NGPC News

LINCOLN, Neb. – A mountain lion was shot and killed in the Pine Ridge in northern Sheridan County on Feb. 8 after the landowner’s attempts to scare off the cat failed, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. The owner’s children had noticed a partially eaten white-tailed deer lying in the grass near some outbuildings on the property. A short time later, the owner saw from his house a mountain lion on the deer kill. Attempts by the family …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska Game and Parks Commission officials are urging anglers to take caution after two all-terrain vehicles broke through the ice and became submerged at Cottonwood-Steverson Lake on Feb. 4. Conservation officer Heath Packett of Gordon said two ATVs carrying three riders broke through the ice on the northeast corner of Cottonwood Lake in Cherry County. He said each of the riders safely escaped from the frigid water, which is about 8 feet deep at the location of …

LINCOLN, Neb. – A full schedule of Family Fishing Events has been scheduled for 2013 by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. These events give families and novice anglers the opportunity to try fishing in a fun, educational environment. All regulations regarding permits and limits apply, but participants will have access to loaner fishing equipment. Bait and instruction also will be available. The following is a list of events, which begin at 6 p.m., unless otherwise noted: April 29 – …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will train apprentice firearm hunter education instructors Feb. 26 in North Platte. The workshop will be from 6-9 p.m. at Game and Parks’ southwest district office, 301 E. State Farm Road. Register by Feb. 25. Contact Mike Streeter at 402-471-6134 or mike.streeter@nebraska.gov or visit huntsafenebraska.org.

LINCOLN, Neb. – March visitors at Ponca State Park can experience spectacular bird-viewing opportunities and related activities during the spring migratory celebration of Marsh Madness. The public is invited to witness the migration during guided tours with members of the Loess Hills Audubon Society on March 2-3, 9-10 and 16-17. Visitors will view the brilliant spring plumage and courtship displays of geese, ducks, bald eagles and other raptors following the northern migration. A variety of resident wintering nuthatches, woodpeckers, cardinals, …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will train apprentice firearm hunter education instructors Feb. 11 in Elba. The workshop is from 6-9 p.m. at the Elba Community Center, 519 12th St. Register by Feb. 8. Contact Mike Streeter at 402-471-6134 or mike.streeter@nebraska.gov or visit huntsafenebraska.org.

LINCOLN, Neb. – Tax season provides a unique opportunity for Nebraskans to contribute to wildlife and habitat conservation. Line 42 on the 2012 state income tax form (Form 1040N) allows individuals to donate all or a part of their tax refund to the Wildlife Conservation Fund, which is used to manage nongame and endangered species in the state. “The check-off is one of the principal sources of state funding used to conserve more than 95 percent of fish and wildlife …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The following is a listing of Nebraska Game and Parks Commission events and important dates in February: Feb. 1 – Conservation Jam, Center for Great Plains Studies, 1155 Q St., Lincoln, 5:30 p.m. Feb. 2-3 – White-fronted goose hunting season Feb. 2-3 – Super Bowl Lodging Special, Ponca State Park (SP), 402-755-2284 Feb. 8 – Dark goose hunting season closes in Platte River, Panhandle and Niobrara units Feb. 8 – Light goose hunting season closes Feb. 9 …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraskans enjoying the outdoors this winter should take precautions to avoid hypothermia. Hypothermia is a low body temperature most often is caused by exposure to cold weather or immersion in a cold body of water. Left untreated, hypothermia can lead to complete failure of the heart and respiratory system and to death. Primary treatments for hypothermia are methods to warm the body back to a normal temperature. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission suggests hunters, anglers and …

LINCOLN, Neb. – North Platte native Julie Geiser has joined the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission as a public information officer for west-central and southwest Nebraska. She began her duties, working out of the agency’s North Platte office, on Jan. 14. Geiser’s duties include community and media relations, public information, and photography and writing for NEBRASKAland Magazine and all agency media. Geiser, an avid outdoor enthusiast, has coordinated the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program for Game and Parks. The program introduces …