NGPC News

LINCOLN, Neb. – Registration is open for runners to enter the Mushroom Run at Indian Cave State Park. The run will be held in conjunction with the park’s annual Outdoor Adventure on April 27. The run includes the Morel Mile and 5-kilometer races. Each begins at 8 a.m. The $20 entry fee includes a T-shirt and biscuits and gravy breakfast. Register at outdoornebraska.org. Other family events for the Outdoor Adventure include a mushroom hunt contest, fish fry, musical entertainment, hayrack …

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. – One hundred and twenty mule deer does are wearing GPS monitoring devices for the second year of a research study designed to aid in the management of mule deer populations in high- and low-density areas of Nebraska. A crew of about 15 people, consisting of graduate students, faculty, and collaborators from the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), along with Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) staff, equipped the deer with monitoring …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will consider 2019 waterfowl hunting season recommendations at its March 15 meeting in Nebraska City. The meeting begins at 8 a.m. in the Terrace Room of Lied Lodge and Conference Center, 2700 Sylvan Road. A public hearing is scheduled at the meeting for the waterfowl recommendations. The recommendation for early teal moves the season approximately one week later than 2018 dates to accommodate weekend days. All other waterfowl season recommendations include …

GERING, Neb. – It’s no prank. The Wildcat Hills Nature Center will present a program about snipe this week. “Snipe: Reality or Legend?” begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 9. Snipe, a wading bird with a long straight bill and mottled brown plumage, is an actual game bird in Nebraska, but many people know it better for its role in a common joke in which people are tricked into hunting a non-existent creature. Amanda Filipi, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission …

LINCOLN, Neb. – More than 800 students from 36 schools around the state are expected to compete in the annual National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) state tournament March 23 in Lincoln. The event takes place at Speedway Sporting Village, 345 Sporting Village Drive. Action begins at 9 a.m. and will continue through the afternoon. NASP is a national target archery program for students in grades 4-12. More than 280 schools in Nebraska have NASP as part of their …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Private pond owners should be wary of fish possibly succumbing to winterkill. A prolonged winter and recent frigid weather are keeping ponds covered with snow and ice well into March, creating conditions for a winterkill, said Jeff Blaser, private waters specialist with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Winterkills typically occur in small, shallow ponds with abundant aquatic vegetation. Snow and ice covering a pond prevent the water from exchanging oxygen with the air. Excessive snow and …

LINCOLN, Neb. – With frigid temperatures gripping much of the state and many lakes locked with thick ice, the spring stockings of rainbow trout and the season opener at the Two Rivers State Recreation Area Trout Lake are on hold. “Due to the extreme cold weather we have been having, the spring trout stockings and Two Rivers opener will be postponed until more seasonal weather permits the hatcheries to get the fish into the lakes and there is open water …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Randy Stutheit, wetland biologist with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, was presented the Ducks Unlimited (DU) Wetland Manager Award on Feb. 28. John Denton, DU’s manager of conservation programs for Nebraska, made the presentation at Game and Parks’ Lincoln headquarters. Stutheit also was recognized that evening at the Lancaster County DU banquet. Stutheit, who has more than 35 years of service with Game and Parks, works on wetland conservation projects throughout the state. One of his …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Ice anglers on Hudson Lake in Cherry County are reminded by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission that public access to that private lake ends Feb. 28. The lease agreement that allows ice-fishing on Hudson, a 160-acre lake southwest of Valentine, stipulates that public access is allowed during daylight hours from December through February.

LINCOLN, Neb. – Start planning a fall hunt today by downloading trip planners at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s website. These printable, species-specific trip planners – which are available for prairie grouse, quail, pheasant, mule deer and turkey – condense a variety of useful information into two pages. Regions of the state offering great hunting and public access opportunities are highlighted in the trip planners. They also suggest lodging options, highlight public lands and recommend other outdoor activities to …