Assembly Bill No. 301–Assemblyman Carpenter

 

CHAPTER..........

 

AN ACT relating to wildlife; providing for the payment of money or materials to prevent or mitigate damages caused by certain animals to fences on private and public lands and to construct fences around certain areas of those lands under certain circumstances; 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 504.165 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    504.165  1.  The Commission shall adopt regulations

governing the disbursement of money to:

    (a) Prevent or mitigate damage to private property and privately

maintained improvements[;] , including, without limitation,

fences;

    (b) Prevent or mitigate damage to fences on public lands;

    (c) Construct fences around sources of water on private lands

or public lands where there has been damage to the area near

such sources of water; and

    [(b)] (d) Compensate persons for grazing reductions and the loss

of stored and standing crops,

caused by elk or game mammals not native to this state.

    2.  The regulations must contain:

    (a) Requirements for the eligibility of those persons claiming

damage to private property , [or] privately maintained improvements

, fences on public lands or areas near sources of water on public

lands to receive money or materials from the Division, including

[a] :

        (1) A requirement that such a person enter into a cooperative

agreement with the Administrator for purposes related to this title [.]

; and

        (2) A requirement that if the claim is for money or

materials from the Division for the construction of a fence around

a source of water on private land or public land, such a person

must:

            (I) Conduct a physical inspection of the private land or

public land upon which the fence is proposed to be constructed to

determine the most effective manner in which to protect the source

of water and to determine the most effective manner in which to

provide access to a source of water for livestock and wildlife that is

located outside the fence and within a reasonable distance from

the fence;

            (II) Conduct the inspection described in sub-

subparagraph (I) in consultation with the persons or entities

which will be directly affected by the construction of the fence,

including, without limitation, an owner of the private land on

which the fence is proposed to be constructed, a governmental

entity that manages the public land on which the fence is proposed

to be constructed, a holder of a permit to graze livestock on the

public land, if applicable, and a person who holds a water right

which will be directly affected by the construction of the fence;

and

            (III) Enter into a cooperative agreement with the

persons and entities described in sub-subparagraph (II) for

purposes related to the construction of the fence in accordance

with the results of the inspection conducted pursuant to this

subparagraph.

    (b) Procedures for the formation of local panels to assess

damage caused by elk or game mammals not native to this state and

to determine the value of a loss claimed if the person claiming the

loss and the Division do not agree on the value of the loss.

    (c) Procedures for the use on private property or public lands of

materials purchased by the State to prevent damage caused by elk or

game mammals not native to this state.

    (d) Any other regulations necessary to carry out the provisions

of this section and NRS 504.155 and 504.175.

    3.  The regulations must:

    (a) Provide for the payment of money or other compensation to

cover the costs of labor and materials necessary to [prevent] :

        (1) Prevent or mitigate damage to private property , [and]

privately maintained improvements and fences on public lands

caused by elk or game mammals not native to this state[.] ; and

        (2) Construct fences around sources of water on private or

public lands if:

            (I) Elk or game mammals not native to this state have

caused damage to the area near such sources of water; and

            (II) A source of water for livestock and wildlife is

available outside such a fence and within a reasonable distance

from such a fence or will be made available at such a location.

    (b) Prohibit a person who has, within a particular calendar year,

applied for or received a special incentive elk tag pursuant to NRS

502.142 from applying, within the same calendar year, for

compensation pursuant to this section for the same private land.

    4.  Money may not be disbursed to a claimant pursuant to this

section unless the claimant shows by a preponderance of the

evidence that the damage for which [he] the claimant is seeking

compensation was caused solely by elk or game mammals not

native to this state.

    5.  As used in this section, “public lands” means all lands

within the exterior boundaries of the State of Nevada except lands:

    (a) To which title is held by any private person or entity;

    (b) To which title is held by the State of Nevada, any of its

local governments or the University and Community College

System of Nevada;

    (c) Which are located within congressionally authorized

national parks, monuments, national forests or wildlife refuges, or

which are lands acquired by purchase consented to by the

Legislature;

    (d) Which are controlled by the United States Department of

Defense, Department of Energy or Bureau of Reclamation; or

    (e) Which are held in trust for Indian purposes or are Indian

reservations.

 

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