Assembly Bill No. 47

Assembly Bill No. 47-Committee on Natural Resources, Agriculture and Mining

January 27, 1997
____________

Referred to Committee on Natural Resources, Agriculture and Mining

SUMMARY--Makes various changes relating to wildlife. (BDR 45-448)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.

Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: No.

EXPLANATION - Matter in italics is new; matter in brackets [ ] is material to be omitted.

AN ACT relating to wildlife; authorizing the board of wildlife commissioners to establish fees for certain tags, permits and seals to hunt, fish, trap or possess wildlife; abolishing regular and special seasons for hunting; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

~^
Section 1 NRS 501.181 is hereby amended to read as follows:
501.181 The commission shall:
1. Establish broad policies for:
(a) The protection, propagation, restoration, transplanting, introduction and management of wildlife in this state.
(b) The promotion of the safety of persons using or property used in the operation of vessels on the waters of this state.
(c) The promotion of uniformity of laws relating to policy matters.
2. Guide the division in its administration and enforcement of the provisions of this Title and of chapter 488 of NRS by the establishment of [such] those policies.
3. Establish policies for areas of interest including:
(a) The management of big and small game mammals, upland and migratory game birds, fur-bearing mammals, game fish, and protected and unprotected mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians.
(b) The control of wildlife depredations.
(c) The acquisition of lands, water rights and easements and other property for the management, propagation, protection and restoration of wildlife.
(d) The entry, access to, and occupancy and use of [such] that property, including leases of grazing rights, sales of agricultural products and requests by the administrator to the state land registrar for the sale of timber if the sale does not interfere with the use of the property on which the timber is located for wildlife management or for hunting or fishing thereon.
(e) The control of nonresident hunters.
(f) The introduction, transplanting or exporting of wildlife.
(g) Cooperation with federal, state and local agencies on wildlife and boating programs.
(h) The revocation of licenses issued pursuant to this Title to any person who is convicted of a violation of any provision of this Title or any regulation adopted pursuant thereto.
4. Establish regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this Title and of chapter 488 of NRS, including:
(a) [Regular and special seasons] Seasons for hunting game mammals and game birds, for hunting or trapping fur-bearing mammals and for fishing, the daily and possession limits, the manner and means of taking wildlife, including, but not limited to, the sex, size or other physical differentiation for each species, and, when necessary for management purposes, the emergency closing or extending of a season, reducing or increasing of the bag or possession limits on a species, or the closing of any area to hunting, fishing or trapping. The regulations must be established after first considering the recommendations of the division, the county advisory boards to manage wildlife and others who wish to present their views at an open meeting.
(b) The manner of using, attaching, filling out, punching, inspecting, validating or reporting tags.
(c) The delineation of game management units embracing contiguous territory located in more than one county, irrespective of county boundary lines.
(d) The number of licenses issued to nonresidents for big game and, if necessary, other [game species for the regular and special seasons.] species of game.
5. Adopt regulations requiring the division to make public, before official delivery, its proposed responses to any requests by federal agencies for its comment on drafts of statements concerning the environmental effect of proposed actions or regulations affecting public lands.
6. Adopt regulations:
(a) Governing the provisions of the permit required by NRS 502.390 and for the issuance, renewal and revocation of [such a] that permit.
(b) Establishing the method for determining the amount of an assessment and the time and manner of payment [,] necessary for the collection of the assessment required by NRS 502.390.
7. Designate those portions of wildlife management areas for big game mammals that are of special concern for the regulation of the importation, possession and propagation of alternative livestock pursuant to NRS 576.129.
Sec. 2 NRS 501.3575 is hereby amended to read as follows:
501.3575 1. The wildlife heritage trust account is hereby created in the state general fund. The money in the account must be used by the division as provided in this section for the protection, propagation, restoration, transplantation, introduction and management of any game fish, game mammal, game bird or fur-bearing mammal in this state.
2. [Money] Except as otherwise provided in NRS 502.250, money received by the division from:
(a) A bid, auction or partnership in wildlife drawing conducted pursuant to NRS 502.250; and
(b) A gift of money made by any person to the wildlife heritage trust account,
must be deposited with the state treasurer for credit to the account.
3. The interest and income earned on the money in the wildlife heritage trust account, after deducting any applicable charges, must be credited to the account.
4. The division may annually expend from the wildlife heritage trust account an amount of money not greater than the interest earned on the money in the account during the previous year. The commission shall review and approve expenditures from the account. No money may be expended from the account without the prior approval of the commission.
5. The commission shall administer the provisions of this section and may adopt any regulations necessary for that purpose.
