LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is offering special antlerless deer hunting opportunities within Eugene T. Mahoney and Platte River state parks (SP), as well as Schramm Park State Recreation Area (SRA). Successful applicants will be issued a special access permit that allows them to hunt antlerless deer in designated areas of a park on certain dates, using specific equipment. Successful applicants and interested alternates must attend an orientation session in order to receive the access permit. …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Hunters have until Sept. 28 to apply for a 2019 mountain lion permit. Up to 640 permits will be issued via lottery by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, which has received 435 applications as of Sept. 23. Hunting will be allowed only in the Pine Ridge Unit of northwestern Nebraska, which has an established population that can sustain a harvest. Hunters may apply for a permit in either of two subunits: the South Subunit (south of …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Catchable-size rainbow trout are being stocked in city ponds and lakes across the state by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. These stockings will enhance fishing opportunities this fall and winter. Trout fishing is a great way to introduce children to fishing because simple and inexpensive equipment may be used. A spinning or spin-cast rod and reel with a hook baited with a worm will work well. Add a split shot a couple of feet above the …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Help preserve the monarch butterfly by planting milkweed. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will give out free milkweed seedlings Sept. 29 in Norfolk. The seedlings, planting instructions and monarch educational information will be available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Game and Parks’ Northeast District Office, 2201 N. 13th St. Milkweed is the host plant for the monarch. This means monarchs only lay eggs on milkweed and milkweed is the only plant monarch caterpillars will …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The following is a listing of Nebraska Game and Parks Commission events and important dates in October. Get more event details at Calendar.OutdoorNebraska.gov. Visit OutdoorNebraska.org for a list of hunter education classes and boating safety classes. Oct. 1 – Prairie Blacksmith Convention, Fort Atkinson State Historical Park (SHP), Fort Calhoun Oct. 1 – Triumphant Return of White Pirogue II, Niobrara State Park (SP), Niobrara Oct. 1-31 – Paddlefish snagging season in specific area of Missouri River Oct. …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Hunters may enter a lottery to gain deer hunting access to Platte River Recreation Access (PRRA) lands in the central Platte River Valley. According to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, 47 hunters will be chosen from a random drawing in early October and allowed to hunt deer on designated PRRA lands Nov. 16-18. Applications, limited to one per person, will be accepted by mail or in person at the Game and Parks service center in Kearney …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Logan Maring and Wesley Beavers know their catfish. Each correctly guessed the exact weight of Walter, the flathead catfish, in a contest by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission during the Nebraska State Fair. Walter weighed 47 pounds, 7 ounces. In guessing the weight, Maring, of Grand Island, won the adult division and Beavers, 5, of Collins, Iowa, won the youth division. Two youth entries picked the exact weight, so the winner was drawn randomly. Maring and …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The west entrance to Yankee Hill Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Lancaster County has reopened now that high water has receded. Heavy rains last week had flooded the WMA’s entrance road at W. Yankee Hill Road and SW 56th St. Caution should be used following heavy rains when trying to access any WMA or other property of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission in southeast Nebraska because of potentially dangerous water conditions in low-lying areas.

LINCOLN, Neb. – The boat ramp at Memphis Lake in Saunders County is closed temporarily because of low water. The lake has been drawn down to facilitate a wetland restoration project, and large rocks at the end of the boat ramp have been exposed. The wetland restoration project, a joint effort of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Nebraska Environmental Trust and Ducks Unlimited, is expected to improve wildlife habitat, increase wetland management capabilities, and improve hunter access. The project …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Four state fish records recently were certified by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Three records were for underwater spearfishing and one for rod and reel. They are: – Mike Ban of Elbert, Colo., speared a 30-pound, 7-ounce bigmouth buffalo June 27 at a private sandpit in Dawson County. – Ryan Malo of Cheyenne, Wyo., speared a 16-pound, 2-ounce wiper July 1 at Lake McConaughy in Keith County. – Ryan Reynolds of Lexington speared an 8-pound, 12-ounce …