LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska Game and Parks Commission educators have scheduled interesting and engaging events for the curious in December. Here are a few opportunities: Little Saplings early childhood program presents Night Animals LINCOLN, Neb. – The Little Saplings early childhood nature discovery program will have the program, Night Animals, at Schramm Education Center at 9 a.m. Dec. 1. Not all animals sleep at night. Discover how nature comes alive at night for many animals. The program, designed for children …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will release adult rooster pheasants on 16 wildlife management areas prior to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The 16 WMAs are: Powder Creek, (Dixon County), Oak Valley (Madison County), Wilkinson (Platte County), George Syas (Nance County), Sherman Reservoir (Sherman County), Pressey (Custer County), Cornhusker (Hall County), Kirkpatrick Basin North (York County), Peru Bottoms (Nemaha County), Randall W. Schilling (Cass), Branched Oak (Lancaster County), Yankee Hill (Lancaster County), Arrowhead (Gage County), Hickory Ridge …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Family Nature Club is a monthly event for children and adults to encourage discovery of the wonders of nature. The first session, Dec. 4 in Scottsbluff, will focus on birds. Delanie Bruce, educator for the Bird Conservatory of the Rockies, will lead the program at 10 a.m. at the Elks Shelter at Riverside Park. Participants will learn about bird adaptations for surviving Nebraska’s winters, bird songs and field identification, and a mini-bird count along the North Platte …

LINCOLN, Neb. – For hunters in Nebraska’s inaugural Special Landowner Deer Season, their season is over. The $8 Special Landowner Deer Permit, of which 3,690 were sold, was valid only for the three-day season, which ended Nov. 8, and is not valid for any other deer season. According to preliminary results from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, hunters had a 24% success rate during the Special Landowner Deer Season. The harvest includes 590 whitetail bucks, 100 whitetail does, 177 …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Hunters taking to the field for the November firearm deer season will have bagging a deer on their minds. Safety should be uppermost on their minds. Deer hunters always should heed the following tips from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission during the season: • Keep the rifle’s muzzle pointed in a safe direction, with the safety on, and finger off the trigger until ready to fire. • Properly identify the target and what lies beyond it …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Bird dogs and blaze orange returned to the fields across rural Nebraska on Oct. 30, the state’s season opener for pheasant quail and partridge. According to field reports, hunter success for pheasants was highest in the Northeast (0.62 birds per hunter), with some of the better reports coming from the northernmost counties in the district. Pheasant hunters also had relatively good success on public lands in the Rainwater Basin region in south-central and southeastern Nebraska – with …

LINCOLN, Neb. – A multiyear poaching case – the largest in Nebraska – wrapped up in 2020. More than 32 people were prosecuted for their involvement in the illegal take of the state’s wildlife. Reporting wildlife violations stops poachers. People who report hunting, fishing or other wildlife violations to Nebraska Wildlife Crimestoppers may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward. Nebraska Wildlife Crimestoppers is a cooperative wildlife law enforcement program sponsored by the Nebraska Game and Parks …

LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission reminds hunters and parkgoers of safety tips as limited managed hunting begins Nov. 1 in some state park areas. For more than 15 years, limited managed hunting has been offered at state park and state historical parks as part of wildlife management for healthy and sustainable wildlife populations. Standard hunting regulations apply, and parks with managed hunting have several safety requirements in place, including distancing requirements from campgrounds, parking lots and …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraskans who want to donate or receive harvested deer can participate in the Deer Exchange. This program is designed to accommodate the additional harvest of deer. It brings together hunters who have a surplus of deer with recipients willing to accept the deer meat. The Deer Exchange, which is available annually from Sept. 1 through March 1, allows hunters and potential venison recipients to join a database and search for other participating parties in their area. Parties …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Deer hunters are reminded that in-person check stations will be used during the nine-day firearm season this year. All deer harvested during the Nov. 13-21 season must be accompanied by the hunter and taken to a check station no later than 1 p.m. on the day following the close of the season. Check stations change from year to year, so hunters are urged to find their locations before they hunt. A list may be found on the …