Hours Before Daylight: Ducks and Donuts 2026
October 24. Overton Wildlife Management Area, hours before daylight. Young hunters and their mentors packed in under the pavilion lights for Ducks and Donuts, NDOW’s
October 24. Overton Wildlife Management Area, hours before daylight. Young hunters and their mentors packed in under the pavilion lights for Ducks and Donuts, NDOW’s
July into October. Volunteers out in the wetlands at Overton, Key Pittman, Kirch and Cummings Lake, wading to traps and putting bands on birds. About
August 29. Key Pittman Wildlife Management Area. Seven in the morning, bull rush thick along the water. The first two hours were all work. Volunteers
July 10 to 12. Illipah Reservoir, east of Ely. Sage flats, a cold reservoir, and a camp full of kids who came to learn how
June 13. Free Fishing Day in Nevada. No license needed on public waters, just show up and fish. At Echo Canyon near Panaca, WHIN gave
June 6 and 7. South Schell Creek Range, above Cave Valley. Dry ground, big sky, and a WHIN crew out at Milk Ranch with one
May 15 to 17. Montezuma Peak, Esmeralda County. Sage hills, soft dirt, and a trailer full of tanks. The plan was four guzzlers. The crew
Build photos by Vince Marra. April 24 to 26. The Bullfrog Hills outside Beatty. Rock, wind, and old guzzlers that had seen better days. We
April 18. A spring morning on the water, rods bent, and families lined up along the bank for the WHIN Carp Rodeo. The rules are
April 8 to 12. Logandale Fairgrounds. Dust in the air, fish on the line, and the WHIN education booth open at the Clark County Fair
March 28. South Point, Las Vegas. One night a year the dirt crew trades work boots for black WHIN shirts and fills a ballroom. The
March 17 and 18. Las Vegas and Laughlin. Kids, cops, and fishing poles at the water. Cops and Bobbers puts local police officers and kids
March 7 and 8. The Muddy Mountains. Rough country, and enough of it that this build needed a helicopter. New Flipper is a water development
February 28. Key Pittman Wildlife Management Area in the Pahranagat Valley. Cold water, big sky, and a boat full of straw. Our crew worked the
February 7. Overton Wildlife Management Area. Headlamps on, coffee hot, and a pack of young hunters ready for the last shoot of the Nevada duck
Some projects don’t make the highlight reels, but they’re the work that keeps wild places wild. Moving bighorn sheep from Valley of Fire up to
omething special about a cold morning spent watching kids discover the world of waterfowl. At Ducks & Donuts with NDOW, you get the whole picture
A pack of teenagers — the kind that can drive their own trucks, fix their own flat, and still laugh like kids — took off
There’s a certain kind of magic in Ely when duck season cracks open for the kids. The sun barely clears the Steptoe Valley mountains, the
Out in the middle of nowhere—where the sage gives way to rock and the sun hits you like a hammer—there’s a handful of people who