It is our belief that this petition should be granted for the following reasons:

· OWMA was originally conceived as a multiple use area directed toward wetland values and waterfowl activities.

· OWMA has historically viewed hunting and the training of hunting dogs to be complementary activities.

· Well-trained hunting dogs are an excellent waterfowl conservation tool.

· There is absolutely no historical empirical evidence that utilizing OWMA on non-hunting days has a negative impact on waterfowl.

· LVHRC activities are family-friendly with spouses and children participating. Because of this and because we have multiple dogs and equipment, we require what we have historically enjoyed—vehicle access to training areas.

We the undersigned request that NDOW live up to the original multi-use intent of the Conceptual Management Plan (CMP) and the historical use of the OWMA during hunting seasons and allow hunting dog training on non-hunt days.