1. An owner, lessee or manager of private land in this State may apply to the Department for the issuance to him or her of one or more deer or antelope tags as provided in this section. The tags must be issued as compensation for damage caused by deer or antelope to the private land or to any improvements thereon.

2. An application made pursuant to this section must:

(a) Be made in the form prescribed by the Department;

(b) Establish to the satisfaction of the Department that the applicant has sustained damage of the kind described in subsection 1; and

(c) Be accompanied by the fee charged for the tags pursuant to NRS 502.250 and any fee charged for administrative costs.

3. The Department shall review the application, may conduct any investigation it deems appropriate and, if it approves the application, shall issue to the applicant not more than one tag for each 50 animals present on the private land owned, leased or managed by the applicant. Both deer and antelope tags may be issued to an applicant.

4. A tag issued as compensation for damage pursuant to this section:

(a) May be used by the owner, lessee or manager of the private land if the owner, lessee or manager holds a valid Nevada hunting license, or may be sold by that person to any holder of a valid Nevada hunting license at any price mutually agreed upon;

(b) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (2) of paragraph (c), must be used on the private land or in the unit or units within the management area or areas in which the private land is located; and

(c) May only be used during:

(1) The open season for the species for which the tag is issued; or

(2) A season prescribed by regulation of the Commission for the use of such tags only on the private land.

5. As a condition of receiving a tag from the Department pursuant to this section, an owner, lessee or manager who is lawfully in control of private land that blocks access to adjacent public land must provide access to the public land during the hunting season to a person or hunting party with a tag for the purpose of hunting on the public land.

6. Insofar as they are consistent with this section, the provisions of this title and of the regulations adopted by the Commission apply to the issuance and use of tags pursuant to this section. The Commission:

(a) Shall by regulation establish the maximum number of tags which may be issued annually by the Department pursuant to this section, which must not exceed 2.5 percent of the total number of deer and antelope tags which are authorized for issuance annually throughout the State; and

(b) May adopt any other regulations it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

(Added to NRS by 1991, 2155; A 1993, 1190, 1664; 1995, 53, 54, 555; 2001, 1070; 2003, 1535, 2543; 2013, 1628; 2017, 3632)