Sec. 3 NRS 502.130 is hereby amended to read as follows:
502.130 [1. In addition to the regular hunting licenses and trapping licenses provided for in this chapter, additional licenses, to be known as tags, are required to hunt any deer, elk, antelope, mountain sheep or bear.
2. Whenever it is] If determined by the commission [that it is] to be necessary for the correct management [:
(a) Tags also] of wildlife in this state, additional licenses, to be known as tags, permits or seals, may be required by the commission to hunt, fish, trap [or fish for any other] or possess any species of wildlife. [The tags may be used in any area in the state during the regular season and may not be limited in number or to any area, unless a special season has been designated in a management area, in which case the commission may limit the number of tags to be used in that management area.
(b) Permits and seals may be required to hunt, trap, fish or to possess any species of wildlife.
3. The commission shall set the fee for all permits and seals issued pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 2.]
Sec. 4 NRS 502.145 is hereby amended to read as follows:
502.145 1. An owner, lessee or manager of private land in this state may apply to the division for the issuance to him of one or more deer or antelope tags as provided in this section. The tags must be issued as compensation for damage caused by deer or antelope to the private land or to any improvements thereon.
2. An application made pursuant to this section must:
(a) Be made in the form prescribed by the division;
(b) Establish to the satisfaction of the division that the applicant has sustained damage of the kind described in subsection 1; and
(c) Be accompanied by the fee charged for the tags pursuant to NRS 502.250 and any fee charged for administrative costs.
3. The division shall review the application, may conduct any investigation it deems appropriate and, if it approves the application, shall issue to the applicant not more than one tag for each 50 animals present on the private land owned, leased or managed by the applicant. Both deer and antelope tags may be issued to an applicant. Not more than 200 tags may be issued annually by the division pursuant to this section.
4. A tag issued as compensation for damage pursuant to this section:
(a) May be used by the owner, lessee or manager of the private land if he holds a valid Nevada hunting license, or may be sold by that person to any holder of a valid Nevada hunting license at any price mutually agreed upon;
(b) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (2) of paragraph (c) of this subsection, must be used on the private land or in the unit or units within the management area or areas in which the private land is located; and
(c) May only be used during:
(1) The open season for the species for which the tag is issued; or
(2) A [special] season prescribed by regulation of the commission for the use of [such] the tags only on the private land.
5. As a condition of receiving a tag from the division pursuant to this section, an owner, lessee or manager who is lawfully in control of private land that blocks access to adjacent public land must provide access to the public land during the hunting season to a person or hunting party with a tag for the purpose of hunting on the public land.
6. Insofar as they are consistent with this section, the provisions of this Title and of the regulations adopted by the commission apply to the issuance and use of tags pursuant to this section. The commission may adopt any regulations it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
7. The administrator shall, not later than the fifth calendar day of each regular session of the legislature, submit to the director of the legislative counsel bureau for distribution to the legislature a report summarizing the activities of the division taken pursuant to the provisions of this section during the preceding biennium, including any problems associated with the issuance and use of tags authorized by this section and any recommendations for correcting those problems.
Sec. 5 NRS 502.200 is hereby amended to read as follows:
502.200 It is unlawful for any nonresident hunter:
1. To obtain tags for more than one management area in [regular] a season.
2. To use tags in any management area or at any time other than at the time and place intended.
Sec. 6 NRS 502.230 is hereby amended to read as follows:
502.230 1. A nonresident deer tag [for regular season] may be issued to any nonresident of this state or to the immediate members of [such] the nonresident's family, as a bona fide owner of land within this state, for the privilege to hunt upon that land to which he has title, if not less than 75 percent of all land belonging to him in the State of Nevada and upon which he proposes to hunt is open to the public for hunting.
2. [Such] The nonresident may hunt deer during the same periods and subject to the same limitations as may be allowed or imposed upon residents of Nevada in connection with such hunting if [such] the nonresident has first obtained a nonresident hunting license.
3. A nonresident deer tag [for the regular season] specified in subsection 1 may be issued by the division only upon proof of the applicant's title to certain lands within this state. The commission shall adopt [and promulgate] regulations establishing requirements for obtaining tags, including a determination that the land proposed for hunting is deer habitat.
4. [Such] The nonresident deer tag [for the regular season may] :
(a) May be issued only upon payment of the regular nonresident fee [and is] ;
(b) Is valid for use only on the land owned and described [, and such nonresident deer tag for the regular season must] ; and
(c) Must indicate "nonresident landowner."
Sec. 7 NRS 502.250 is hereby amended to read as follows:
502.250 1. Except as otherwise provided in [subsection 5, the following fees must be charged for tags:

