The Nevada Department of Wildlife held a hearing on Saturday to discuss the rules and regulations surrounding hunting.Â
Members of the public showed up to voice their opinions on the matter in person and on zoom.
One of the most controversial topics of the meeting was bear hunting.
Some at the meeting expressed their support for bear hunting and argued that hunting has no real impact on the population size.
"I urge you to continue to support the season, we have a stable or increasing bear population, there's no reason at all to not continue this," said Larry Johnson.
Advocates against the hunt urged members of the NDOW board to consider the people that are indigenous to the land, and they were frustrated that people are allowed to kill animals that are sacred to them.
"The bears are speaking to us, our people. We didn't kill bears. We didn't use bears for food. Bears are an important. They're wisdom keepers, they are animals that show us the weather, they teach us about the plants in the area. I've always been taught that we leave them alone," said Dr. Lisa Grayshield.
California and Nevada share bear populations as many bears cross over state lines frequently, with most of them crossing back and forth in Lake Tahoe area.
The founder of the organization "Sustain Tahoe" was in attendance, and she expressed her concerns with bear hunting and big game hunting in general.
"We don't need this, it's excessive, it wastes money, it costs money, 4.4 million, 2012. The hunt that they started in 2011, when over 90% of Nevada said we don't want the hunt," said Jacquie Chandler.
Towards the end of the meeting, the commissioners shared their thoughts and one of the commissioners talked about the importance of having these tough conversations.
"Because it's all about maintaining relevancy, and if we can't get people to the table to talk about issues, than the relevancy, no matter what side of the equation you're on, it's probably going to wane. You're going to lose footing," said NDOW board member David McNinch.
