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Nebraska Game and Parks Commission officials are reporting that a moose has been spotted numerous times by residents in the North Platte River Valley in the Panhandle. The confirmed sightings suggest that the moose has been in the region for several weeks and was last reported in Morrill County. Moose are not common in Nebraska, but are occasionally spotted in the western part of the state. Wildlife biologists expect that the moose wandered into the state from Wyoming. Officials are …

Water has begun flowing into the Chadron State Park pond, signifying that the renovation of the two-acre lagoon is nearing completion. Workers from Fuller Construction and park employees began diverting water Thursday morning from nearby Chadron Creek. The pond is expected to fill within 15-20 days, making it ready for fishing and paddle-boating during the summer tourism season. The pond has been empty for the construction project since it was drained in fall 2013. While empty, workers repaired its dilapidated …

You can’t beat a good waterfowl picture. My wings are definitely clipped, so to speak, when it comes to drawing or painting a picture of a bird, but beautiful photos of waterfowl within the pages of NEBRASKAland and other magazines helped instill my passion for wildlife photography. I’m not alone in my fondness for imagery of ducks and geese. One only has to travel as far as the local Ducks Unlimited banquet to notice that the pretty waterfowl art from …

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has completed the second year of an annual mule deer survey in portions of the Pine Ridge management unit in northwestern Nebraska. On Feb. 6-9, Commission employees used a contracted helicopter to repeat the 2014 mule deer survey. Commission staff counted 758 deer in 429 square miles of the unit compared to 862 in the same areas in 2014. The data will be compared to mule deer numbers in other areas of the state …

Dave Kinnamon, park superintendent at Lewis and Clark Lake State Recreation Area (SRA), has had his share of experience with fire. Before accepting his current position at the SRA near Crofton in late 2013, Kinnamon served as park superintendent at Chadron State Park in western Nebraska, where he helped to combat the forest fires of 2012. Prior to leaving Chadron, Kinnamon helped the park obtain a surplus fire truck from the City of Seward Fire and Rescue to allow park …

Conservation officers Alexandra Frohberg and Tom Zimmer made a surprise visit to Covington Elementary in South Sioux City recently. As part of a class assignment, third grade student Kevin Castro wrote to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission to invite staff to visit his class and to read. “The students love to have guest readers come in, and I love to show how reading is a part of life, even after school,” said Castro’s third grade teacher Sara Friedrichsen. “So …

On the weekend of December 6 -7, the Luther family from Omaha and the Netherton family from Fairbury traveled to Knox County to deer hunt for the first time. The muzzleloader doe hunt took place on the Jessen Ranch near Center. Leased by Chris Edwards of Big Red Outdoors, Edwards offered to open up his lease for this two-day hunt. Husband and wife Todd and Stacy Luther brought their 11-year-old son Chase and 10-year-old son Brady, while Troy and Paula …

A special group of workers completed four and a half weeks of sprucing up Nebraska Game and Parks Commission properties in northwestern Nebraska this week. The seven workers of the team were enrolled in AmeriCorps, the federal National Civilian Community Corps program that provides intensive service learning opportunities for adventurous workers ages 18-24. The group joined Commission staff in completing a variety of projects to improve Walgren Lake State Recreation Area, Chadron State Park, Metcalf Wildlife Management Area and Chadron …

“Smoky gray” isn’t often a quality we photographers seek in images, but it’s a different story when it comes to turkeys. I was pleased to receive a few photos of smoky gray phase wild turkeys after requesting them in a post last week. While most of the responses I received were from northwestern Nebraska, it appears some really unique birds, ranging from all white plumage to a colorful mix, are seen on occasion throughout the state. The most eye-catching of …

I like to hunt. I really like to hunt. A lot. You could say it’s who I am. Why? The normal clichéd answers might be that I enjoy the recreation, exercise, spending time with friends and family, the taste of game meat, or even that I’m satisfying primordial urges. All of these are important, but what I enjoy most is that hunting melts the stress of everyday life from my body. When I hunt, whether I’m sitting in the whitetail …