Resident deer tag for regular season $15
Nonresident and alien deer tag for regular season 60
Resident antelope tag 50
Resident elk tag 100
Resident bighorn tag 100
Resident mountain goat tag 100
Resident mountain lion tag 50

2. Other resident big game tags for special seasons] NRS 502.240 and this section, the commission shall establish the fees for tags, permits and seals required by the commission pursuant to NRS 502.130. The fee for:
(a) A resident tag must not exceed [$50. Other nonresident big game tags for special seasons] $200.
(b) A nonresident tag must not exceed $1,000.
[3. Tags determined to be necessary by the commission for other species pursuant to NRS 502.130,]
(c) A permit or seal must not exceed [$100.
4.] $200.
2. A fee not to exceed $10 may be charged for processing an application for a tag other than an elk tag. A fee of not less than $5 but not more than $15 must be charged for processing an application for an elk tag, $5 of which must be deposited with the state treasurer for credit to the wildlife account in the state general fund and used for the prevention and mitigation of damage caused by elk or game mammals not native to this state.
[5.] 3. The commission may accept sealed bids for or auction not more than 15 big game tags each year. To reimburse the division for the cost of managing [the] wildlife and administering and conducting the bid or auction, not more than 18 percent of the total amount of money received from the bid or auction may be deposited with the state treasurer for credit to the wildlife account in the state general fund. Any amount of money received from the bid or auction that is not so deposited must be deposited with the state treasurer for credit to the wildlife heritage trust account in the state general fund in accordance with the provisions of NRS 501.3575.
[6.] 4. The commission may , by regulation , establish an additional drawing for big game tags, which may be entitled the partnership in wildlife drawing. [The] To reimburse the division for the cost of managing wildlife and administering and conducting the drawing, not more than 18 percent of the total amount of money received from the drawing may be deposited with the state treasurer for credit to the wildlife account in the state general fund. Except as otherwise provided by regulations adopted by the commission pursuant to subsection 5, the money received by the division from applicants in the drawing who are not awarded big game tags must be deposited with the state treasurer for credit to the wildlife heritage trust account in accordance with the provisions of NRS 501.3575.
5. The commission may adopt regulations which authorize the return of all or a portion of any fee collected from a person pursuant to the provisions of this section.
Sec. 8 NRS 504.340 is hereby amended to read as follows:
504.340 Any private shooting preserve licensed [under] pursuant to NRS 504.300 to 504.380, inclusive, [shall] must not be closed to the general public during the [regular] open season, but a charge may be made for hunting on [such] that preserve during the [regular] open season.
Sec. 9 NRS 501.080, 501.085 and 502.190 are hereby repealed.
Sec. 10 This act becomes effective on February 1, 1997.

TEXT OF REPEALED SECTIONS

501.080 "Regular season" defined. As used in this Title, "regular season" means an open season for which tags are placed on general sale without limit as to the number of resident hunters who may participate, and which shall be statewide in extent, except for variation in date between districts or the reservation of any area for special management as a special season. The number of nonresident tags may be limited by district in a regular season.
501.085 "Special season" defined. As used in this Title, "special season" means an open season for which tags are placed on restricted sale to residents and nonresidents, whereby only a certain number may be issued, as determined by lot or otherwise. Special seasons are those designed for special management or control not possible in regular seasons.
502.190 Tags for hunting wildlife in regular season by nonresident hunters.
1. Tags for hunting wildlife in regular season by nonresident hunters may be limited to a certain number in any management area, which management area may include all of any county, any portion of any county, or any continuous area in adjacent counties. 2. Whenever a limit is placed upon the number of tags available to nonresident hunters in any management area the commission shall determine the manner in which the tags are issued, whether by lot or by sale to first applicants, the manner of application, the manner of delivering the tags and other necessary matters.
3. Whenever applications, money or tags and licenses are entrusted to the mails the commission is not responsible for loss or delay in the mails.