Longtime conservationist, wildlife official Crunden dies

Wednesday, April 17, 2002 | 8:17 a.m.

For more than 20 years fishermen -- from weekend anglers to the most skilled pros -- did not drop a line into Lake Mead without first reading Charlie Crunden's report.

Crunden's fishing reports appeared in all three Southern Nevada daily newspapers and on television and radio stations from the 1960s through the '80s.

Charles Walter Crunden, who as a longtime employee of the Nevada Department of Fish and Game, now the Department of Wildlife, championed the preservation of fish and fowl and developed hunter safety programs, died Saturday at a Las Vegas convalescent center. He was 74.

Services for the Nevada resident of 47 years and Las Vegas resident of 36 years will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Palm Mortuary, 1600 S. Jones Blvd. Nevada Funeral Service is handling the arrangements.

"When the Sun stopped publishing his column after Charlie retired, we got lots of calls asking what happened to it," Sun Sports Editor Ron Kantowski said. "Charlie could tell you where the fish were biting, but more than that, he kept abreast of issues and legislation that pertained to hunting and fishing.

"And he could write, too. You could put your editing pencil away when Charlie's column came in."

Kantowski said Crunden constantly had his finger on the pulse of what was happening outdoors.

"I remember one of his columns in particular, when he predicted that bass fishing could become the NASCAR of the 21st century," Kantowski said. "Sure enough, they've got a national tour now, and many of those anglers now have huge endorsement contracts, just like the stock car guys."

In addition to fishing reports that at one time appeared in the Sun, Review-Journal and now-defunct Valley Times, Crunden also wrote interesting features on wildlife happenings throughout the state and about pending wildlife projects.

Among his many accomplishments, Crunden opened the Smith Valley Hatchery as an employee of the Fish and Game Department in 1955 and, from the late 1950s through the early '60s, he worked in Elko as a small-game biologist, with the bulk of his work devoted to the study of sage grouse.

In 1964 Crunden went to work on a starling research project for the University of California, Davis. Two years later he moved to Las Vegas and became the first information officer for Fish and Game.

In the 1960s and '70s Crunden appeared on KVBC Channel 3's Thursday night news broadcasts and hosted a weekly radio show and a weekly half-hour wildlife TV show.

Born Dec. 5, 1927, in New York City, Crunden earned a bachelor of science degree in wildlife management from Washington State University in 1953 and a master's degree a year later at Iowa State.

He worked for Montana Fish and Game for a year before coming to Nevada. A year before his move to Las Vegas, Crunden worked as a Department of Wildlife field agent in Eureka.

Crunden helped institute the mandatory hunter safety program for the state and played an instrumental role in developing the Water Rights for Wildlife program that secures water supplies for future wildlife.

He retired from the Wildlife Department in 1986, but his fishing and wildlife column continued to run in the Sun for several years.

Crunden is survived by his wife, Minna Crunden of Las Vegas; a son, David Crunden, and David's wife Gena of Las Vegas; two brothers, David Particelli of Florida and Edward Burcker of North Las Vegas; and a grandson Jacob Swanson.

The family said donations can be made in Crunden's memory to the American Cancer Society.