Columnist Paula DelGiudice: Comment now on OHV issues

Paula DelGiudice

Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2000 | 10:20 a.m.

Paula DelGiudice's outdoors notebook appears Wednesday. Reach her at desertdenizens@aol.com.

The Bureau of Land Management's draft of National Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Management Strategy is now available for comment. The strategy offers guidance and recommendations to help BLM field offices create a framework for reviewing and resolving local OHV-related issues.

The strategy (when it becomes final) will also help BLM field managers implement on-ground solutions to OHV issues, protect public land resources and make more effective use of existing staff and funding.

The scoping process began last August when the BLM asked the public for ideas and proposed solutions for improving management of the OHV program. The BLM received thousands of comments and suggestions during this part of the scoping period. These were the basis, along with suggestions from state and local governments and the BLM's Resource Advisory Councils and employees, for the draft strategy that was released this month.

The issues addressed in the strategy include: internal and external coordination, easements and acquisitions, education (public outreach), education (staff training), environmental considerations, fees and funding, inventory, planning and monitoring, law enforcement (penalties and fines), law enforcement (work force), wilderness study areas and others.

The period for submitting comments to the draft plan is now under way. The draft can be accessed from the Internet at www.blm.gov. It is also available at the Las Vegas District Office at 4765 W. Vegas Drive.

You'll find other recipes such as hickory grilled game tenderloin, dijon and honey ribs, Thai ginger wild turkey salad and mesquite grilled redfish. The recipes are made from sauces, marinades and spices made by Lawry's and readily found in most grocery stores.

For your free copy, call 1-800-248-9687 or write to Lawry's Game Recipes Booklet, c/o The Walker Agency, P.O. Box 14390, Scottsdale, AZ 85267-4390.

Located on Highway 395 on the Nevada/California border, it might be a drive worth making for Southern Nevada residents.

"It's one of the most exciting events I participate in, especially going out and checking anglers," said NDOW fisheries biologist Patrick Sollberger.

"It's just fun. Everybody is having a good time no matter what the weather is like."

Sollberger predicts that anglers will find fish in the 16-20 inch range for opening day.

Applications must be received through the mail at the Wildlife Administrative Services (formerly Hunt Application Office) no later than 5 p.m., Friday, Jan. 26.

A total of 85 tags for hunting on public lands are available this year for nine one-week periods. These hunts open as early as March 31, and close as late as May 6. Areas with specific tag quotas include the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area near Yerington, the Moapa Valley area in Carson City, and Lincoln County, a new location for spring turkey hunting with a quota of 10 tags this year.

There are also some private lands tags available to resident and nonresident hunters. The private lands hunts will be on specific farms and ranches in the northern Nevada counties of Lyon, Churchill, Humboldt and Eureka. The deadline for the private land hunts is March 9.

Tag application forms and complete information on the two hunt options are also available on NDOW's website at www.nevadadivisionofwildlife.org.