RURAL MALCOLM — Sen. Ben Nelson today said he will vigorously pursue legislation in the U.S. Senate protecting a state's right to manage hunting and fishing regulations.

Standing on a hill overlooking Branched Oak Lake north of Malcolm, the Nebraska Democratic senator said courts in Arizona and Nevada have ruled in favor of commercial hunting guides and outfitters who want more and cheaper permits for out-of-state hunters. In effect, the rulings have turned over fish and non-migratory wildlife management in those states to the federal government, Nelson said.

"This is about protecting the rights of states to do what they need to do to protect wildlife," he said.

The cost of a hunting permit triggered the issue.

States charge non-resident hunters many times the price they set for resident hunting fees. In Nebraska, for example, a resident pays $25 for a deer permit while a nonresident must pay $175.

Most states also offer sharply lower numbers of permits for non-resident hunters compared to their  own citizens. In Nebraska, non-resident hunters face few restrictions in getting a deer permit, but are not allowed to hunt pronghorn antelope or elk.

Restrictions on numbers and access are necessary to prevent overhunting of a species. Charging nonresidents a premium not only limits their number, but also reserves most of the surplus game for resident hunters who support the conservation work being done in their state, Nelson said.

The senator has sponsored a bill that would protect states' ability to manage non-migratory birds and wildlife as they see fit. The bill, which has been deferred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, is co-sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

Nelson also announced that he has accepted a two-year chairmanship of the Congressional Sportsman's Caucus. The bipartisan caucus, with more than 300 senators and representatives as members, works on an array of fish and wildlife conservation issues.

Nelson said he believes getting the bill passed to protect state wildlife management will be a priority of the caucus in the next legislative session.

Jim Posewitz, director of Orion, The Hunter's Institute and an author of several books on hunting ethics, said North America's conservation pioneers saved wildlife from being wiped out by market hunters. Their support of a democratic conservation ethic, in which wildlife belongs to the people, restored many game animals and other wildlife to healthy populations.

Now the threat is back in the form of guides and outfitters who seek to sell wildlife to the highest bidder. He applauded Nelson's bill and said it needs to pass quickly before more states face the types of legal challenges in Arizona and Nevada.

"We have to erect a barrier between the conservation of wildlife and the commerce of wildlife or we will lose everything we have restored over the past century," Posewitz said.

Jeff D. Johnson of Lincoln, a longtime waterfowl hunter, said while he thinks cheaper permits for nonresidents would boost sales in Nebraska, he opposes the idea of turning regulation of the state's wildlife over to the federal government.

"Even with deer, it's a limited resource," he said. "You can overhunt anything."

Johnny Hemelstrand, co-owner of Hunt Nebraska, a commercial hunting business near Arapahoe, has unsuccessfully lobbied state senators in the past to set aside a percentage of permits for guides and outfitters. Speaking for himself, he said the right to regulate permits should stay with the state.

"I might not agree with everything the state does, but I think they ought to have control over it," he said.

He admitted, although, that opinions on the issue would vary  among the dozens of outfitters and hunting lodge operators in Nebraska.

Reach Joe Duggan at 473-7239 or jduggan@journalstar.com.