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The season for gratitude and reflection is upon us. Thanksgiving week is when we remind our families, friends and close associates how much they mean to us and express our sincere appreciation for what positive things we have been given in life. While you are considering what you are thankful for, don’t forget about Nebraska’s outdoor scene. During the nine days of the recent firearm deer hunting season here in Cornhusker State, I selected thirteen key elements to be very  …

The morning air is crisp and cold. The stalks of corn stubble and hardwood trees along the river bottom stand as stalwarts; motionless and silent. The scene offers a picturesque postcard setting against the slowly lightening predawn sky. An emerging mid-November sunrise on a firearm deer hunt along the Elkhorn River in southeastern Nebraska. Photo by Greg Wagner/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission The sounds of wildlife awakening for the day can now be heard along the river bottom. A raucous calamity of crows is off in the distance. Two fox squirrels …

As Nebraska’s largest hunt by participation – the firearm deer hunting season – comes into view from Nov. 11-19, visions of antlers and venison tenderloins can make the mind wander a bit. So before you take to your stand or blind, please read over these deer hunting safety tips and regulation reminders to keep yourself focused, safe, ethical and within the rules. With 44 years at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and as a rural land manager and longtime …

One would think in this age of cell phone and digital cameras that it would be pretty easy for hunters to get a good quality photo of them with their harvested deer. But, think again. Whether it is the excitement of the moment or the rush to get the animal field dressed, many hunters just flat out fail to successfully capture the cool hunting images of the day. The opportunity is there though for you to properly document the moment …

It’s a magical time of year, really. As daylight wanes, the temperature begins to drop, frost appears on the pumpkin, leaves turn color and start toppling to the ground, and experienced bowhunters know the deer rut or breeding season is underway. Buck rubs on trees and scrapes on the ground are apparent. A buck rub on an eastern cedar tree in rural Sarpy County, NE. Photo by Greg Wagner/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Deer movement is picking up and the …

Someone once said: “Deer hunting is a lot about nothing.” “Nothing,” seriously? In my view, that statement is so far from the truth. It is the time of year for archery deer hunters and soon, firearm deer hunters, to be on their stands or in their blinds all day long, up to 12 hours … alone. During part of a day off, Nebraska Conservation Officer Rich Berggren of Waterloo allows a photo to be taken before he enters his firearm …

It’s autumn. It’s heavy sweatshirt weather. It’s the season for football and pumpkin-spiced everything. And, it’s time to pick pumpkins and harvest the last of the tender crops from your vegetable garden. But, did you know that beyond the pumpkins and the squash, fall marks the time of year for gathering and preparing tasty fare from wild places? Sure does. The landscape that surrounds us in Nebraska is actually more lush with wild edible material during autumn than you would …

Just got word about current access to a couple of waterbodies.  I know it is fall and many of you will not care, but again, if you are still fishing these waters, you will want to know: Cottonwood-Steverson WMA boat ramp to close for repairs The boat ramp at Cottonwood-Steverson Wildlife Management Area, located north of Hyannis in Cherry County, will close temporarily starting Oct. 2 so repairs to the boat ramp may begin. There has been significant undermining, settlement, …

Booo! … It’s the month when Halloween festivities and candy are aplenty. It’s the month when combines dot the rural landscape for the crop harvest. It is the month when the smell of wood smoke from fireplaces and backyard fire pits permeates the air. And, it’s the month when leaves turn color here in the Cornhusker State. Eastern cottonwood tree leaves beginning to turn their pretty yellow color along the Platte River near Gretna, NE. Photo by Greg Wagner/Nebraska Game …

Nature’s fantastic color show is emerging in the west and north. To me, that means the forest floor will soon be saturated with autumn leaf matter as well as something else — nuts! Freshly fallen black walnuts on the forest floor along a creek bottom in southeastern Nebraska woodlands. Photo by Greg Wagner/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. One of the reasons to take a long walk in the woods during autumn is to gather some delicious, nutritious, wild or homegrown …