NGPC News

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has secured a grant to build a proposed Environmental Education Trail at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park (SP) near Ashland. The self-guided Environmental Education Trail would be created to inform children about the interconnectedness of the natural world’s living and non-living components through interpretive signs and interactive stations that physically engage park guests and students. The trail would be part of a proposed Environmental Education Expansion Project, an effort to improve and …

LINCOLN – Learn the basics of ice fishing or pick up a few new tips at three free Discover Ice Fishing clinics in January. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will host a clinic Jan. 9 at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park’s (SP) CenturyLink Lake from 1 – 4 p.m. On Jan. 16, the Nebraska Fish and Game Association will host a classroom clinic at Yanney Heritage Park’s Environmental Resource Center in Kearney from 8 a.m. – noon. Following the …

LINCOLN – Take your family or friends to the Roger G. Sykes Outdoor Heritage Education Complex over the holidays to learn some new shooting skills or hone some existing ones. The complex, at Platte River State Park near Louisville, will be open to the public Dec. 21 – 23, 26 – 30, and Jan. 2. It will be open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Activities available will include pellet gun, archery, atlatl, tomahawk, slingshot, .22 rimfire rifle, and shotgun. Equipment, …

LINCOLN – Total deer harvest in Nebraska is up 11 percent compared to this time one year ago. As of Dec. 8, nearly 50,000 deer have been harvested, compared to 45,000 last year and 42,500 in 2013. The biggest change is the mule deer buck harvest of 8,307 – up 1,200 from 2014. That is an increase of 17 percent from last year and 25 percent from 2013. “This is great news for hunters, as mule deer are clearly responding …

LINCOLN – Enjoy the holiday with family and friends with a reservations-only Christmas buffet at The Lodge restaurant at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park’s Peter Kiewit Lodge near Ashland on Dec. 25. The Lodge will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and only the buffet will be available. The prices for the buffet of holiday favorites are $19.99 for adults and $9.99 for ages 3-10. To make a reservation, contact the park at 402-944-2523. A park entry permit …

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will burn tree piles, as weather and snow cover allow, at several sites across the state. Tree piles are created by the removal of invading trees in grassland or timber stands or from trees damaged in wildfires or storms. Removal of tree piles will open grasslands and timber for continued management, eliminate a wildfire fuel source and eliminate sites conducive to the germination of noxious and invasive plants. Late-season timber and grassland …

Not only will a bighorn sheep harvested near Crawford in Nebraska’s Pine Ridge region on Wednesday have the special distinction of being the state’s 20th but also will likely go down as the state’s largest on record. Terry Bogle of Lincoln harvested the big ram at about 10:15 a.m. Wednesday on private property in the shadow of a steep cliff near a pair of northwestern Nebraska’s most prominent landmarks, Crow Butte and Little Crow Butte. The sheep unofficially scored 189 …

LINCOLN – Boaters in Nebraska, starting in 2016, will help the state’s effort to prevent the infestation and spread of Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS). The Aquatic Invasive Species Program was created by the Nebraska Legislature in 2015. An Aquatic Invasive Species Fee, to be collected from resident and nonresident boaters, will help fund the program. The fees will pay for education programs, prevention efforts such as monitoring water bodies, inspection and decontamination of boats, control of AIS populations, and other …

What is the fee structure for the Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Program? • Motorized watercraft registered in Nebraska will have an additional $5 fee to their 3 year registration fee. • Motorized watercraft registered in any other state will be required to obtain a $15 AIS stamp annually. What will the AIS stamp fees be used for? Fees collected, as authorized with the passage of LB 142 by the 2015 Legislature, will fund the newly created Aquatic Invasive Species Program …

Nebraska’s first bighorn sheep hunt of the 2015 season ended successfully in the Wildcat Hills near Gering this week. Barbara Sackman of Long Island, New York, harvested a big ram at Cedar Canyon Wildlife Management Area seven miles southwest of Gering on Wednesday, Dec. 2, marking the first time a bighorn sheep tag has been filled from the Wildcat Hills region instead of the Pine Ridge. Wild sheep were reintroduced to Cedar Canyon in 2001. The 9-year-old ram unofficially scored …