NGPC News

LINCOLN, Neb. – Splash ’n’ Bash, a belly flop contest scheduled for Aug. 10 at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park, has been canceled for safety reasons. The scheduled buffalo burger meal and live music also have been canceled. Call the park at 402-944-2523 for more information.

LINCOLN, Neb. – Firearm and bow hunter education courses are scheduled throughout the state for hunters seeking certification in Nebraska. Visit HuntSafeNebraska.org for a listing of courses and to register. The listing is updated frequently. Firearm hunter education certification is required for all hunters age 12 through 29 who hunt with a firearm or crossbow. Bow hunter education certification is required for all hunters age 12 through 29 who hunt deer, antelope, elk, mountain lion or bighorn sheep with a …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Squirrel hunting season began Aug. 1, giving Nebraskans an opportunity to introduce novice hunters to the sport. Taking a new hunter along on a squirrel hunt in the woods can serve as an introduction to an activity that can be enjoyed for a lifetime. It also develops a novice’s sense of stewardship of natural resources and appreciation for conservation. “If you are teaching someone to hunt, do not get caught up in the harvest, let the youth …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Registration for the Harvest Information Program (HIP) began Aug. 1, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. HIP registration is required of Nebraska residents age 16 and older and all nonresidents who plan to hunt migratory game birds between Aug. 1, 2013 and July 31, 2014. These birds are dove, ducks, geese, snipe, rail, coots and woodcock. HIP, which is required by federal regulation of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, helps wildlife managers estimate the …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Eugene T. Mahoney State Park near Ashland will host Splash ’n’ Bash, a belly flop contest, Aug. 10 at the Family Aquatic Center. Prizes will be awarded for the top splashes. Participants may register by calling 402-944-2523, extension 7327 or register at 11:30 a.m. the day of the event, which begins at noon. A park entry permit and pool entrance fee of $8 for adults and $7 for children ages 3-12 are required. The afternoon will include …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Visitors to Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium will no longer be required to pay the $1 admission fee to tour the facility. Game and Parks made the decision to drop the admission fee to expand their conservation education and outreach efforts and to accommodate more visitors. The Aquarium is the only facility of its type in the Great Plains. The grand opening of the aquarium coincided with the 100th anniversary of the Game and Parks Commission in 1979. Its 12,000 …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Eric Soe and Payne Ahrens of Gretna won the 2013 Nebraska State High School Fishing Tournament on July 27 at Harlan County Reservoir. The Gretna Dragon team, with coach/boat driver Cory Roll, weighed in a five-fish limit totaling 15 pounds. Soe also caught the tournament’s biggest largemouth bass at 5 pounds, 8 ounces. Soe and Ahrens advance to the regional tournament Oct. 5 at Lake Texoma, on the Oklahoma-Texas border. The regional champion advances to nationals next …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will train apprentice firearm hunter education instructors Aug. 29 at Bridgeport. The workshop will be from 6-9 p.m. at the Prairie Winds Community Center, 428, Main St. Register by Aug. 27. Contact Mike Streeter at 402-471-6134 or mike.streeter@nebraska.gov or visit huntsafenebraska.org.

LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska’s inaugural mountain lion hunting season will take place in 2014. The Nebraska Game and Parks Board of Commissioners approved regulations for the season at their meeting July 26 in Lincoln. Up to four mountain lions may be harvested next year in the Pine Ridge, the only area of the state known to have a reproducing population of the big cats. Areas open to mountain lion hunting in the remainder of the state will have an unlimited …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is accepting recreational trail grant applications for fiscal year 2014 funding. The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) is a grant program through the Federal Highway Administration that reimburses political subdivisions such as communities, counties and natural resources districts up to 80 percent of project costs for trail acquisition, development, renovation and support facilities. Applicants must have the financial means to undertake and maintain the project and all funding should be on hand. …