LINCOLN, Neb. – Join the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission for a Becoming an Outdoors-Family Camp at Ashland’s Camp Carol Joy Holling Sept. 23-24. The camp is designed for families that are new and novice campers who are looking to get started camping but need a bit of encouragement. Families will enjoy the outdoors while fishing, hiking, bird watching, cooking outdoors, shooting, kayaking and much more. They will learn about nature, wildlife, aquatic life and the flora and fauna of …

LINCOLN, Neb. – A health alert remains in effect for Bluestem Lake in Lancaster County. A health advisory has been lifted at Willow Creek Lake in Pierce County. During water testing last week, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality detected elevated toxin levels produced by blue-green algal blooms in Bluestem Lake. While toxin levels were lower this week, health alerts are not lifted until algal toxin levels have measured below advisory concentration for two consecutive weeks. Visitors to Bluestem State …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Big Game Conservation Association is raising funds for the Hunters Helping the Hungry (HHH) program. Through Oct. 1, the association will match up to $5,000 in donations to HHH when individuals donate to the program through biggameconservationassociation.com/hunters-helping-the-hungry. The HHH program is funded solely by tax-deductible contributions. Ground venison is distributed by charitable organizations to Nebraskans in need. For more information about the association, contact Chris Edwards at biggameconservation@gmail.com or visit nebiggame.com. Learn more about HHH …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Ornithologists Union (NOU), a statewide group of birders and bird-watchers, will hold its annual fall meeting Sept. 15-17 in Ogallala. This event is open to members and nonmembers. The event will include field trips in which birders will try to record as many bird species as possible and presentations about Lake McConaughy State Recreation Area and bird research. Register at noubirds.org/Meetings/Next.aspx and learn more information on the meeting. The deadline is Sept. 1. To discover …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The following is a listing of Nebraska Game and Parks Commission events and important dates in September. Get more event details at Calendar.OutdoorNebraska.gov. Visit OutdoorNebraska.org for a list of hunter education classes and boating safety classes. Sept. 1 – Hunting seasons open for cottontail, jackrabbit, dove, snipe, grouse, rail, raccoon and opossum Sept. 1 – Archery, Season Choice, River Antlerless Private Land Only, Statewide Whitetail Buck, Gifford Point Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Youth, and Landowner deer hunting …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska’s teal hunting season continues on an experimental basis in the northern part of the state. Continuation of the teal season depends on hunters’ ability to distinguish teal from other duck species. During this experimental season, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission again will evaluate the rate at which ducks other than teal are shot at or taken. “If the rate is considered unacceptable by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, northern portions of Nebraska will lose …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The body of a Littleton, Colorado man was recovered from Lake McConaughy on Aug. 20. At 11:19 a.m. Mountain time, the Lake McConaughy Dive Rescue (LMDR) team was paged to a call of a body in the water about 2 miles west of Van’s Lakeview on Lake McConaughy. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission conservation officers responded in boats, along with boats from the LMDR team. Officers and rescuers located the body of a deceased man, which was …

LINCOLN, Neb. – A health alert is in effect for Bluestem Lake in Lancaster County, while Willow Creek Reservoir in Pierce County remains on health alert for a second week. A health advisory has been lifted at Pawnee Lake in Lancaster County. During water testing earlier this week, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality detected elevated toxin levels produced by blue-green algal blooms in Bluestem Lake. Visitors to Bluestem State Recreation Area should avoid full body contact activities such as …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission approved a bighorn sheep season for 2018. It authorized one auction and one lottery permit for the season at its meeting Aug. 17 in North Platte. In addition, the drawing for the 2017 bighorn sheep lottery permit was held, with Frank Nemeth of Chadron the winner. There were 2,754 applications in the lottery. The 2017 season is Nov. 28 to Dec. 22. In other business, the commission: — amended fisheries aquaculture …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Prescribed burns are planned on some Nebraska Game and Parks Commission wildlife management areas (WMA) and state parks, where weather conditions allow. Burns during the summer growing season can help set back undesirable plants that invade native prairies and other grasslands. Eastern redcedar trees and undesirable deciduous shrubs can be more susceptible to summer burns because of higher temperatures. These trees often expend much energy in flowering and fruiting and have higher rates of mortality because of …