NGPC News

LINCOLN — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has received a $150,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to provide habitat for Monarch butterflies. The grant will allow the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission to plant milkweed along stretches of the National Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail. Milkweed is essential to the Monarchs; they lay their eggs on milkweed plants, and larvae feed on milkweed. In recent years, the amount of milkweed along Monarchs’ migration path has declined. …

LINCOLN – The rehabilitation of the reservoir at Conestoga State Recreation Area is underway. The outlet structure will be modified in preparation for a project to improve aquatic habitat, water quality and angler access. Visitors can expect to encounter areas closed to public access near construction equipment and work areas. The reservoir has experienced the degrading effects of years of sedimentation and nutrient accumulation. The combination of these has been partially responsible for the dense algae blooms in recent years. …

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is offering special antlerless deer hunting opportunities within Eugene T. Mahoney and Platte River state parks (SP), as well as Schramm Park State Recreation Area (SRA). Successful applicants will be issued a special access permit that allows them to hunt antlerless deer in designated areas of a park on certain dates, using specific equipment. Successful applicants and interested alternates must attend an orientation session in order to receive the access permit. Applications, …

LINCOLN – Youth ages 15 and younger are encouraged to participate in special youth pheasant hunts during the Oct. 24–25 statewide youth pheasant, quail and partridge season. Rooster pheasants will be released at 10 wildlife management areas before the special youth hunt season. The special hunts are open to the public, and the number of participants is not limited. No registration or special permit is required. Special regulations posted at each of the 10 WMAs will apply to all portions …

Beginning this fall, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is prohibiting use of centerfire rifles on the west unit of the Bordeaux Creek Wildlife Management Area three miles east of Chadron. Safety concerns about the proximity of several homes to the popular hunting area prompted the Commission to prohibit use of the long-range weapons on the 294 acre tract located between Bordeaux Road and Pineview Road. New signs at the property advise hunters of the restriction. Deer hunters can still …

LINCOLN – All Nebraska Game and Parks Commission offices will be closed Oct. 12 for Columbus Day and Nov. 11 for Veterans Day. The closures include Game and Parks headquarters in Lincoln, district offices in Norfolk, North Platte and Alliance, service centers in Bassett and Kearney, Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium and the Omaha office. The Nebraska Game and Parks Outdoor Education Center in Lincoln will be open on Columbus Day. It will be closed on Veterans Day, which falls on a Wednesday …

LINCOLN – Hunters should be aware of high levels of blue-green algae that were recently detected at Smith Lake Wildlife Management Area in Sheridan County. It is recommended that visitors to the lake, especially waterfowl hunters, avoid contact with the water and should not let dogs or other pets drink from the lake, as high levels of blue-green algae can be lethal if ingested. Non-contact activities such as boating, fishing and camping are not affected by this caution. The area …

LINCOLN – An aquatic habitat project that began this spring at the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge south of Valentine will continue this fall and into 2016. The project addresses the presence of nuisance common carp in the system and their passage through the existing water control structures. Control structures, berm improvements, fish barriers and dredging were planned at Watts, Hackberry, Dewey, Whitewater, Clear, Pelican and Willow lakes. Work has progressed and construction has been partially completed at both Watts and …

About 250 Boy Scouts of the Longs Peak Council will gather at Chadron State Park this weekend to plant trees in areas burned by the 2012 wildfire that entered the popular northwestern Nebraska tourism attraction and burned much of its ponderosa pine forest and surrounding areas. The public is invited to assist in the planting of 3,000 trees in the park Saturday morning. Participants will begin planting trees after an education session at 8 a.m. and are expected to finish …

Kris Ferguson had a lot to celebrate Saturday. It was her birthday, but that milestone came secondary to the party for one of her greatest labors of love. Ferguson is the Gordon cyclist who turned tragedy to triumph after being struck by a motor vehicle while riding along Nebraska Highway 27 south of the Sheridan County city. While recuperating from the 2011 accident, which required her to be flown to Scottsbluff for emergency care, she launched an effort to develop …