Nevada

Nevada bears are preparing for hibernation, NDOW and RPD ask residents to secure attractants

Published

3 years ago

November 17, 2022

Nevada bears are preparing for hibernation, NDOW and RPD ask residents to secure attractants

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – From Verdi down by way of Topaz Lake and over to Hawthorne, bear sightings proceed in Western Nevada, a standard theme this time of the 12 months.

“We’re getting calls from individuals noticing bears and Reno Police Division additionally reached out as a result of they had been getting extra calls,” mentioned Ashley Sanchez, public data officer on the Nevada Division of Wildlife (NDOW). “Bears are nearing the tip of hyperphagia and that’s a face they undergo once they spend all of their time and power making an attempt to construct up energy. They’re making an attempt to soak up 20,000 in comparison with the conventional 5,000.”

Throughout this time, bears’ instincts convey them all the way down to the valleys searching for remaining berries, bugs, and any supply of meals to construct up these fats reserves.

“They’ll comply with a drainage ditch proper right into a neighborhood,” mentioned Sanchez.

As soon as that occurs, human meals sources can simply fall into their reserves. Unsecured rubbish, fruit timber, hen feeders and extra, can present these animals with a straightforward meal.

Michelle Magnuson lives in Corey Drive, the place she says bears are often noticed.

“Our fence on the road facet is just 4 ft tall and that’s no downside for the bears to recover from and we did have bear droppings in our yard,” she mentioned throughout a telephone interview. “Now we have a number of fruit timber from apples to nectarines to pears and sometimes what we’re noticing is that they look forward to the pears.”

Magnuson has been residing in Reno for over 5 a long time and says she has seen extra bears this 12 months than earlier than.

“With wildfires and you already know, water is de facto turning into scarce, I feel that that is going to be one thing that we’re going to should take care of for a few years to come back,” mentioned Magnuson.

“In 2007 we had essentially the most calls that we’ve ever had of bear calls after which final 12 months was a really comparable quantity and this 12 months we’re proper on observe to satisfy that very same degree of calls,” mentioned Sanchez. “What’s taking place is that it’s been so dry that their pure meals sources aren’t accessible so that they’re looking out tougher for meals. “

Whereas most bears in Western Nevada go into hibernation in mid-November, male bears have a tendency to attend till mid-December. Subsequently, the NDOW wants everybody to stay vigilant to discourage bears from their property.

“95 % of our calls are trash associated so please safe your rubbish,” mentioned Sanchez. “In case you don’t have a bear-resistant container, preserve it in a safe construction in a single day after which put it out within the morning for trash choose up. Different issues that folks may very well be doing are bringing down their hen feeders, particularly at daybreak and nightfall.”

Bear in mind: Washoe County has a rubbish ordinance in place which requires residents to safe their trash to stop bears from entering into them. Failure to take action can lead to fines. Repeated violations might be reported to (775) 328-6101.

Washoe County Waste Administration presents bear-resistant rubbish cans that may be neglected. You’ll be able to request one by calling (775) 329-8822.

Different steps residents can comply with embrace:

-Take away different attractants out of your yard (fruit from fruit timber, pet meals, clear soiled barbeques, trash, and all different meals/scented objects.)

-Take away meals, trash, and different scented objects from automobiles. Hold car home windows up and doorways locked when not in use.

-Set up electrical fencing round beehives, hen coops, and livestock. For extra data click on right here: https://www.ndow.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Electrical-Fencing-Buy-Sources-pamphlet.pdf

-In case you see bears close to your house, scare them away: From an open window or protected distance, yell loudly and/or bang pots and pans. Yelling issues like “Hey bear!”, “Go bear!”, “Get out of right here bear!” alerts these round you to what’s happening. It’s also possible to set off your automobile alarm to attempt to scare them off as effectively. These strategies can assist “negatively situation” bears to people and homes and train them that it’s not okay to enter these areas.

In case you have a bear in your neighborhood, NDOW recommends determining the attractant and if that doesn’t work, name 775-688-BEAR. Whereas the company desires residents to be looking out, they don’t individuals abusing these animals.

“We will all assist by securing attractants and that approach it tells them, meals is now not accessible, it’s time for me to enter my den,” mentioned Sanchez.

In case you have a fruit tree, the Reno Gleaning mission, can choose your fruit up and provides it to native teams that feed individuals, at no cost.

