LINCOLN, Neb. — Six $1,000 scholarships are available to Nebraska schools starting up Trout in the Classroom, a science-based program that allows students to explore aquatic ecosystems, life cycles, water quality and the scientific process by raising trout from eggs. Scholarship applications, as well as program participation applications, are due August 31, 2020. Nebraska Game & Parks Commission educators designed Trout in the Classroom curriculum as an opportunity for scientific learning for students in second through twelfth grade. Participating educators …

LINCOLN, Neb. – With a donation from the Cabela’s/Bass Pro Shop and the Nebraska Game and Parks Foundation, this year’s Take ’em Fishing Challenge just got a little more exciting: One lucky participant will win a Bass Tracker Classic XL boat. This is the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s second year offering the challenge, which encourages experienced anglers to take a pledge to go fishing with a beginner or someone who hasn’t fished in several years. Anglers who take a …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Carey Hofmeister and her family soon will be re-creating their Camp at Home, Nebraska, adventure during a free three-night camping stay at a Nebraska Game and Parks Commission state park or recreation area. The family was randomly selected from more than 360 participants in the social media challenge issued by the Commission during the height of the coronavirus closures across the state. Outdoor-lovers were encouraged to look to their own home or backyard as the ultimate outdoor …

LINCOLN, Neb. – In honor of the role pollinators play in Nebraska’s economy and ecosystems, Gov. Pete Ricketts has proclaimed June 22-28, 2020, Nebraska Pollinator Week. The celebration of Nebraska Pollinator Week, typically commemorated with pollinator-related events across the state, has taken on a new form this year in the interest of public health due to COVID-19. Virtual events will be hosted, and Nebraskans can join the Nebraska Pollinator Week 2020 Challenge, head outside, look for pollinators, and be a …

LINCOLN, Neb. – With many offices closed because of the coronavirus public health situation, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission encourages the public to purchase their park entry permits online prior to their outdoors excursions. Park entry permits are required for each motorized vehicle entering a state park, state recreation area or state historical park. To purchase one, click on the “buy a permit” link at OutdoorNebraska.org and follow the instructions. Once purchased, a temporary permit may be printed for …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Summer is here, and people all across Nebraska are fishing. Why not introduce someone new to fishing, snap a photo of the adventure and register in the Take ’em Fishing Challenge for a chance to win a prize? This is the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s second year offering the challenge, which encourages experienced anglers to take a pledge to go fishing with a beginner or someone who hasn’t fished in several years. Anglers who take a …

GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska – Take ’em Hunting Challenge grand prize winner Adam Paitz of Grand Island is ready to make memories with his family riding his new John Deere utility terrain vehicle, donated by AKRS Equipment for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission contest. Paitz was selected at random June 1 from the more than 2,175 who participated in the challenge to take along someone new or just beginning hunting and submit their photos online. Paitz, a police officer for …

LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, working in collaboration with Ogallala and Keith County area partners, will implement actions designed to make the Lake McConaughy and Lake Ogallala state recreation areas safer and more family-friendly destinations by enhancing recreational facilities and prohibiting the possession of alcohol. The new regulation, which now bans the possession and consumption of alcohol at the two state recreation areas, officially went into effect June 9. Management plans also call for increased law …

LINCOLN, Nebraska — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will continue cabin, lodge and group activity shelter closures at state park and recreation areas through June 15, with a further possible extension, in a proactive effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The closures are being continued until proper disinfection between reservations can be achieved for the safety of guests and their communities. “While this may be an inconvenience to those who have reservations for facilities, we want to make …

LINCOLN, Nebraska — The first 50 years of Nebraskaland magazine are now available free in digital form online after a three-year collaboration between the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center for Digital Research in the Humanities. Readers can view, browse and search the editions between 1926 and 1976 at Nebraskaland.unl.edu. The years made available capture changes in the magazine from its first iteration as Outdoor Nebraska, a publication created by the state’s first game warden, …