Registration is open for the Crofton Dam Race 2022, which will be July 30 at Lewis and Clark State Recreation Area. Choose your adventure between three events: a sprint triathlon with kayaking instead of swimming, a half-marathon, or a 12-mile bike race. The Crofton Dam Race, which is open to athletes of all experience levels, will help raise funds for a new hike-bike trail at the SRA. • The Crofton Dam Race triathlon includes a 1.5-mile kayak paddle across the …

A recent spurt of frigid temperatures has iced over some Nebraska water bodies. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission warns anybody venturing onto the ice to be cautious. Warmer temperatures will be arriving quickly, but in light of two recent drownings in eastern Nebraska in which persons went through the ice, Game and Parks offers the following safety tips: • Never go out alone. Have a buddy. • A minimum of 3 inches of clear, blue lake ice will support …

Hunters continued or started traditions with family and friends by participating in the Nebraska Upland and Duck slams during the past season. Two were named grand prize winners during ceremonies in mid-February. Faron Wickett, 50, of Norfolk, was named the Upland Slam grand prize winner, earning a Dickinson Arms Hunter Light Over and Under 28-gauge shotgun for his efforts to harvest Nebraska’s four primary upland game species. He has been an avid grouse hunter since his father started taking him …

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission educators have scheduled interesting and engaging events for the curious in March. Here are several opportunities:   Little Saplings early childhood program presents Traces and Tracks The Little Saplings early childhood nature discovery program will have the program, Traces and Tracks, at 9 a.m. March 2 at Schramm Education Center near Gretna. Footprints in mud and snow give clues about what animals are around in the spring. We’ll look closely, predict, and match tracks to …

Spring is arriving soon, and activities will be picking up in Nebraska’s state park areas. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has scheduled events in March for people to explore. Here are several opportunities:   Arbor Lodge celebrating National Quilting Day with exhibit Arbor Lodge Mansion at Arbor Lodge State Historical Park is celebrating National Quilting Day, which is March 19, by hosting a special exhibit featuring quilts from the Arbor Lodge collection. The exhibit will be on display each …

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Conservation Officer Trevor Stahlecker was honored Feb. 15 for his role in a life-saving effort last fall at Pawnee State Recreation Area. Stahlecker received an Agency Partner Certificate of Merit from the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office. Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner also presented a Life Saving Award to Lancaster County Sheriff’s Deputy Zachary Meyer. On Sept. 21, 2021, Stahlecker and Meyer responded to an abandoned 911 call from the recreation area northwest of Lincoln. The …

A City Nature Challenge is coming to Madison County this spring. Groups in the county can learn how to participate by joining a virtual meeting at 4 p.m. Feb. 23. The City Nature Challenge, run by the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, is a global event motivating people to find and document wildlife in and around their cities; participants record their observations using an app or an online platform, such as iNaturalist. …

Hunters of upland and small game, waterfowl, fall turkey and deer will receive emailed invitations to participate in surveys about their harvest and hunting experiences. These surveys, which the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission uses to estimate harvest, hunter participation and satisfaction — and to inform management decisions — will be emailed over several weeks, beginning Feb. 14. Surveys generally are available to participants for two weeks starting from the initial invitation. Hunters who receive the invitation but have not …

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission certified six state fishing records in 2021, including the underwater spearfishing channel catfish mark that was broken twice in eight days. It was a record that had stood for more than 20 years. Here are the records: • Anthony Borghi of Ogallala speared a 26-pound, 9-ounce channel catfish at Box Butte Reservoir in Dawes County on June 5 to set an underwater spearfishing record. • On June 13, Hunter Jordan of Hemingford speared a …

Nebraska Hunter Education instructors John Niemoth of Omaha and Robert Sevenker of Ord recently were recognized for their contributions to the program and became the first to achieve the honor of Heritage Instructor. This designation was created for instructors who served the Hunter Education program for decades, providing mentor hunting, outdoors skills training, and safety instruction in their communities but who no longer are able to continue as instructors. Niemoth and Sevenker were recognized with this honor at the Jan. …