Source link

Click to comment

Nevada

Nevada third for federal oil potential in new study, but industry growth still unlikely

Published

12 hours ago

June 27, 2025

Press Room

Nevada third for federal oil potential in new study, but industry growth still unlikely

Jeniffer Solis
| Nevada Current

The federal government raised its estimate this week for how much oil and gas could be extracted from public lands in Nevada, placing the state third for oil potential.

Nevada holds 1.4 billion barrels of “undiscovered” oil beneath its public lands – only falling behind Alaska and New Mexico – and 1.2 billion cubic feet of gas, according to the newly compiled figures released by the U.S. Geological Survey last week.

“We think there’s resource potential there, and it just so happens there’s a lot of federal land,” said Chris Schenk, the lead author of the report.

The estimates are of “technically recoverable oil and gas resources” — many of which may not be economically viable to extract — that could be retrieved with current technologies. It’s the first time the agency has tallied the amount of oil and gas under national parks, wilderness areas and other public lands nationwide since 1998, according to Nevada Current.

Technology has improved significantly since then, increasing the estimated resources that could potentially be extracted from public lands, according to the report.

The analysis was prepared in response to a directive by the Trump administration to “unleash” domestic energy supplies. In February, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed his agencies to identify energy and critical minerals on public lands.

“American Energy Dominance is more important than ever, and this report underscores the critical role science plays in informing our energy future,” Burgum said in a press release announcing the study.

The report also comes as Republicans in Congress try to push a proposal that would allow the federal government to sell off several million acres of public land in Nevada, Utah and other Western states.

Nationally, the analysis estimated 29.4 billion barrels of oil and 391.6 trillion cubic feet of gas lie below all federal lands – enough oil to meet the county’s needs for four years and a dozen years in the case of natural gas.

The last federal analysis of undiscovered oil and gas resources on public lands in 1998, estimated about 7.8 billion barrels of oil and 201 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Schenk, the lead author of the report, said the analysis uses decades of federal data to estimate the potential for oil and gas where it hasn’t been discovered yet, but there’s still room for “uncertainty.”

“Whenever you’re exploring for resources, whether it’s minerals or oil and gas, there’s uncertainty before you drill,” Schenk said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty, because it’s undiscovered.”

That uncertainty is reflected in the lack of oil and gas leasing in Nevada, despite available data pointing to potential sources in the state.

Nevada lease sales have long drawn little interest from industry. It’s not uncommon for large swaths of nominated land to never get a bid.

For example, the Bureau of Land Management offered five oil and gas parcels in Nevada totaling 6,800 acres this week. None of the parcels received a single bid. Those same parcels also failed to attract any industry interest in 2023 and 2024.

“We recognize that interest in Nevada is lower than other states in the West where development is more economical, such as New Mexico and Wyoming. The scale of this auction, for instance, was small relative to others,” said Aaron Johnson, the vice president of public and legislative affairs for the Western Energy Alliance trade group.

When land does get leased for oil and gas development, it underperforms in auction. From 2015 to 2024, the average bid per acre in Nevada was just $4.10—compared to $4,900 per acre in New Mexico.

Still, the Trump administration has pushed to lease more of Nevada’s public lands including 264,000 acres of public land in Elko County’s Ruby Mountains, a popular hunting and outdoor recreation site in Nevada.

Drilling opponents remain skeptical that there’s much oil and gas in Nevada or that extracting it would make economic sense any time soon. They think the development push is rooted in speculation.

“We’ve been leasing these low potential lands since the 1950s,” said Russell Kuhlman, the executive director of the Nevada Wildlife Federation. “We have yet to find anything that would get the oil and gas industry excited.”

Kuhlman said speculative oil and gas leasing in Nevada removes land that would be better suited for the recreation economy, wildlife conservation, or renewable energy development in the state.

Over 90 percent of public lands managed by the Interior Department in Nevada are available to be leased for oil and gas drilling. Once leased, public lands are locked up from being managed for multiple uses such as outdoor recreation and conservation for the life of the lease, which could be 10, 20 or even 30 years.

“That’s really where the issue is, once land is identified as an oil and gas lease, it’s essentially put in that folder and forgotten about by the Bureau of Land Management,” Kuhlman said.

Source link