committee approved the travel budget for fiscal year 2025–26 and received an update on a potential statewide salvage permit for highway-killed wildlife (Senate Bill 215), which had passed a Senate committee and been docketed in the Assembly at the time of the meeting.
Votes at a glance - Approve Predation Management Plan Amendment No. 1 (funding reallocation, increase to Project 37): motion passed by voice vote. - Accept final draft of fiscal-year 2026 Predation Management Plan: motion passed by voice vote. - Oppose proposed regulations on coyote hunting contests (motion to oppose regulation options): motion passed by voice vote. - Approve biannual Big Game Release Plan (FY2024–25 / 2025–26) Amendment No. 4: motion passed by voice vote. - Approve Commission Regulation 205-12 (2025 black bear quotas and harvest limits): motion passed by voice vote. - Approve Commission Regulation 205-13 (big-game quotas for 2025–26 season), including antelope, elk, desert bighorn sheep, mountain goat, mule deer and moose quotas: motion passed by voice vote. - Approve travel budget for fiscal year 2025–26: motion passed by voice vote.
Several votes were routine approvals of department recommendations; where committee members asked questions they focused on measurable outcomes (e.g., lamb ratios, buck ratios and the difficulty of comparing quota columns when the commission modified prior recommendations). The committee recorded no roll-call vote counts in the transcript for these items; all recorded motions passed by voice vote.
