LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will certify youth fishing instructors March 15 at Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium, 21502 W. Nebraska Hwy. 31, Gretna, from 9 a.m. to noon. Youth fishing instructors will receive training and tools to conduct fishing clinics. These volunteers will have access to Game and Parks’ loaner fishing equipment and educational materials for events, as well as receive program incentives. They also are encouraged to volunteer for such Game and Parks programs as Family Fishing Nights …

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will stock catchable-size rainbow trout in several city ponds and lakes across the state this month. The schedule, subject to change depending on conditions, includes date, location, approximate time of stocking, and quantity: March 13 – Fremont State Recreation Area (SRA) No. 2, 4,000 trout; CenturyLink Lake, Eugene T. Mahoney State Park (SP), 2,500; Weeping Water Pond, 1,500 March 14 – Humboldt City Park Lake, 350; Auburn Rotary Club Lake, 800; Fort …

LINCOLN – More than 630 archers will take part in the state’s largest archery event March 22 – the Nebraska National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) state tournament in Lincoln. The event takes place at the Lancaster Event Center, 4100 N. 84th St. With the first of five flights of competition beginning at 8 a.m. Trophies and medals will be awarded. NASP is an in-school curriculum covering target archery for students in grades 4-12. During the 2012-2013 school year, …

LINCOLN – Prescribed burns are planned for Pine Glen Wildlife Management Area in Brown County and Smith Falls State Park in Cherry County sometime between March 10 and March 31, weather permitting. Restoration of forests and grasslands began at both areas in 2010 by reducing woodland densities and ladder fuels to manageable levels with many thinning projects. They were funded, in part, by the Nebraska Environmental Trust and the Nebraska Forest Service. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission hopes to …

LINCOLN – The trout lake at Two Rivers State Recreation Area (SRA) will open March 8 for family fishing. The lake should be partially free of ice, and only bank fishing will be allowed. All trout caught in the lake must be harvested and not released. Anglers must first purchase from the park office a daily trout tag for $4. Each tag is good for a daily bag limit of four trout. A person may have up to three tags …

LINCOLN – The birds of the southwestern Panhandle of Nebraska will be highlighted during a two-month series of Watchable Wildlife Tours sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory and the Kimball County Tourism Department. The series, titled “For the Birds,” will run March 15-May 15. All tours will depart from the High Point Welcome Center at exit 20 along Interstate 80. Registration is free and may be made by calling the center at 308-241-0573. Joe Caskey, the center’s director, said …

LINCOLN – The following is a listing of Nebraska Game and Parks Commission events and important dates in March: March 1 – Bird banding, Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium, Gretna, 9 a.m., 402-332-3901 March 1-April 7 – Fort Kearny State Historical Park visitor center open daily for sandhill crane migration, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., 308-865-5305 March 1-2, 8-9, 15-16, 22-23, 29-30 – Marsh Madness, Ponca State Park (SP), Ponca, 402-755-2284 March 5 – Prescribed burn training workshop, Sherman Reservoir WMA, Loup City, noon-3 p.m. …

LINCOLN – A total of $50,000 is available to landowners of the Pine Ridge and Oglala Grasslands regions of the Nebraska Panhandle for the installation of wildlife-friendly fence on their properties. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will award up to $1,000 per mile to landowners on a first-come, first-served basis. With a signed contract prior to fence construction, landowners will receive funds to help build fences that both border other properties and those within their property’s boundaries. All projects …

LINCOLN – The Pine Ridge Unit Season 2 mountain lion season is closed following the harvest of a female mountain lion Feb. 26 in Sheridan County. The lion showed no signs of lactation or dependent young. The 102-pound lion was approximately 5½ years old and appeared to have been in good health. One of its ears had a tag from South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks. The season closed immediately once the harvest subquota of one female was met. Season …

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s Omaha office will move downtown temporarily this month before relocating to a permanent site elsewhere in the city. The current office at 1212 Bob Gibson Blvd. will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21. The temporary office will open at 8 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 24 in Room 317 of the Nebraska State Office Building, 1313 Farnam St. In coming months, the office will move to a permanent location, pending a …