In The Wild

I’m heading back to school. Well, sort of. These next three weeks I’ll be reading  books to students in Omaha Public, Millard Public and Omaha Catholic Schools. March is a big book reading month here in the metro area. As a matter of fact, I read to third graders at Bancroft Elementary School in southeast Omaha already this week. I sure enjoyed that and more importantly, I think the kids did, too! I will never tire of reading books to …

On this week’s edition of my Weekly Outdoor Report on Omaha’s WOWT-TV/Channel 6 and online at www.wowt.com, we’re heading to Nebraska’s central Platte River valley between Grand Island and Kearney to view the spectacular spring migration stopover of sandhill cranes and other wild fowl. It’s quite a sight to see! Check out these great photos of the cranes taken by co-worker Katie Stacey of our Game and Parks Omaha-Metro Office. Experience the movement and sounds of the world’s largest gathering …

My job at Game and Parks is always interesting and everyday is a learning experience (even with my 34 years of knowledge, HA!). Below is an example of that. Recently, I was forwarded an inquiry about a postcard a gentleman had come across of a train car with the name Nebraska Game and Fish Commission on it. I knew from working at the Ak-sar-ben Aquarium fisheries facility near Gretna many moons ago that this was indeed a fish car. Interestingly, …

I am thrilled and honored to be part of the upcoming Hunt with the Huskers event on March 23rd which is a pheasant hunting fundraiser for Tom Osborne’s Teammates Mentoring Program (www.teammates.org). It will be a wonderful opportunity for me to connect  with Coach Osborne again (yes, I said “Coach”) and visit about his program and various outdoor topics on my radio show! It will also be nice to see my good friend and legendary Nebraska sports broadcaster Adrian Fiala …

We’re heading to southern Sarpy County on my Weekly Outdoor Report on Omaha’s WOWT-TV/Channel 6 this week. We have our park permit and are going to the Schramm Park State Recreation Area/Ak-sar-ben Aquarium on Highway 31 about nine miles south of Gretna (my hometown) for some fun winter recreation and wildlife viewing. The Weekly Outdoor Report airs LIVE on WOWT-TV/Channel 6 and online at www.wowt.com Thursdays at 6 p.m. CST during the station’s sportscast with Ross Jernstrom. Rossy and I …

I received a phone call yesterday from a woman who lives in a neighborhood just north of Zorinsky Lake in west Omaha concerning problematic wild turkeys. We have a lot of wild turkeys in and around Omaha, and, as some of you know, they are not wary of us humans. In fact, as neat as they are to see, turkeys may become a nuisance by roosting on roofs, in trees near homes, and on decks, and they are known to …

While working the Omaha Boat, Sports and Travel Show yesterday, I was reminded about a couple Nebraska rivers not floated much that have nearly constant water levels year-round being spring-fed by the massive Ogallala Aquifer. That reminder was prompted by a good friend in Nebraska’s outdoor recreation scene – float trip outfitter Mitch Glidden of Mullen, NE. Mitch, along with his wife – Patty (she really runs things, sorry Mitch), own and operate Glidden Canoe Rental and the Sandhills Motel …

Here at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s Omaha-Metro Office, as Winter Storm “Q” intensifies, I am thinking much warmer thoughts actually. I am thinking mid-summer, sunny skies, warm, gentle breezes, cool, refreshing water, trout fishing, canoeing, hiking, camaraderie and about one of my favorite places on earth – Nebraska’s Upper Snake River Valley in Cherry County. I wanted to share some of those images with you on the snow day that many of us here on the Great Plains …

Despite the big winter storm named “Q “coming our way, the state’s largest sports show — the Omaha Boat, Sports and Travel Show — will go on as scheduled! The show will run from this Thursday night through Sunday afternoon at the CenturyLink Center in downtown Omaha. Most, if not all the exhibitors and presenters for the show are in town already, have their hotel rooms and are in the process setting up their displays, etc. When’s the best time …

I’m helpin’ to get the word out to you – fellow farmers/ag producers – that a USDA General Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Sign-Up Period is coming in May. It is set to get underway on May 20th, WOO-HOO!!! This was announced by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this past Saturday, February 16th at the National Pheasant & Quail Classic in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Here’s the press release from Pheasants Forever on the details of the announcement: http://www.pheasantsforever.org/default.aspx Keep in mind that …