MORRILL, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is lowering the water level at Kiowa Wildlife Management Area south of Morrill in efforts to improve the property’s wetland. The Commission is employing multiple management methods to control cattails encroaching the wetlands. A lower water level will allow a firebreak to be created by disking. The break will be used for a prescribed burn of the cattails this winter.   In spring 2019 the water level will likely return to normal, …

MINATARE, Neb. — The public is invited to celebrate National Dog Day by bringing their four-legged friends for a community hike at Lake Minatare State Recreation Area. Hike with Hounds will be Saturday, Aug. 25, at 9 a.m. beginning at the lighthouse. Along with a stroll along the lake, the event will cover a variety of tips and topics for people to safely hike with their four-legged friends in various parks and wildlands. All socialized dogs are welcome as long …

GERING, Neb. — The Wildcat Hills Shooting Sports Complex at Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area will be the site of a benefit shooting competition for a veterans service organization Saturday, Aug. 25. Registration for the Western Nebraska Veterans Shoot-out will begin at 8 a.m. with shooting at 9:30 a.m. The double-elimination event is open to the first 60 people and entrants may compete in up to two of the event’s four divisions – two for pistols and two for rifles.  …

Sometimes nature sends obvious signs about what a person should not touch. Cacti, yucca plants, porcupines and rattlesnakes have signals akin to a flashing billboard. Then there are more devious dangers such rash-inducing urushiol on unassuming poison ivy plants. I am not sure where the subject of the following story fits into that spectrum, but I now know I should have been paying a little closer attention to some signs. “Ohhh, look at the fuzzy caterpillar,” my 10-year-old daughter Kiera …

GERING, Neb. – Attendees of a program at Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area will learn about one of nature’s misunderstood creatures of the night – the bats. The program, “Going Batty,” will be Saturday, Aug. 4, at 8 p.m. at the Wildcat Hills Nature Center. Amanda Filipi, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission outdoor education specialist who is leading the program, said there are at least 13 species of bats in Nebraska that eat countless insects. The program will discuss …

HEMINGFORD, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is reminding visitors to Box Butte Reservoir that motorized vehicles are restricted to roads, parking areas or trails designated for vehicle use. With water elevations lowered for dam repairs, many visitors to the lake have been accessing and traversing Box Butte Wildlife Management Area via the exposed shoreline and the Commission has closed some of the trails created from the traffic. The WMA includes the lake and all of the area …

HEMINGFORD, Neb. — Construction is underway for an upgraded boat launch facility at Box Butte State Recreation Area. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission employees closed the old boat ramp and adjacent parking area July 24 and began diverting boaters to a new temporary “primitive” boat ramp just to the west. Demolition of the old ramp is expected to begin immediately and the area is closed for safety. Steve Satra, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission program specialist, said the new handicapped-accessible …

CHADRON, Neb. – The public is invited to learn about and search for “Creatures of the Night” at Chadron State Park. On Saturday, July 21, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission outdoor education specialist Amanda Filipi will lead attendees on a journey to explore the park’s nocturnal animals, such as bats and owls. The group will meet at the lagoon shelter at 8:30 p.m. The activity is open to the public free of charge, but a park entry permit is required …

GERING, Neb. – The public is invited to help uncover the biodiversity of the Wildcat Hills during the Wildcat Hills Bioblitz. The interactive event will be Friday and Saturday, July 20-21, based at the Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area. Bioblitzes, such as this one, bring together natural resource experts, community volunteers and others to inventory all living species in a specific area during a certain period. The family-friendly event will kick off at the Wildcat Hills Nature Center with a …

CRAWFORD, Neb. – One of the two groups of re-enactors scheduled to demonstrate infantry and cavalry maneuvers and provide educational demonstrations at Fort Robinson State Park this week has been forced to cancel because of a family emergency. The activities will go on as scheduled Thursday, July 19, but there will be not demonstrations on Friday or Saturday, July 20-21. On Thursday, the Commanding General’s Mounted Color Guard of Fort Riley, Kansas, will demonstrate horse drills, use of jumps, sabers, …