NGPC News

LINCOLN – There is still time to take children fishing for stocked bullheads this summer. In fact, many anglers started their fishing careers catching bullheads at a young age. Black bullheads raised at the Valentine State Fish Hatchery will be stocked by early September at the following state recreation areas, with quantities: Louisville Lake No. 2A, 672; Fremont Lake No. 3, 1,435; Two Rivers Lake No. 7, 666; and Two Rivers Lake No. 6, 1,604. These bullheads will be 7-10 …

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s 2014 Public Access Atlas is now available for hunters and anglers who want to know where they can hunt and fish in Nebraska. The annual publication includes information on and locations of land enrolled in the Open Fields and Waters (OFW) program, which allows private land to be open to hunters and anglers for walk-in access. It also provides information on public state and federal lands open to hunting and fishing. Printed …

Fort Hartsuff State Historic Park, in conjunction with the Grand Army of the Frontier (GAF), will present “The Timeline of American Military Firearms 1860-1990” on October 4 and 5 , 2014. Visitors will view a collection of original and reproduced firearms that were used by the American military, beginning with the muzzleloading firearms of the Civil War to the more modern weapons utilized in Desert Storm. GAF members dressed in period uniforms along with Col. Jerry Davenport, Department of the …

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Board of Commissioners will consider recommendations for the 2014 waterfowl and crow hunting seasons at a meeting Aug. 29 in Grand Island. The meeting is at 8 a.m. at the Fairfield Inn and Suites, 805 Allen Drive. The public hearing for waterfowl and crow recommendations begins at 8:30 a.m. Recommendations for 2014 waterfowl and crow are: Duck and Coot – Zone 1: Oct. 11-Dec. 23; Zone 2: Oct. 4-Dec. 16 in Low Plains …

The public is invited to get up-close and personal with bird populations at two parks in the Nebraska Panhandle this fall. During the coming month, banding stations will be operating at Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area near Gering and Chadron State Park near Chadron. The public is invited to join the bird-banders during two special sessions, Saturday, Aug. 30, at Chadron and Saturday, Sept. 13, at Wildcat Hills. Attendees of the informational sessions will watch as biologists retrieve birds from …

Community wellness is the goal during the annual Try-Athlon at Chadron State Park this weekend. The annual event, sponsored by the Chadron Lifespan Wellness Team, will be Sunday, Aug. 24, at 3 p.m. Entrants of the Try-Athlon are challenged to swim, bike or run, either individually or with team members. Check-in begins at 2 p.m. at the park swimming pool and participants may sign up and pay the $10 registration fee the day of the event. Organizers bill the event …

LINCOLN – Join singer/songwriter and conservation advocate Erica Wheeler for The Soulful Landscape workshop Aug. 31 at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park near Ashland. Writers of all experience levels and non-writers are encouraged to attend. The workshop includes a presentation on place-based arts, followed by writing exercises. Participants will learn how to generate fresh metaphors for use in songs, stories, poems and essays. No fee is required for this workshop, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the park’s Kountze …

LINCOLN – Visit Rock Creek Station State Historical Park on Labor Day weekend and watch the history of that area unfold. On Aug. 30-Sept. 1, re-enactors will portray August 1864, when the area was gripped by an Indian uprising. The re-enactors will depict a first-person account of the fear and gossip that spread through the settlements and road ranches in the Rock Creek area 150 years ago. The uprising has shut down the overland trail used by immigrants and freighters, …

LINCOLN – Nebraska pheasant hunting opportunities in 2014 should be on par with last year or slightly better, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s upland game hunting outlook. The consensus among Game and Parks’ field staff is that habitat conditions have improved across most of the state, providing suitable nesting and brood-rearing habitat for pheasants. However, spring storms seem to have negatively impacted pheasant hatch. Replacement nests for those lost to these early storms might yet compensate for …

LINCOLN – Take a step back in time and enjoy Nebraska history over the holiday weekend. Living history demonstrations by re-enactors are scheduled Aug. 30-Sept. 1 at Fort Kearny State Historical Park and Indian Cave State Park. Fort Kearny will feature a daily cannon firing at 2 p.m., as well as re-enactors in a soldiers’ camp, as well as demonstrations of many trades. On Aug. 31, guest speaker Charlotte Endorf will portray Annie Oakley at 1:15 p.m. and following the …